Operation Torch Invasion of North Africa

Operation Torch was an invasion strategy by Allied forces into North Africa that took place Nov. 8–10, 1942, during World War II (1939 to 1945). Allies General Dwight D. EisenhowerAdmiral Sir Andrew CunninghamVice-Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay107,000 men Axis Admiral Francois DarlanGeneral Alphonse JuinGeneral Charles Nogues60,000 men Planning In 1942, having been persuaded of the impracticality of launching an invasion of France as a second front, American commanders agreed to conduct landings in northwest Africa with the goal of clearing the continent of Axis troops and preparing the way for a future attack on southern Europe. Intending to land in Morocco and Algeria, Allied planners were forced to determine the mentality of the Vichy French forces defending the area. These numbered around 120,000 men, 500 aircraft, and several warships. It was hoped that, as a former member of the Allies, the French would not fire on British and American forces. Conversely, there was concern about French resentment over the British attack on Mers el Kebir in 1940, which had inflicted heavy damage on French naval forces. To aid in assessing local conditions, the American consul in Algiers, Robert Daniel Murphy, was instructed to gather intelligence and reach out to sympathetic members of the Vichy French government. While Murphy conducted his mission, planning for the landings moved forward under the overall command of General Dwight D.  Eisenhower. The naval force for the operation would be led by Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham. Initially dubbed Operation Gymnast, it was soon renamed Operation Torch. The operation called for three main landings to take place across North Africa. In planning, Eisenhower preferred the eastern option which provided for landings at Oran, Algiers, and Bà ´ne as this would allow for the rapid capture of Tunis and because the swells in the Atlantic made landing in Morocco problematic. He was ultimately overruled by the Combined Chiefs of Staff who were concerned that should Spain enter the war on the side of the Axis, the Straits of Gibraltar could be closed cutting off the landing force.  As a result, the decision was made to land at Casablanca, Oran, and Algiers. This would later prove problematic as it took substantial time to advance troops from Casablanca and the greater distance to Tunis permitted the Germans to enhance their positions in Tunisia. Contact with the Vichy French Endeavoring to accomplish his objectives, Murphy provided evidence suggesting the French would not resist and made contact with several officers, including the commander-in-chief of Algiers, General Charles Mast. While these men were willing to aid the Allies, they requested a meeting with a senior Allied commander before committing. Meeting their demands, Eisenhower dispatched Major General Mark Clark aboard the submarine HMS Seraph. Rendezvousing with Mast and others at the  Villa Teyssier in Cherchell, Algeria on Oct. 21, 1942, Clark was able to secure their support. In preparation for Operation Torch, General Henri Giraud was smuggled out of Vichy France with the aid of the resistance. Though Eisenhower had intended to make Giraud the commander of French forces in North Africa after the invasion, the Frenchman demanded that he be given overall command of the operation. Giraud felt this was necessary to ensure French sovereignty and control over the native Berber and Arab populations of North Africa. His demand was refused and instead, Giraud became a spectator for the duration of the operation. With the groundwork laid with the French, the invasion convoys sailed with the Casablanca force departing the United States and the other two sailing from Britain. Eisenhower coordinated the operation from his headquarters at Gibraltar. Casablanca Slated to land on Nov. 8, 1942, the Western Task Force approached Casablanca under the guidance of Major General George S. Patton and Rear Admiral Henry Hewitt. Consisting of the U.S. 2nd Armored Division as well as the U.S. 3rd and 9th Infantry Divisions, the task force carried 35,000 men. On the night of Nov. 7, pro-Allies General Antoine Bà ©thouart attempted a coup detat in Casablanca against the regime of General Charles Noguà ¨s. This failed and Noguà ¨s was alerted to the impending invasion. Landing to the  south of Casablanca at Safi as well as to the north at Fedala and Port Lyautey, the Americans were met with French opposition. In each case, the landings had begun without naval gunfire support, in the hopes that the French would not resist. Approaching Casablanca, Allied ships were fired upon by French shore batteries. Responding, Hewitt directed aircraft from USS Ranger (CV-4) and USS Suwannee (CVE-27), which had been striking French airfields and other targets, to attack targets in the harbor while other Allied warships, including the battleship USS Massachusetts (BB-59), moved inshore and opened fire. The resulting fighting saw Hewitts forces sink the unfinished battleship Jean Bart as well as a light cruiser, four destroyers, and five submarines. After weather delays at Fedala, Pattons men, enduring French fire, succeeded in taking their objectives and began moving against Casablanca. To the north, operational issues caused delays at Port-Lyautey and initially prevented the second wave from landing. As a result, these forces came ashore under artillery fire from French troops in the area.  Supported by aircraft from carriers offshore, the Americans pushed forward and secured their objectives.  In the south, French forces slowed the landings at Safi and snipers briefly pinned Allied troops down on the beaches. Though the landings fell behind schedule, the French were eventually driven back as naval gunfire support and aviation played an increasing role. Consolidating his men, Major General Ernest J. Harmon turned the 2nd Armored Division north and raced towards Casablanca. On all fronts, the French were eventually overcome and American forces tightened their grip on Casablanca. By Nov. 10, the city was surrounded and seeing no alternative, the French surrendered to Patton. Oran Departing Britain, the Center Task Force was led by Major General Lloyd Fredendall and Commodore Thomas Troubridge. Tasked with landing the 18,500 men of the U.S. 1st Infantry Division and the U.S. 1st Armored Division on two beaches west of Oran and one to the east, they encountered difficulty due to insufficient reconnaissance. Overcoming shallow waters, the troops went ashore and encountered stubborn French resistance. At Oran, an attempt was made to land troops directly in the harbor in an effort to capture the port facilities intact.  Dubbed Operation Reservist, this saw two Banff-class sloops attempt to run through the harbor defenses.  While it was hoped that the French would not resist, the defenders opened fire on the two ships and inflicted significant casualties.  As a result, both vessels were lost with the entire attack force either killed or captured. Outside of the city, American forces fought for a full day before the French in the area finally surrendered on Nov.  9. Fredendalls efforts were supported by the United States first airborne operation of the war. Flying from Britain, the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion was assigned the mission of capturing the airfields at Tafraoui and La Senia. Due to navigational and endurance issues, the drop was scattered and the bulk of the aircraft forced to land in the desert. Despite these issues, both airfields were captured. Algiers The Eastern Task Force was led by Lieutenant General Kenneth Anderson and consisted of the U.S. 34th Infantry Division, two brigades of the British 78th Infantry Division, and two British Commando units. In the hours prior to the landings, resistance teams under Henri dAstier de la Vigerie and Josà © Aboulker attempted a coup against General Alphonse Juin. Surrounding his house, they made him a prisoner. Murphy attempted to convince Juin to join the Allies and did the same for the overall French commander, Admiral Franà §ois Darlan when he learned that Darlan was in the city. While neither was willing to switch sides, the landings began and met with little to no opposition. Leading the charge was Major General Charles W. Ryders 34th Infantry Division, as it was believed the French would be more receptive to the Americans. As at Oran, an attempt was made to land directly in the harbor using two destroyers.  French fire compelled one to withdraw while the other succeeded in landing 250 men. Though later captured, this force did prevent the destruction of the port. While efforts to land directly in the harbor largely failed, Allied forces quickly surrounded the city and at 6:00 pm on Nov.  8, Juin surrendered. Aftermath Operation Torch cost the Allies around 480 killed and 720 wounded. French losses totaled around 1,346 killed and 1,997 wounded. As a result of Operation Torch, Adolf Hitler ordered Operation Anton, which saw German troops occupy Vichy France. Additionally, French sailors in Toulon scuttled many of the French Navys ships to prevent their capture by the Germans. In North Africa, the French Armà ©e d’Afrique joined with the Allies as did several French warships. Building up their strength, Allied troops advanced east into Tunisia with the goal of trapping Axis forces as General Bernard Montgomerys 8th Army advanced from their victory at Second El Alamein. Anderson nearly succeeded in taking Tunis but was pushed back by determined enemy counterattacks. American forces encountered German troops for the first time in February when they were defeated at Kasserine Pass. Fighting through the spring, the Allies finally  drove the Axis from North Africa in May 1943.

Analysis Of The Poem Annabelle Lee By Edgar Allen Poe

For my Written Task One, I am doing English: Language and Literature. I chose to take the poem Annabelle Lee by Edgar Allen Poe and turn it into a short story. Poe’s structure of his poems flows like a story, but he chose to use the conventions of a poem instead of a story. I will use Poe’s ideas from his poem Annabelle Lee and create my own story, using a more modern language. Poe’s intended audience were educated adults in America. Even though his intended audiences were adults in America, his writing usually had European, romanticism, and gothic touches because many authors at that time had education based in Europe. My intended audience will be fans of Edgar Allen Poe’s poems. Poe’s purpose had been to share his stories and†¦show more content†¦She looked so sad that I walked over to her and said I needed help with my castle. She looked at her small pile and accepted my offer. Ever since that day we worked on our castles together, build ing towers that seemed to stretch to the skies. We grew close and soon, we were falling in love. Even as kids we knew what was happening and we declared our love for each other while building fortresses out of sand. Two teenagers ran down the coastline, never stopping. The golden sun reflected off the girl’s hair making it look like a cascade of gold. Her lithe body flew quickly over the sand, leaving the boy to chase after her. He finally caught up and wrapped his arms around her waist. They stumbled through the sand until they collapsed, her on top of him. They rolled through the sand, their laughter that rippled through the ocean was heard by the moon herself. They finally stopped, him on top of her this time. They stayed like that, their breathing ragged. They looked at each other like someone would look at the greatest thing on Earth. It was a look filled with passion and love. They kissed and it was so full of love that they didn’t stop until the sun was gone and the moon met the ocean. They lay looking up at the stars, holding hands and talking all through the night. It felt to them like time had stopped and they were stuck in that moment. The next morning, they were awaken ed by the shrill sound of a ringing phone. The girl rolled over and answeredShow MoreRelatedEdgar Allan Poe and Love 1059 Words   |  5 Pages Edger Allan Poe is one of the most influential authors of his time. Well known for his short storys The Raven and A Tell-Tale Heart, Poe also wrote poems that reflected his struggles through out his life. Poe was born in 1809, Thomas Jefferson was president. Lots of events occurred during Poe’s life with the beginning of the war of 1812, to the writing of â€Å"Frankenstein† by Mary Shelley, and â€Å"The Vampyre† written by John Polidori. Slavery was banned in England in 1833 and a year later, The Spanish

Good Will Hunting Analysis free essay sample

Will Hunting is a 20 year old man who works as a janitor at MIT. He was a Caucasian man who lived in a poor economic neighborhood in south Boston, Massachusetts. He is also an Irish catholic man. His foster father was an alcoholic and he always came home drunk looking to abuse someone. Will provoked his foster father so he wouldnt hurt his mother or brothers. Wills foster father used to abuse Will when he was a child with a wrench. Will is currently separated from his parents and family. The only family he has are his best friends which he claims to be his brothers.He lives on his own and spends his time with his best friends. Wills friends describe him as a genius. Some of Wills psychologists might describe him as a crazy lunatic. Will Hunting plays the role of a smart, genius-level intellect who chooses to work in construction instead of a higher paying job he could get in to. I think Wills prenatal life was normal and healthy, because he is a genius and intellectual man. Information about his mother would be helpful to understand Wills prenatal life. If the mother was healthy or not during pregnancy would help me understand Will.His temperament was high reactive because he was alarmed of new experiences and he would also draw back from certain situations. When his girlfriend asked him to move to California with him, he was alarmed by this situation and started talking about how his job and home was in south Boston and couldnt just leave. He wasnt comfortable with this idea and immediately withdrew from this situation. He had an insecure attachment with his mother and father. He was not provided with a sense of security and therefore had problems in his future with exploring the environment he lives in.He had many psychological problems in his life and had to see many psychologists about it. He did not have a stable mother or father as a child and was taken to many foster homes without the proper parenting style used. His caregivers were inconsistent and did not meet his needs. The parenting style used in his foster homes was most likely authoritarian, because he showed a frightened, remote, and disobedient personality. Whenever he was comfortable in a position, he would hesitate or avoid new experiences. Caregivers were high in control and showed low responsiveness and warmth for him.He was comfortable in many situations but was then disliked experiencing new situations. Information about how he behaved more in his foster homes would be helpful to better understand him. When Will provoked his foster father, he would get abused by him. Will was an only a child but he understood well enough to protect his mother and brother. His foster father would come home drunk and he would look for someone to hurt. He didnt want him going after his mother and brother, so he would provoke him and get him mad at himself instead. Wills role in his id is his choice to get into neighborhood fights when problems he had in the past with others. His hate, and anger from the past with another bully made him want to assault the man without even thinking of the consequences of his actions. He did it for his immediate satisfaction for his anger. He has the brain of a genius and he decides to get into fights with people he doesnt like. As a result, he is sent to a court trial and they decide to put him in jail. Wills ego allows him to see a psychologist and listen to what he has to say.He chooses to go through with this even though he doesnt want to and feels he doesnt need it because if it part of his deal to keep out of jail. If he doesnt go through with this, then he knows he will be sent back to jail. His superego makes him stand up to his father. He chose to provoke his father and believed it was the right thing to do to protect his mother and brother. He had to provoke his father, when his father came home drunk in order to keep his father away from his mother, and brother. He believed this was the right thing to do in his conscience. His superego has a great influence on his behaviors, feelings, and thoughts.It shows that he is brave, protective of his family, and kind. He protects his family by being brave and standing up to his foster father. He is kind, and brave enough to take on these physical abuses to protect his mom, and brother. Will calls his friends when his girlfriend Skylar tells him she wont have sex unless she meets his friends and brothers. This is an example of his pleasure principle. An example of Wills reality principle is when he sees his girlfriend. If he does not satisfy her or make her happy, he knows she would not have sex with him or spend time with him.Wills fixation in his adolescence age is genital. As he reaches the point where sex is the primary focus of his pleasurable sensations, he seeks to satisfy the relationship between him and his girlfriend so he could spend more time with her. The experience he had with his foster father influenced his personality. When he was abused by his father, he turned into an aggressive child. Because he was abused by his foster father at such a young age, he grew up thinking violence was okay for him to do. Whenever his father was mad, he would hurt his family.So whenever Will did not like someone, he would get into fights with them if they were people he really hated. He also blames himself for being unhappy and from suffering through these horrible experiences even though it is not his fault. Analysis of Defense Mechanisms Will Hunting uses projection for one of the defense mechanisms. He pushes people away because he is afraid of being hurt if they abandon him first. He decides to break up with his girlfriend because he is afraid she will not like him at some point in the future. He is afraid of her abandoning him in the future, so he leaves her first.He also uses rationalization. After working in construction knowing he is a genius, he tells his friend that it is okay for him to be working in construction. He believes he will be happy working in construction for the rest of his life instead of a higher paying job using his genius intellect. Displacement is also used when Will is angry with his father years ago when he was abused as a young child. Because of this experience, he tends to push people away. He left his girlfriend because he was afraid of being hurt and abandoned by her in the future. He tells her he does not love her and leaves, hurting her emotional feelings.He is also denial of his experience with his foster father. He believes it is his fault for being abused by his father instead of loved. However, it is not his fault because he was just a young child who didnt know much yet. His use of defense mechanisms hinders his problems he attempts to deal with. By avoiding other people and pushing them away, he does not give others a chance to develop a close-friendly relationship. Will Hunting could have used sublimation and avoided his sexual urges to be more productive in society such as working in the mathematical field or becoming a doctor to help save lives.Analysis of Personality Humanistic Wills self-concept shows conditional positive regard by his parent. He believed it was his fault for being abused and therefore, he shows aggression towards others. His foster father abused him when he was a child and therefore believes he is only loved when his behavior is acceptable. He provides unconditional positive regard toward others. His girlfriend still loves him and accepts him for who he is even though he left her. She knows he is going through a hard time and Will knows he is confused on what he should do and how he should deal with his situation.Analysis of Personality Social Cognitive Will has weak self-efficacy when it comes to relationships. He doubts himself and tends to avoid getting into close relationships because he is not confident about his actions. He believes his girlfriend would reject him at one point in the future. He is afraid of being abandoned and hurt by her leaving him. He then leaves her because of this and tells her he doesnt love her. He was able to strengthen this area of weak self-efficacy when he sees his psychologist and heard about his story. His psychologist, Sean missed a baseball game to go see a girl he ended up marrying.He did not regret his decision and he was happy with his life. This motivated Will to see Skylar again and have a second chance with her. Will has strong self-efficacy when it comes to mathematics, science, reading, and history. Will lived in a poor run-down apartment in a bad neighborhood. This influenced his thoughts and actions. He got into lots of neighborhood fights with people he didnt like from school. He also believes he can do whatever he feels like doing such as going to bars and picking fights instead of being in an educated school or high paying workplace. Analysis of Stress CopingSome daily hassles that create stress for Will are getting into neighborhood fights with people he didnt like from school. He had to go to court, and he was sent to jail. He then had to see a couple psychologist and listen to professor Lambeau if he wanted to stay out of jail. A personal event that created a lot of stress for Will was his experience with his foster father. He was abused by his father at such a young age and this greatly affected his thoughts, and behaviors in life. He believes it is his fault for being abused as a young child. He then has trouble socializing with others at times. He fears abandonment from his girlfriend.He is stressed psychologically from his child abuse and lives a troubled life because he does not get the proper care and treatment. He does not get any social support for his problems. Will uses escape-avoidance because he does not want to be associated in close personal relationships with other people. He avoids Skylar and leaves her when he thinks their relationship is about to get too close. He tends to escape and push them away from him. He is distancing himself from others. Will appears to self-medicate to deal with his psychological stress. He smokes cigarettes when he is stressed out or depressed to help cope with his problems.

Principles of Marketing Strategic Decisions

Question: Discuss about the Principles of Marketing for Strategic Decisions. Answer: 1. The strategic decisions of Kraft affected the company after the release of iSnack 2.0. The two Ps of the marketing mix namely- Product and Promotion got affected by the strategic decisions. The brand name is a vital component of the Product component of the marketing mix. The brand name is the external cover, which is perceived most by the customers. The brand name gives an idea about the seller's goods and the purpose of the company. The brand name has a particular significance or meaning attached to them, which gives powerful messages to the customers. The brand name evolves in the hearts and minds of the customers. It gives a set of ideas and emotions that the customers associate with the company. The name of the brand should present a unique idea in the minds of the customers. The product is an essential component of the marketing mix as it is the primary component on which all the other components are depending upon. The brand name iSnack 2.0 was taken from the public recommendations. However, the sole decision was dependent on the company itself. The marketing manager of the company should consider other names also for the nomenclature of their new product. The management wanted to promote the idea of snacking and hence selected the name. They considered only a single dimension of the product and ignored the mass appeal of the name. The customers wanted a more trendy name. The brand name failed to connect to the customers at an emotional level. The names of the brands are the first impression, which is perceived by the customers. The brand name is said to affect the hearts of the customers, and they tend to relate to the brand name with their full dedication. The brand name iSnack 2.0 is also similar to a digital name and made the customers remind of the increased role of technology in their lives. The customers were certainly not happy with the technical name of a breakfast spread, and this mad e the customers unhappy. The promotion component of the marketing mix was also affected to a certain extent. The promotions include integrated marketing, extensive advertisements and sales promotion. The promotion component is the most crucial factor during the initial months of the product launch. During the initial period, there is a need to influence the attitude of the customers and position the product well. The organizations strive to impart a positive perception of the products. The promotional activities are dependent on the product decisions and the pricing decisions. The promotional activities of the iBrand 2.0 were affected by the growing unrest among the people. It is true that the demand for the product was not affected by the nonacceptance of the brand name. Despite this fact, the promotion of the product was subdued as a result of the intolerance. It failed to penetrate the masses as it was expected. The publicity was made, but it was negative publicity, which is not good for a new brand. 2. The marketing mix consists of four elements namely Product, Price, Promotion, and Place. These factors contributed to the success of iSnack 2.0 during the initial stages. This is described as below- Product- The product is an item, which satisfies the desire or need of the customers. The successful product should satisfy a specific need of the target audience. The iSnack 2.0 satisfied the needs of the customers as they were happy with the taste of the product. The product had characteristics that differentiated it from the competitors. The unique selling proposition of the product was that it was easy to spread, creamier and can be used without butter. These value added features delighted the customers, and the company enjoyed a better position in the market. There are identical products in the market with similar features. Hence it is important for a brand to identify its unique factors. The company has highlighted the enhanced features, which made the customers realize that the product is superior to the existing products in the market. The company also understood its target market well, so it was easier for market positioning of the product. The decisions regarding a product are vital, and the company paid full attention to the details. The quality of the product was premium and with unique features. This factor helped the brand to create mass acceptability of the product. The company took good decisions in the product development stage. The first step of a product development process deals with the generation of ideas. The company had used the tools of consumer feedback before they started to develop the new product. This made the company aware of the customer preferences and developed a product that satisfies their need. Price- The pricing is an important component of the marketing mix as it is a source of income as well as profits. The price also gives an impression about the company and its products, in the minds of the customers. The organizational management also strives to support the various costs associated with the products like the cost of distribution, cost of production and the cost of promotional activities. The pricing decision should be made through proper market research and consider the strategic objectives of the organization. The price of iSnack 2.0 was neither too low nor too high, which attracted millions of customers. The pricing strategy was also used by the company for triggering first impressions about a product. The company also used the pricing strategy for performing sales promotion. This is meant for the increased generation of interest in the product. The company used competitive prices of the breakfast spread to increase the number of sales. The number of sales was high as it is evident from the fact that three million products were sold in the first three months of the product launch. The objectives of the pricing methods are profit maximization, revenue generation, partial cost recovery and maintaining the status quo. The company used some internal factors as well as some external factors to determine the price of their new products. The internal factors included fixed costs, variable costs, company strategies, company objectives, market segments and decisions regarding positioning. The external factors included the competitors pricing, industry trends, behavior of the target market, industry constraints, legal factors and others. Promotion- The promotion of a product includes the activities that involve the transfer of the message to the customers regarding the products and its associated benefits. It involves spreading the correct awareness through various mediums to increase sales as well as create brand loyalty. The company, Kraft, did extensive promotional activities, during the early days of the product launch. The objective of the company was to build awareness regarding the brand, create interest about the product, provide information regarding the product and stimulate the demand for the spread breakfast product. The company also strived for reinforcing the brand and aimed for the differentiation of the product in the market. The company used various elements for the promotional campaign. This included the online advertisements, offline ads, sales promotion, direct marketing, public relations and others. The company made widespread publicity, which resulted in the enormous increase of sales. The compa ny engaged in aggressive marketing practices during the initial stages, which proved to be beneficial for the company. The products of the company were talked about by the general masses. The products were also welcomed with open arms. The quality of the products fascinated the customers and these increased the sales. the company suffered negative reviews regarding the brand name in the initial stages. However, this did not stop the sales of the company. The promotional activities were highly successful, which improved the brand image of the company. Place- This component of the marketing mix ensures that the products are provided to the customers in a convenient manner. The distribution component is an important component for ensuring that the products reach the customers in the least possible time. The company, Kraft, decided on the channels of distribution, well before the launch of a product. The company also planned the way that the product would be accessed by the end users or the customers. The company ensured that the location of the provision of the products should be convenient and easily accessed by the customers. The company aims to gain a wide reach for its products to make sure that the products are available at easy locations,w hich can be accessed by the customers at the times of need. The primary channels of distribution are the retail outlets, followed by online availability. The chain grocery outlets are the major distributors of the breakfast spread products, where a large number of children as well as youths, make their purchases. The stores provide a cost effective channel of distribution, which possesses a wide reach. The company manages in cost cutting measures of by selling its products to various wholesalers rather than selling them directly to smaller stores. The company also ensured that the product is available, and the customers are not returned due to nonavailability of the product. 3. The marketers face stiff challenges in maintaining the brand status of their most popular products. There would be ongoing pressure on the marketing managers to deliver short-run financial benefits, which makes the organization to focus more on tactics. They start to neglect the goals of building assets. The marketing innovations start to decline after the product reaches its maturity stage. The innovation is a critical step in maintaining the brand value of the products. The passing of time often decreases the amount of innovation that is observed in the initial stages of the product launch. The brand image gets affected when there is any dip in the quality of the product or other consumer experiences. This may cause a negative image of the brand in the minds of the consumers. There may be a lot of competition in the market which is offering similar products. This may pose a challenge for Kraft brand's Vegemite. The company may also lose its loyal customers, in the future course of time. There may be inconsistencies in delivering the required products, as per the needs of the customers. The company may cease to anticipate the needs of the customers and continue selling their existing product range. The company may also fail to provide any personalized experience to individual customers if the situation demands. The company should take care of these challenges that may arise in the future. The marketers should strive for building assets and not merely financial benefits. There should be a continued innovation of their existing products. The market research should be done, which would give the managers an idea regarding the customer preferences and the customer needs. The market insights give crucial data to the managers, through which they can strive to make superior products. There is a tendency of the customers to change their preferences over a period. The target markets of this company include young adults and teenagers, who are known to frequently change their taste preferences. The marketing manager of Kraft should pay attention to these changed patterns of the customer buying behavior. The brand should continue its focus on the promotional activities to continue spreading awareness among the people. The company should strive to make an initiative towards gaining new customers and the retention of the existing customers. The company should venture into new markets and expand its present areas of operations. The company should strive to make an excellent supply chain operations so that its operations are smooth and hassle free.The company should also take care of the availability of the products in its retail outlets or online medium. It is very important for the company to analyze the products and prices of the competitors so that the company can plan their marketing initiatives accordingly. If the company are careful regarding these little points, then the brand Vegemite would continue to enjoy its premium status. 4. The process of marketing is viewed as beneficial for the organization. The marketing function, however, attracts a significant amount of criticisms, from the customers. The wide range of criticisms is discussed below- It is a common saying of the customers that marketing often forces people or influences people to purchase things, which they do not require. The advertisements are said to be brainwashing people so that they can make more and more purchases, which is non-essential. Customers blame the marketers for pushing the customers to buy more products, irrespective of the fact whether they need them actually or not. They say that marketers try to influence and transform the minds of the customers which force them to purchase unnecessary stuff. The customers often repent the wastage of money in buying the unnecessary stuff. The root of these arguments lies in the fact that the customers believe that marketing agencies want to satisfy their personal needs, and they are least bothered about the needs of the customers. The marketers are said to be manipulating the customers with their tactics. This is a serious concern for the marketing companies. It destroys the goodwill of the brand and customer s start losing their interest in the brands. The companies often lose their loyal customer base as a consequence of this practice. This, in turn, inhibits the long-term success of the company. The marketers are believed to embellish the product claims. The customers often accuse the marketers for the exaggeration of the benefits offered by the particular product. This phenomenon can be seen when a company engages in extensive advertisement and the involvement of a large number of salespeople. The serious issue arises when the claims of the marketer are false and misleading. The customers find that the product is of inferior quality, or it is not matching with the claimed benefits. This brings a lot of controversies, which ultimately damages the brand image of the company. The customers want an answer for the mismatch of the benefits. The customers may stop using the particular product or boycott the brand. This implies a loss of revenue for the company, which affects the financial performance of the company. Marketing practices are known to generate environmental waste. Marketing is said to be affecting the surrounding environment. Marketing practices make use of excess packaging materials of non-biodegradable origin, such as the use of plastics in wrapping small products inside large packages and so on. There is an increased development of the resource consuming infrastructures like the construction of new buildings, shopping malls, residential complex, golf courses and others. There is also a proliferation of wasteful ways of promotional substances like direct mail, outdoor billboards, and others. The marketing practices are said to encroach the rights of the customers towards privacy. The process of marketing requires the collection and analysis of vital information for formulating good marketing decisions. The valuable information of the customers give the purchase behavior of the customers and determine the factors that influence the purchase decisions of the customers. There are instances when the marketers cross the line as far as the collection of information regarding customer buying behavior, is considered. They gather private and confidential information of the customers, which puts a big question on the privacy concerns of the customers. The customers blame that the marketers use illegitimate procedures that track the activity of the users. The marketers are also said to be using advanced technologies for gaining access to vital information like customer shopping data. For example, the marketers can use highly advanced technological tools to gather data on user activ ity over the internet. Sometimes, this is done by loading tracking software in the computer of the users. There is a software named Adware, which allows the marketers to monitor the website browsing activity of the users. This information is used by the marketers to deliver suitable advertisements based on the internet habits of the users. The marketers not only track the online activity of the customers but also track the offline purchasing activity of the customers as well. An example to support this statement is when the retail stores engage in matching the sales transactions to the individual customers (by loyalty cards, discount cards, and others). There is a breach of customer privacy when their credit card information is hacked and misused by an unauthorized third person. In recent times, this has been a burning issue, which is faced by a wide number of customers. There is a growing concern against the marketing companies, which revolves around the ethical considerations. There is a fine line of distinction between unethical behavior and ethical behavior. Th e-marketers, sometimes, cross the boundaries of the ethical practices, either intentionally or unintentionally. The marketers should handle criticism efficiently so as to maintain their brand image. The company should be careful about the content of the advertisements. It should not be misleading or promote any false claims. To combat the issues of environmental misuse, the marketers can opt for green marketing initiatives. These initiatives can utilize the potential business opportunities as well as make the critics happy. The marketers should respond to the issues of the customers in the least possible time, especially in the case of a possible breach of privacy. The marketers should adopt an honest and clear approach while dealing with the irritated customers. The advertisement campaign should be authentic and present true as well as tested features of the products. The marketers should be ready to change the attributes of the campaign, in case it faces allegations of the customers. A rigid and stubborn attitude of the company would only invite more troubles for the concerned company. The m arketing managers should demonstrate a professional approach when dealing with the criticism. They need to have patience, politeness, and cool mind when they face negative criticism. There are instances when there are miscommunications with the customers. The marketing concern should take care of this aspect and ensure a transparent mode of communication. 5. The internal data is an important tool by which the marketing managers gain valuable insights regarding customer behavior. The organizations collect various data in their day to day operations. There are data on various parameters like customer transactions, psychographics, buying patterns, sales by territory, sales by customer types, prices, discounts and customer demographics. These types of data are beneficial for the identification of an organizations highest profitable product and determining the segment of the customers who are purchasing the products of the company. The financial data helps the marketing manager to assess the efficiency of the marketing operations of the company. The managers also use the financial data to estimate the suitable costs for the new products yet to launched. The managers are also able to make proper utilization of the production, transportation and storage functions of the company. The storage data gives an idea to the marketing managers about the rate of stock turn, the costs associated with stockhandling and the assessment of the efficiency of the entire marketing operations. The transport data maintained by the company gives the marketing manager an opportunity to perform trade-off analysis. It also helps the marketing manager to determine the benefits of hiring or owning the vehicles, from an organizational point of view. The marketing managers use the data derived from internal sources to identify marketing opportunities in different market segments. They can also plan the marketing campaigns and evaluate the performance of the same. It helps the managers to take better marketing decisions. The marketing intelligence concerns with the systematic collection of data and the analysis of the publicly available data about the competitors. The competitors are the most important entity in the marketing process. The marketing managers are always concerned about the practices or products of their nearest competitors. The managers want a detailed picture of the competitors strategies, products, ideas, and campaigns. They can do so by the analysis of data available from various public sources. The data on the competitors can be gathered from some sources like the internet, company employees, published information, employees of the competitors, trade shows, channel members, benchmarking and vital clients. The marketing manager can get important information by monitoring the activities of the competitors. It includes purchasing and analyzing competitors' products, checks for new patents, monitors their sales patterns, examination of various physical evidence and others. For example, a company engages itself in analyzing the parking lots of the close competitors. They found out that sometimes the parking lots are full, which indicates that the competitors are having plenty of work. There are such instances also when the parking lots are empty, which indicates that the competitors are going through hard times. The internet is providing a wide variety of information related to the competitors, because almost all the companies, places, ample of information about themselves on the company websites or other websites. For example, a company provides the vital information such as revenue targets operating hours, the number of employees, types of products, manufacturing process and others, on the company websites for their stakeholders. This information can be utilized by the competitors for their benefit. The systematic collection, design, and reporting of relevant data for a specific marketing purpose, is known as marketing research. It can help the marketers to determine the market share and the potential of the market. It also gives the vital statistics regarding customer satisfaction and buying behaviors of the customers. The market research is an effective tool for analysis of product, price, promotional activities and distribution of a product. For example, Dell wants to gather data regarding the perception of the customers regarding the existing products and the probable perception of the newly launched super fast notebook. Some of the large multinational companies possess their marketing research departments, which work on marketing research projects along with the marketing managers. One example of such companies includes Citigroup. The smaller companies recruit research specialist from the open market so that they can consult with the management team on specific marketing is sues. The research specialists conduct the individual marketing research independently on behalf of the concerned companies. There are few instances also when the company simply purchases the specific data made available by outside firms so that it can help them in their decision making process. The marketing managers often use the marketing research data as a foundation for making marketing decisions. This is detrimental to the company in the long run. This is because of several reasons. The marketing research is often based on the feedbacks collected from the target audience only. This gives a biased picture of the entire market. The preferences and purchase patterns of the target audience may differ from the rest of the markets. This results in a loss of customers, resulting in a loss of revenue for the company. It also happens that the feedbacks are not true and are given just for the sake of giving it. The credibility of the data collected from the market research poses a doubtful approach to marketing decisions. It happens that the data collected from market research is not relevant to the marketing issue, or the collected information is unable to answer the burning marketing question. In such cases, the decisions based on such data can prove to be futile and would be unable to serve the purpose of marketing. There are also issues with the data interpretation. A particular term may hold different significance for different people. The perception level of people changes from one individual to the other. For example, the term youth' is a confusing term, and the age group taken by the researcher may not be the same as understood by the manager. The manager needs to find out the exact age group taken by the researcher. This issue needs to seriously deal with the marketing manager before arriving at any marketing decision.

Who Was William Shakespeare Essays - Conspiracy Theories

Who Was William Shakespeare Who was William Shakespeare This research paper takes a look at the controversy surrounding the validity of Shakespearean authorship. I must tell you that before performing this research, I had no idea that this topic was such a debate in the world of literature. My goal in writing this paper is to hopefully bring some insight and knowledge to those who read it. Who was the man we call William Shakespeare? William Shakespeare was a man who wrote more than 36 world-famous dramas portraying the range and depth of human nature. Surprisingly, we know very little about the man who created these dramas, a man often referred to as the greatest literary genius in history. Shakespeare did not in his own day inspire the mysterious adoration that afterward came to surround his works. Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in April of 1564, the son of a glover. When he was 18 years old he married Anne Hathaway and they had 3 children by the time he was 21. There are a number of references to Shakespeare as an actor and author by those who would have known him. However, there is not a single word of the plays or the poems that is definitely in Shakespeares handwriting. There are only six remaining legal documents containing his signature, which I might ad contain different spellings of his name. Since the mid 19th century, a large group of disbelievers have argued that someone other than the Stratford man created the poems and plays presented as the works of William Shakespeare. Since 1856 there have been 17 different proposed substitutes for Shakespeare including the Earl of Oxford, Sir Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe, the Earl of Derby, the Earl of Rutland, Sir Walter Raleigh and even Queen Elizabeth I herself. Assuming that Shakespeare of Stratford did not write the plays, Charlton Ogburn, author and scholar, believes that a well educated man by the name of Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford fits the description as the author. The author who wrote Richard III, and Hamlet had a vocabulary in excess of 20,000 words, and also had a first hand knowledge of the customs of the Danish Court and of French and Italian cities. He used more than 100 musical terms as well as the names of 200 plants. There is no documentation that William Shakespeare had access to this type of information. Shakespeare may never have left the southeast of England. Oxford on the other hand, had traveled to Paris, Venice and other foreign countries described in the plays. It has been implied that William Shakespeare from rural Stratford was humble, much too limited, too uneducated and far too common to have had the capability to write most of the plays containing such advanced vocabulary and worldly knowledge. Shakespeares first six published plays appear with no author names. Mr. Ogburns explanation of the use of Shakespeares name is that the Earls noble rank and closeness to the throne did not allow him to be known as the author. His works would have been subject to more harsh censorship than if written by a common man. So, Edward de Vere found a willing stand in; William Shakespeare, who pretended to be the author. Ogburn points out that the name William Shakespeare was not alluded to in print until 1598. The only recorded mention of him in his lifetime by anyone in the world of letters was by a man called Ben Jonson. The most difficult obstacle to clear in considering Ogburns candidate, is the insistence that the author of the plays must have been a nobleman simply because of the plays treatment of kings and nobles and high life in general. Nearly all of Shakespeares theatrical contemporaries were middle class men. Other authors, even far lesser ones than Shakespeare, a man who is thought of as the greatest creative genius of all times, can convincingly capture lives, scenes and experiences other than the ones they were born to. Many authors have stated that what writers write about is themselves. But what Shakespeare tells us of himself in his plays and sonnets, of his background, interest and character is completely different from Shakespeare as he appears on the record. There are questions surrounding Shakespeares last will and testament. Shakespeare left a very detailed will down to listing pieces of furniture. Some ask why there is no mention of leaving his plays to anyone. From my observation it was common for an acting company to

Learn Basic Spanish With These 15 Free Printables

Learn Basic Spanish With These 15 Free Printables These free Spanish printables will help you learn, review, and reinforce basic Spanish words and phrases. Included are printables to help you learn numbers, colors, and the alphabet. If its not already clear, printables here just means that the material can be printed off. In fact, theyre made specifically to be printed; you can save them for free and take them anywhere with you, or use them to teach others basic Spanish. For more Spanish language learning resources, consider these free Spanish worksheets that will help you reinforce your skills. If youd like to learn another language, there are also some free French worksheets to help you with that. Learn Spanish Numbers With These Free Printables These free printables will help you learn and review numbers in Spanish from 1 to 100. There are flashcards, number of the day activities, and triangle puzzles. Printable Spanish Flashcards (Numbers 1-12): Create your own flashcards to learn Spanish numbers 1 through 12.Spanish Numbers 1-20 Flash Cards: Print out these free Spanish flashcards so kids can learn their Spanish numbers.Spanish Number of the Day: A printable so students can focus on one Spanish number a day.Spanish Numbers 0-15 Triangle Puzzles: Solve the triangle puzzles by matching up the English number word with the Spanish number word. Free Spanish Alphabet Printables Learn the Spanish alphabet with these free printables withich include sheets with the complete alphabet and coloring pages. The Spanish Alphabet: Print this full Spanish alphabet to learn the ABCs.Complete Spanish Alphabet: A list of all the Spanish letters with pronunciation examples, the name of the letters, and a comparison to the pronunciation of English letters.Spanish ABC Coloring Pages: These free, printable coloring pages feature each letter of the Spanish alphabet along with an item that starts with that letter as well as the name of that item. Both uppercase and lowercase coloring pages are available.Spanish Alphabet Chart: A Spanish alphabet chart whether each letter has a picture along with the word. Learn Spanish Colors With Free Printables Review all the Spanish words for colors with these identification and crossword printables. Los Colores: Learn the colors in Spanish by playing a crossword that helps form the association between the word and the color.Spanish Colors: A simple lesson that teaches you Spanish colors. Just scroll down the page to see the English and Spanish words next to each other painted in the color theyre describing.Spanish Color Clouds: This is nearly identical to the previous document except that this one has each color on a separate page and no English translation. Instead, a colored cloud is shown to explain what the Spanish word means. More Free Spanish Printables Here are some more free Spanish printables to help you learn greetings, vocabulary, animals, opposites, items around the house, feelings, and parts of the body. Label Things Around Your House: This file contains lots of ordinary household items in both Spanish and English. You can print and cut out the Spanish terms and place them around your house for easy learning.Feelings In Spanish: Use this lesson to learn emotions in Spanish, both by looking at images and reading through the text.Opposites Cards: Print off this set of opposite cards to learn Spanish words that are opposites of each other. Be sure to fold the paper down the center to separate the two sets of words.Parts of the Head: This drawing labels each part of the head and face along with both the English and Spanish word.

Seminar Public health Unit1 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Seminar Public health Unit1 - Research Paper Example Nowadays, there are many problems arising in Public Health that needs to be addressed. Public Health developed many techniques for defining and circumscribing a governable terrain, for example in the form of reports, pictures, numbers, charts, graphs, statistics, etc. that soon later develop in the form of seminars (Rose & Miller, 1992, p. 185). Public Health is composed of Public Health workforce who is both large and diverse. The review singled out the role of chairs, leaders, local government, together with chief executives, directors of public health and others working at director level are the one who conducted Public Health Seminar to strengthen the public health function (Department of Health, 2001, p.6). WHO, other specialized agencies and the UN provide technical and consultative services in connection with UNICEF- assisted projects at the planning stage, during the implementation of the projects and in evaluation of results. Public Health Seminar (University of Dakar, Senegal). UNICEF contributed $40,000 in 1962 to public health seminars held in 1963 & 1964. A seminar on health and nutrition and education of the public was held in Congo (Brazzaville) for 67 participants from 12 countries. Ad to higher level of training concerned with production and consumption of a well-balanced food supply for the family (Cannan, 1966, p.64) The Regional Director of Public Health highlighted male health needs and that something should be done to address. This resulted first, in a day-long regional men’s health seminar held in December 1995 for health authority representatives. There was a mixed representation from authorities across the region. In order to try, to identify strategic policy development at health authority level within the West Midlands following the consultancy input, attempts were made to contact all health authorities that sent representatives to the regional seminar in 1995 (Bamford & Luck, 2000, p.

Hybrid Cars Research Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Hybrid Cars Research Paper - Essay Example You never plug in these cars to recharge the battery -- you simply fill the gas tank. The Toyota Prius, a five passenger hybrid about the size of a Corolla, gets 52 miles per gallon around town and 45 on the highway. The smaller Honda Insight gets 70 miles per gallon overall, making it the highest-mileage car ever to hit the mass market -- ideal for today's soaring energy prices. Hybrid technology also works on a larger scale. In 1999, five hybrid busses ran up to 18 hours a day in New York City. The 40-foot busses used a diesel engine running at constant speed. The hefty batteries were used to accelerate and recover energy from braking. Hybrids combine the best of electricity and gasoline. Instead of recharging through a plug, the batteries get their juice from a small, light gasoline or diesel engine. When you hit the brakes, kinetic energy is converted into electricity, and then stored in the battery. At a stop light, the engine shuts down entirely. Hybrids sound good -- they are, for example, exempt from the range limitations of battery-powered cars. But even hybrids could seem passed by 2004, when major auto makers promise to start selling cars powered by fuel cells. Fuel cells make electricity without burning anything. They don't even have moving parts. In the effort to cut auto pollution, hybrids and battery cars are a step forward, assuming anybody will buy them. But they're far from perfect: Hybrids burn gasoline, making air pollution. Batteries run down, and even though battery cars are called "zero emissions" vehicles, they generally just move the pollution rather than eliminate it (Lovins 1995, pp.73). On the horizon, however, is a car where "zero emissions" meets truth-in-advertising. Bye-bye catalytic converters and associated pollution-control gadgetry. In fact, it will be so long to pollution entirely. In fuel-cell cars running on hydrogen, the waste products amount to water and heat. The fuel cell, furthermore, is a new kind of engine -- one without moving parts! Even if fuel cells burn alcohol or gasoline, they will be far more efficient than today's internal combustion engines, and will produce less carbon dioxide, the primary culprit in global warming. Fuel cells have been producing power since the start of the space age. But bulky, expensive and relatively weak, the cells seemed unlikely to find a place under the hood of Detroit's finest. Then, in the 1980s, Canadian engineer Geoffrey Ballard began tinkering with fuel cells in search of a cleaner way to move people and goods. Among the several possible varieties, Ballard selected the proton-exchange membrane, a technology that operates at low temperature and starts up quickly; making it suitable for a machine that would replace the Buick Road Master (Polokovic 2000, p.A1). Like batteries, fuel cells make electricity from chemical reactions. But while batteries have a limited supply of chemical energy, fuel cells get chemical energy from the fuel, so they drive until the tank runs dry. Like a battery, a fuel cell has a cathode, with a positive charge, and an anode, with a negative charge. The cell uses a catalyst -- often platinum -- to dissociate some electrons from atoms. These liberated

The effect of the United Kingdom on the business environment of the EU Essay

The effect of the United Kingdom on the business environment of the EU - Essay Example The Single European Act that was enacted through the provisions of the Treaty of Rome is a key factor in the evolvement of the EU. It created the Single Market which has been one of the greatest and most successful actions initiated by national governments in the Union. This Act was designed not only for fair trade practices but also for the purpose of mutual acceptance of qualifications, harmonizing company law, imposing taxes and levies, the support of government to industries and other aspects such as government initiatives which enhance or diminish the advantageous position of a company.In December 1992, the Member States agreed to ratify this legislation. However this is not final as the unification process is a continuous one. The Treaty of Rome contemplated a free market in goods and services. Nearly seventy per cent of the European GDP emanates from this free market. Critics argue that firms that were in operation in the previous Member States that had streamlined costs and s tandards could be slowly weakened or injured by new firms in the new Member States with substandard ethics and costs. In order to meet this eventuality the Council of Ministers has endeavoured, several times, to set up a Services Directive with a standard regulatory framework, which is under examination and has not yet been finalized (Walsh, Stephens, & Moore, 2000, p59).The United Kingdom was not only unable to accept the supremacy of the EU but it was also reluctant to abandon its sovereignty. The current position is that Tony Blair's regime also chooses to extend cooperation by way of intergovernmental arrangements. It continued this stance of ignoring the predominant role of the European Court of Justice. In the year 1997, during the Amsterdam Summit the UK government was successful in retaining its right to maintain barriers at its national boundaries (Hall & Bhatt, Policing Europe. EU Justice and Home Affairs co - operation). It had regularly interpreted the principles of free movement under the Single European Act according to its convenience and in a manner that differed from other Member States. It does not want to permit EU citizens or anyone else to travel without a passport in the UK and it upholds its right to control the travel of non - EU nationals into Britain. This opt - out position exempts the UK from implementing the provisions of the EU, which provides for less stringent passport restrictions, and from permitting immigration and granting asylum. However, the UK is bestowed with a right to opt - in to EU arrangements in the future (Hall & Bhatt, Policing Europe: EU Justice and Home Affairs co-operation). The political importance of the UK's EU policy depends upon Justice and home affairs. Two significant decisions that represent its position of keeping away from EU integration are the decision not to join the EMU and the decision to opt - out from the implementation of free - movement of goods and people. The UK's ambition is to become the most important Member State in the EU and acquire a dominant position on par with France and Germany (Hall & Bhatt, Policing Europe: EU Justice and Home Affairs co-operation). In order to fulfill its aspirations the UK will chose the opt - in option in more free - movement policies in the near future. This strategy will endow it with a major role in the formulation of the migration policies of the EU. The UK yearns to display its strong determination to obtain an increased cooperation from the police and the judiciary in order to combat organized crime. In the area of judicial cooperation the government of the UK aspires to be in a leading position in order to bring about a Union - wide judicial scope. The UK with its potentially active law - enforcement institutions and a vibrant judiciary, will create a friendly atmosphere in international cooperation. This was

The Matrix Analysis Essay

The Matrix Analysis Essay This report is based on Matrix movie. The Matrix movie is a science fiction-action film which was released in America on March 31, 1999. This film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski.it is the first part of Matrix series, not even movie also the part of comic book, video games and animation. The meaning of matrix is a rectangular array of matrix. In this movie its shows there is two different lives, one is computer generated world dream world and another is real, but all human living in dream word which is programed and none of them know. In this movie Neo is a hero and he is a computer programmer and he drawn into a rebellion against the machines. But first he wanted to know what is matrix. Morpheus is main character of this movie and he spends much time on matrix to find, and he also help other to find it. He is the caption of their team in their spaceship which they called Nebuchadnezzar. They always go to dream world and come back with hacked telephone line; it is only the safe exit from the matrix. In other side in dream world a group of Agent which is known as swat team. They want to kill the entire human, so they want to catch the Morpheus. Because he is the only person who knows all the matrix code to go back to their ship throw phone. When they catch the Morpheus then Neo come and save him from him. Discussion There are few issue and theories which are applied on them are following. Media Ecology :- The effect of media on human being throw the perception feeling, understanding etc. and its change our thinking feeling and behaving system. Main source of media are TV, film, radio, mobile, books. Issues raised in the movies are:- Movie seen : In this movie when Agent behind the Trinity to kill, then she ask for help from tank by her cell phone then Tank call on a local STD, when she picked up the phone then she reached at their real world from dream world (Programmed world) in form of matrix. Answer: -Matrix movie is fully based on media ecology. In this movie telephone is used as in the form of media ecology. They used it to communicate and to move from move real to virtual or virtual to real word. Telephone decreased the way difference between both lives and makes it a global village. Virtual word is the hot media in this movie because it programed world and caring huge amount of data and telephone is cold media. In this movie they are using number computer screens to read the matrix. Script from movie: -as example The ship is quiet and dark. Everyone is asleep IN MAIN DECK The core glows with monitor light. Cypher is in the Operators chair as Neo cones up behind him. CYPHER Whoa! Shit, Neo, you scared me. NEO Sorry. CYPHER Midnight watches. Neos eyes light up as he steps closer to the screens That seems alive with a constant flow of data. NEO It is The Matrix? CYPHER Yeah.it is The Matrix. Answer: In this script you can read that neo talking about computer screens to read the information, computer show some data to which have their own value which is called matrix. Computer becomes a medium for cypher in this example and data become its information and in other words these tools make more extension for them. Cognitive dissonance :- The uncomfortable feeling which is caused by double minded situation, and hard to decided which the person already done is good or not. When Neo become a part of their team they he start meeting to team members. When he meets the cypher, then cypher say: Cypher: I know you thinking same but I am thinking. Neo: what I am thinking? Cypher: why I not choose the blue pill, I want to go back in dream world and I am tired from this life ruled fully life. But Morpheus say it our real word. Answer: This theory is easily applied on Cypher, because first he decided to come in this world but now he wants to go back in virtual (programmed) world. He is double minded and feeling uncomfortable. In this line you can easy understand his feeling, action, behaviour and beliefs are out of harmony and other cause of this is his belief or exception is more than what he got, which is the main reason he feeling uncomfortable and thinking he choose wrong decision and choose red pill. Social penetration theory: It is also known as onion theory, it means it is referred in terms of breath and depth and every layer is show the human behaviour according to its breadth and depth. For example, how we are close to a person, its decrease the layer of personal information of that person for us. Answer: This theory is applied on the relationship of Neo and trinity. First Trinity and Neo was not known to each other closely, it is same like a Onion based example , when she start known about Neo and start come closer, then the interpersonal layers in start decreasing for Trinity and then she feel that he is the one and fall in love with Neo. Here is the script of movie which shows feeling of trinity about Neo. TRINITY Neo, I have to tell you something. I dont know what it means or even If it matters but I feel I have to say it. Ive never told anyone this before. I think Ive been afraid to. When I went to the Oracle, she told me she told me that I would meet A man. And that I would fall in Love Social identity: At the end part of movie when there is a fighting between Neo and agents. Agents catch the neo and kill him by gun but after some time Neo open his eyes and stand up and start fighting again and when again Agents try to shoot him then Neo stop all the bullets in air. Answer: In this part of movie when he was killed, at that movement he was fighting like a normal human and was not who he is. But when he starts thinking about the difference between real human and programmed created world and start compare agents and him. He finds his social identity. His social identity is he is the one in movie who can control his mind the see the difference between real and programed world. Conclusion This movie is a science based fiction-Action movie and media ecology is big part of this movie. Telephone and computer screen are both are the medium of source of information. They contact to each other through the cell phone and they travel on both worlds with telephone exception and all the information they got like position, way to go out from building are they got from computer screen in the form of matrix. So these are the tool of they use which are based on media ecology. Cypher is a character of this movie who feel uncomfortable because he want to go back in virtual world and thinking he choose wrong option so Cognitive dissonance theory is full applied on Cypher. According to social penetration theory human are like the onion, they have layers one after one as breadth and depth. It is same like how much you know a person, layer are start decreases and person start to come close to you same like the character of movie Trinity and Neo. Social identity is also applied on Neo in this movie because he finds his own personality, who he is and he got the difference between his and agents. Referencing Griffin, E. (2006). A first look at communication theory (6th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.

Essay --

Postpartum depression affects 8-15% of mothers within a few days or weeks after giving birth. Some mothers experience a mild form of this disorder, while others experience a more rare and intense version. This intensified postpartum depression is known as postpartum psychosis. According to the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and Law, Nau, McNiel, and Binder (2012) express â€Å"Postpartum psychosis occurs in 1-2 of 1,000 births and frequently requires hospitalization to stabilize symptoms.† These symptoms include: Hallucinations, restlessness, disturbed sleep, insomnia, drastic mood or behavior change, delusional thinking, thoughts of suicide or death, and extreme depression. In The Journal of Women's Health, Sit, Rothschild, and Wisner described postpartum psychosis as â€Å"an overt presentation of bipolar disorder that is timed to coincide with tremendous hormonal shifts after delivery†. Approximately 72%-88% of mothers who experience postpartum ps ychosis (PP) have bipolar illness, schizo-affective disorder or a family history of either which is why PP is classified as a psychotic disorder by the APAA. Many women who are affected by postpartum psychosis are too afraid or embarrassed to come forward and claim the disorder. This is dangerous for both mother and child(ren) as the disorder has a 5% suicide rate and a 4% infanticide rate. Even if there is no physical harm done to the child there may be emotional harm. The behaviors that are exhibited by the mother to the child may â€Å"interfere with the children's emerging cognitive skills...†(Sohr-Preston & Scaramella, 2006). It has been theorized both before and after birth the mothers' health, physical and emotional, may affect the child's cognitive skills later in li... ...omeone do this to their child?†. There have been many similar cases where the mother was found not guilty, so why was Yates found guilty? The answer may come from the website Andrea Yates: Ill or Evil? â€Å"In America, there are no clear standards in court for dealing with mentally ill mothers—not even in the same city.† This is a sad, but true statement. People tend to use their own morals and experiences as how they perceive things. Of course what Andrea Yates did was wrong, but she was also seriously ill. Postpartum psychosis is an extremely scary and dangerous disorder. PP is treatable, however there are no guidelines for treatment at this time. Most patients have been treated using a combination of pharmaceuticals and psychotherapy. Even though treatment options are still being evaluated, the sooner any treatment starts the better off mother and child are.

Impact of Fdi in Life Insurance Sector

A Comprehensive Project ON â€Å"Impact of Foreign Direct Investment in life Insurance Industry† Submitted to Gujarat Technological University IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT OF THE AWARD FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF Prof. Himanshu Chauhan Submitted by Pratik PanchalEnrollment No. :117010592053 Ajay vajaEnrollment No. :117010592077 YEAR: 2011-2013 MBA SEMESTER III Affiliated to Gujarat Technological University Ahmedabad| DECLARATIONWe, Panchal PRatik and Ajay Vaja student of AHMEDABAD INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY hereby, declare that the Project report on â€Å"Impact of Foreign Direct Investment on Indian Insurance† is our original work and has not been published elsewhere. This has been undertaken for the purpose of partial fulfillment of GUJARAT TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY requirement for the award of the degree of Master of Business Administration. (Signature) Date: __/__/2012Pratik Panchal Place: Ahmedabad Ajay Vaja Ac knowledgement Perseverance, inspiration and motivation have played a great role in the success of any venture.We are thankful to our collage for giving us the opportunity to work with such an eminent section of Indian financial sector. We are grateful to our faculty mentor Prof. Himanshu Chauhan for guiding us throughout the project and for supporting us through his constant guidance and encouragement. For their immense help in making our project fruitful. Finally, not to miss anyone, we thank all the people who have directly or indirectly helped us a lot throughout the project time period and in completion of our project successfully. Panchal Pratik P. Ajay Vaja MBA- IIIInstitute’s Certificate â€Å"Certified that this Comprehensive Project Report Titled â€Å"Impact of Foreign Direct Investment inlife Insurance Industry† is the bonafide work of Mr. Pratik Panchal (Enrollment No- 117010592053. )& Ajay Vaja (Enrollment No- 117010592077. ) who carried out the research under our supervision. We also certify further, that to the best of my knowledge the work reported herein does not form part of any other project report or dissertation on the basis of which a degree or award was conferred on an earlier occasion on this or any other candidate.Signature of the Faculty Guide (Prof. Himanshu Chauhan) (Dr. NehaParashar) (Certificate is to be countersigned by the HoD) INDEX CHAPTER NO. | NAME| PAGE NO. | 1. | INTRODUCTION Introduction of Life Insurance industryIntroduction of FDIImpact of FDI in INDIA| | 2. | LITERTURE REVIEW| | 3. | RESEARCH METHODOLOGY| | | a) OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY| | | b) SCOPE OF THE STUDY:| | | C)RESEARCH DESIGN| | | c) RESEARCH SAMPLE| | | d) SOURCES OF DATA 😠 | | e) SAMPLING PLAN| | | f) DATA ANALYSIS| | | g) DATA COLLECTION 😠 | | CONCLUSION| | 4. | REFERENCES| | Life InsuranceLife insurance  was initially designed to protect the income of families, particularly young families in the  wealth accumulation  pha se, in the event of the head of household's death. Today, life insurance is used for many reasons, including  wealth preservation  and  estate tax  planning. Life insurance provides you with the opportunity to protect yourself and your family from personal risk exposures like repayment of debts after death, providing for a surviving spouse and children, fulfilling other economic goals (such as putting your kids through college), leaving a charitable legacy, paying for funeral expenses, etc.Life insurance protection is also important if you are a business owner or a key person in someone else's business, where your death (or your partner's death) might wreak financial havoc. Life insurance is a great financial planning tool, but should never be thought of as a savings vehicle. In general, there are often far better places to hold and grow your money as you get older. History of Life Insurance in India In India, insurance has a deep-rooted history. It finds mention in the writ ings of Manu (Manusmrithi), Yagnavalkya (Dharmasastra) and Kautilya (Arthasastra).The writings talk in terms of pooling of resources that could be re-distributed in times of calamities such as fire, floods, epidemics and famine. This was probably a pre-cursor to modern day insurance. Ancient Indian history has preserved the earliest traces of insurance in the form of marine trade loans and carriers’ contracts. Insurance in India has evolved over time heavily drawing from other countries, England in particular. 1818 saw the advent of life insurance business in India with the establishment of the Oriental Life Insurance Company in Calcutta. This Company however failed in 1834.In 1829, the Madras Equitable had begun transacting life insurance business in the Madras Presidency. 1870 saw the enactment of the British Insurance Act and in the last three decades of the nineteenth century, the Bombay Mutual (1871), Oriental (1874) and Empire of India (1897) were started in the Bombay Residency. This era, however, was dominated by foreign insurance offices which did good business in India, namely Albert Life Assurance, Royal Insurance, Liverpool and London Globe Insurance and the Indian offices were up for hard competition from the foreign companies.In 1914, the Government of India started publishing returns of Insurance Companies in India. The Indian Life Assurance Companies Act, 1912 was the first statutory measure to regulate life business. In 1928, the Indian Insurance Companies Act was enacted to enable the Government to collect statistical information about both life and non-life business transacted in India by Indian and foreign insurers including provident insurance societies.In 1938, with a view to protecting the interest of the Insurance public, the earlier legislation was consolidated and amended by the Insurance Act, 1938 with comprehensive provisions for effective control over the activities of insurers. The Insurance Amendment Act of 1950 abolished Principal Agencies. However, there were a large number of insurance companies and the level of competition was high. There were also allegations of unfair trade practices. The Government of India, therefore, decided to nationalize insurance business. Birth of Life Insurance of IndiaAn Ordinance was issued on 19thJanuary, 1956 nationalizing the Life Insurance sector and Life Insurance Corporation came into existence in the same year. The LIC absorbed 154 Indian, 16 non-Indian insurers as also 75 provident societies—245 Indian and foreign insurers in all. The LIC had monopoly till the late 90s when the Insurance sector was reopened to the private sector. The history of general insurance dates back to the Industrial Revolution in the west and the consequent growth of sea-faring trade and commerce in the 17th century. It came to India as a legacy of British occupation.In 1968, the Insurance Act was amended to regulate investments and set minimum solvency margins. The Tariff Advis ory Committee was also set up then IRDA and Opening of Life Insurance Business in India This millennium has seen insurance come a full circle in a journey extending to nearly 200 years. The process of re-opening of the sector had begun in the early 1990s and the last decade and more has seen it been opened up substantially. In 1993, the Government set up a committee under the chairmanship of RN Malhotra, former Governor of RBI, to propose recommendations for reforms in the insurance sector.The objective was to complement the reforms initiated in the financial sector. The committee submitted its report in 1994 wherein, among other things, it recommended that the private sector be permitted to enter the insurance industry. They stated that foreign companies are allowed to enter by floating Indian companies, preferably a joint venture with Indian partners. Following the recommendations of the MalhotraCommittee report, in 1999, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) w as constituted as an autonomous body to regulate and develop the insurance industry. The IRDA was incorporated as a statutorybody in April, 2000.The key objectives of the IRDA include promotion of competition so as to enhance customer satisfaction through increased consumer choice and lower premiums, while ensuring the financial security of the insurance market. The IRDA opened up the market in August 2000 with the invitation for application for registrations. Foreign companies were allowed ownership of up to 26%. The Authority has the power to frame regulations under Section 114A of the Insurance Act, 1938 and has from 2000 onwards framed various regulations ranging from registration of companies for carrying on insurance business to protection of policyholders’ interests.Today there are 23 life insurance companies operating in the country, including LIC a public sector company and 22 other private sector life insurance companies competing with LIC for Life insurance busines s from the customers in India. Regulatory Framework for Life Insurance in India The main regulation that regulates the life insurance business is the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956. DepositsEvery insurer should, in respect of the insurance business carried on by him in India, deposit with the Reserve Bank of India (â€Å"RBI†) for and on behalf of the Central Government of India the following amounts, either in cash or in approved securities estimated at the market value of the securities on the day of deposit, or partly in cash and partly in approved securities: * In the case of life insurance business, a sum equivalent to one per cent of his total gross premium written in India in any financial year commencing after the 31 day of March, 2000, not exceeding rupees hundred million..Investments Every insurer is required to invest and keep invested cert ain amount of assets as determined under the Insurance Act. The funds of the policyholders cannot be invested (directly or indirectly) outside India.An insurer involved in the business of life insurance is required to invest and keep invested at all times assets, the value of which is not less than the sum of the amount of its liabilities to holders of life insurance policies in India on account of matured claims and the amount required to meet the liability on policies of life insurance maturing for payment in India, reduced by the amount of premiums which have fallen due to the insurer on such policies but have not been paid and the days of grace for payment of which have not expired and any amount due to the insurer for loans granted on and within the surrender values of olicies of life insurance maturing for payment in India issued by him or by an insurer whose business he has acquired and in respect of which he has assume liability. Every insurer carrying on the business of life insurance is required to invest and at all times keep invested his controlled fund (other than funds relating to pensi ons and general annuity business and unit linked life insurance business) in the following manner, free of any encumbrance, charge, hypothecation or lien:For the purposes of calculating the investments, the amount of deposits made with the RBI by the insurer in respect of his life insurance business shall be deemed to be assets invested in Government securities. In computing the assets to be invested by the insurer, any investment made with reference to the currency other than the Indian rupee which is in excess of the amount required to meet the liabilities of the insurer in India with reference to that currency to the extent of such excess and any investment made in purchase of any immovable property outside India or on account of any such property shall not be taken into account.Further, an insurer should not out of his controlled fund invest any sum in the shares or debentures of any private limited company. Where an insurer has accepted reassurance in respect of any policies of life insurance issued by another insurer and maturing for payment in India or has ceded reassurance to another insurer in respect of any such policies issued by himself, the assets to be invested by the insurer shall be increased by the amount of the liability involved in such acceptance and decreased by the amount of the liability involved in such cession.In case of an insurer incorporated or domiciled outside India or an insurer incorporated in India whose share capital to the extent of one-third is owned by, or the members of whose governing body to the extent of one-third consists of members domiciled elsewhere than in India, the assets required to be invested should, (except to the extent of any part which consists of foreign assets held outside India) be held in India by way of a trust for the discharge of the liabilities.Every Insurer shall invest and at all times keep invested his segregated fund of unit linked life insurance business as per pattern of investment offered to and approved by the policy-holders. The insurer is permitted to offer unit linked policies only where the units are linked to categories of assets that are both marketable and easily realizable. However, the total investment in other approved category of investments should at no time exceed twenty five per cent of the funds. List of Life Insurance Companies in India 1. Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited . Birla Sun Life Insurance Co. Ltd 3. HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co. Ltd 4. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd 5. ING Vysya Life Insurance Company Ltd. 6. Life Insurance Corporation of India 7. Max Life Insurance Co. Ltd 8. Met Life India Insurance Company Ltd. 9. Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Limited 10. SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd 11. Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Limited 12. Reliance Life Insurance Company Limited. 13. Aviva Life Insurance Company India Limited 14. Sahara India Life Insurance Co, Ltd. 15. Shriram Life Insurance Co, Ltd. 6. Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company Ltd. 17. Future  Generali India Life Insurance Company Limited   18. IDBI Federal Life Insurance 19. Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company Ltd. 20. AEGON Religare Life Insurance Company Limited. 21. DLF Pramerica Life Insurance Co. Ltd. 22. Star Union Dai-ichi Life 23. IndiaFirst  Life Insurance Company Limited 24. Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance Co. Ltd. Types of Life Insurance Life insurance protection comes in many forms, and not all policies are created equal, as you will soon discover.While the death benefit amounts may be the same, the costs, structure, durations, etc. vary tremendously across the types of policies. WHOLE LIFE Whole life insurance  provides guaranteed insurance protection for the entire life of the insured, otherwise known as permanent coverage. These policies carry a â€Å"cash value† component that grows tax deferred at a contractually guaranteed amount (usually a low interest rate) until the contra ct is surrendered. The  premiums  are usually level for the life of the insured and the  death benefit  is guaranteed for the insured's lifetime.With whole life payments, part of your premium is applied toward the insurance portion of your policy, another part of your premium goes toward administrative expenses and the balance of your premium goes toward the investment, or cash, portion of your policy. The interest you accumulate through the investment portion of your policy is tax-free until you withdraw it (if that is allowed under the terms of your policy). Any withdrawal you make will typically be tax free up to your basis in the policy. Your basis is the amount of premiums you have paid into the policy minus any prior dividends paid or previous withdrawals.Any amounts withdrawn above your basis may be taxed as ordinary income. As you might expect, given their permanent protection, these policies tend to have a much higher initial premium than other types of life insuran ce. But, the cash build up in the policy can be used toward premium payments, provided cash is available. This is known as a participating whole life policy, which combines the benefits of permanent life insurance protection with a savings component, and provides the policy owner some additional payment flexibility. UNIVERSAL LIFEUniversal life insurance, also known as flexible premium or adjustable life, is a variation of whole life insurance. Like whole life, it is also a permanent policy providing cash value benefits based on current interest rates. The feature that distinguishes this policy from its whole life cousin is that the premiums, cash values and level amount of protection can each be adjusted up or down during the contract term as the insured's needs change. Cash values earn an interest rate that is set periodically by the insurance company and is generally guaranteed not to drop below a certain level.VARIABLE LIFE Variable life insurance  is designed to combine the t raditional protection and savings features of whole life insurance with the growth potential of investment funds. This type of policy is comprised of two distinct components: the general account and the separate account. The general account is the reserve or liability account of the insurance provider, and is not allocated to the individual policy. The separate account is comprised of various investment funds within the insurance company's portfolio, such as an equity fund, a money market fund, a bond fund, or some combination of these.Because of this underlying investment feature, the value of the cash and  death benefit  may fluctuate, thus the name â€Å"variable life†. VARIABLE UNIVERSAL LIFE Variable universal life insurance combines the features of universal life with variable life and gives the consumer the flexibility of adjusting premiums, death benefits and the selection of investment choices. These policies are technically classified as  securities  and are therefore subject to  Securities and Exchange Commission  (SEC) regulation and the oversight of the state insurance commissioner.Unfortunately, all the investment risk lies with the policy owner; as a result, the death benefit value may rise or fall depending on the success of the policy's underlying investments. However, policies may provide some type of guarantee that at least a minimum death benefit will be paid to  beneficiaries. TERM LIFE One of the most commonly used policies is  term life insurance. Term insurance can help protect your beneficiaries against financial loss resulting from your death; it pays the face amount of the policy, but only provides protection for a definite, but limited, amount of time.Term policies do not build cash values and the maximum term period is usually 30 years. Term policies are useful when there is a limited time needed for protection and when the dollars available for coverage are limited. The premiums for these types of policies a re significantly lower than the costs for whole life. They also (initially) provide more insurance protection per dollar spent than any form of permanent policies. Unfortunately, the cost of premiums increases as the policy owner gets older and as the end of the specified term nears. Term polices can have some variations, including, but not limited to:Annual Renewable and Convertible Term: This policy provides protection for one year, but allows the insured to renew the policy for successive periods thereafter, but at higher premiums without having to furnish evidence of insurability. These policies may also be converted into whole life policies without any additional  underwriting. Level Term: This policy has an initial guaranteed premium level for specified periods; the longer the guarantee, the greater the cost to the buyer (but usually still far more affordable than permanent policies).These policies may be renewed after the guarantee period, but the premiums do increase as th e insured gets older. Decreasing Term: This policy has a level premium, but the amount of the death benefit decreases with time. This is often used in conjunction with mortgage debt protection. Many term life insurance policies have major features that provide additional flexibility for the insured/policyholder. A renewability feature, perhaps the most important feature associated with term policies, guarantees that the insured can renew the policy for a limited number of years (i. e. term between 5 and 30 years) based on attained age. Convertibility provisions permit the policy owner to exchange a term contract for permanent coverage within a specific time frame without providing additional evidence of insurability. Food for Thought Many insurance consumers only need to replace their income until they've reached retirement age, have accumulated a fair amount of wealth, or their dependents are old enough to take care of themselves. When evaluating life insurance policies for you and your family, you must carefully consider the purchase of temporary versus permanent coverage.As you have just read, there are many differences in how policies may be structured and how death benefits are determined. There are also vast differences in their pricing and in the duration of life insurance protection. Many consumers opt to buy term insurance as a temporary risk protection and then invest the savings (the difference between the cost of term and what they  would  have paid for permanent coverage) into an alternative investment, such as a brokerage account, mutual fund or retirement plan. Section I: Industry overviewThe insurance industry in India has come a long way since the time when businesses were tightly regulated and concentrated in the hands of a few public sector insurers. Following the passage of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act in 1999, India abandoned public sector exclusivity in the insurance industry in favor of market-driven competi tion. This shift has brought about major changes to the industry. The beginning of a new era of insurance development has seen the entry of international insurers, the proliferation of innovative products and distribution channels, as well as the raising of supervisory standards.Evolution of the industry The growing demand for insurance around the worldcontinues to have a positive effect on the insurance industryacross all economies. India, being one of the fastest-growingeconomies (even in the current global economic slowdown),has exhibited a significant increase in its GDP, and aneven larger increase in its GDP per capita and disposableincome. Increasing disposable income, coupled with the highpotential demand for insurance offerings, has opened manydoors for both domestic and foreign insurers. The followingtable briefly depicts the evolution of the insurance sectorin India.Exhibit. 1. 1. Tracing the chronological evolution of the insurance industry Year | Event| 1818| Oriental Li fe Insurance Co. was established in Calcutta. | 1870| The first insurance company, Bombay Mutual Life Insurance Society, was formed. | 1907| The Indian Mercantile Insurance Limited was formed. | 1912| * Life Insurance Companies Act and the Pension Fund Act of 1912 * Beginning of formal insurance regulations| 1928| The Indian Insurance Companies Act was passed to collect statistical data on both life and non-life. 1938| The Insurance Act of 1938 was passed; there was strict state supervision to control frauds. | 1956| * The Central Government took over 245 Indian and foreign life insurers as well as provident societies and nationalized these entities. * The LIC Act of 1956 was passed. | 1957| The code of conduct by the General Insurance Council to ensure fair conduct and ethical business practices was framed. | 1972| The General Insurance Business (Nationalization) Act was passed. | 1991| Beginning of economic liberalization| 1993| The Malhotra Committee was set up to complement the reforms initiated in the financial sector. 1994| Detariffication of aviation, liability, personal accidents and health and marine cargo products| 1999| The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) Bill was passed in the Parliament. | 2000| * IRDA was incorporated as the statutory body to regulate and register private sector insurance companies. * General Insurance Corporation (GIC), along with its four subsidiaries, i. e. , National Insurance Company Ltd. , Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. , New India Assurance Company Ltd. and United India Assurance Company Ltd. , was made India’s national reinsurer. 2005| Detariffication of marine hull| 2006| Relaxation of foreign equity norms, thus facilitating the entry of new players| 2007| Detariffication of all non-life insurance products except the auto third-party liability segment| In India, the Ministry of Finance is responsible for enacting and implementing legislations for the insurance sector with the Insurance Regul atory and Development Authority (IRDA) entitled with the regulatory and developmental role. The government also owns the majority share in some major companies in both life and non-life insurance segments.Both the life and non-life insurance sectors in India, which were nationalized in the 1950s and 1960s, respectively, were liberalized in the 1990s. Since the formation of IRDA and the opening up of the insurance sector to private players in 2000, the Indian insurance sector has witnessed rapid growth. Current scenario A growing middle-class segment, rising income, increasing insurance awareness, rising investments and infrastructure spending, have laid a strong foundation to extend insurance services in India. The total premium of the insurance industry has increased at a CAGR of 24. % between FY03 and FY09 to reach INR2, 523. 9 billion in FY09. The opening up of the insurance sector for private participation/global players during the 1990s has resulted in stiff competition among t he players, with each offering better quality products. This has certainly offered consumers the choice to buy a product that best fits his or her requirements. The number of players during the decade has increased from four and eight in life and non-life insurance, respectively, in 2000 to 23 in life and 24 in non-life insurance (including 1 in reinsurance) industry as in August 2010.Most of the private players in the Indian insurance industry are a joint venture between a dominant Indian company and a foreign insurer. Life insurance industry overview The life insurance sector grew at an impressive CAGR of25. 8% between FY03 and FY09, and the number of policies issued increased at a CAGR of 12. 3% during the same period. As of August 2010, there were 23 players in the sector(1 public and 22 private). The Life Insurance Corporation ofIndia (LIC) is the only public sector player, and held almost 65% of the market share in FY10 (based on first-year premiums).To address the need for hi ghly customized products andensure prompt service, a large number of private sector players have entered the market. Innovative products, aggressive marketing and effective distribution have enabled fledgling private insurance companies to sign up Indian customers more rapidly than expected. Private sector players are expected to play an increasingly important role in the growth of the insurance sector in the near future. In a fragmented industry, new players are gnawing away the market share of larger players.The existing smaller players have aggressive plans for network expansion as their foreign partners are keen to capitalize on the enormous potential that is latent in the Indian life insurance market. ICICI Prudential, Bajaj Allianz and SBI Life collectively account for approximately 50% of the market share in the private life insurance segment. To tap this opportunity, banks have also started entering alliances with insurance companies to develop/underwrite insurance products rather than merely distribute them. Non-life insurance industry overview Between FY03 and FY10, the non-life insurance sector grew at a CAGR of 17. 05%.Intense competition that followed the de-tariffication and pricing deregulation (which was started during FY07) decelerated the growth momentum. As of August 2010, the sector had a total of 24 players (6 public insurers, 17 private insurers and 1 re-insurer). The non-life insurance sector offers products such as auto insurance, health insurance, fire insurance and marine insurance. In FY10, the non-life insurance industry had the following product mix. Private sector players have now pivoted their focus on auto and health insurance. Out of the total non-life insurancepremiums during FY10, auto insurance accounted for 43. % of the market share. The health insurance segment hasposted the highest growth, with its share in the total non-life insurance portfolio increasing from 12. 8% in FY07 to 20. 8% in FY10. These two sectors are highl y promising, and are expected to increase their share manifold in the coming years. With the sector poised for immense growth, more players, including monocline players, are expected to emerge in the near future. The last two years has seen the emergence of companies specializing in health insurance such as Star Health & Allied Insurance and Apollo DKV.In the last decade, it was observed that most players have experienced growth by formulating aggressive growth strategies and capitalizing on their distribution network to target the retail segment. Although the players in the private and public sector largely offer similar products in the non-life insurance segment, private sector players outscore their public sector counterparts in their quality of service. Growth drivers > India’s favorable demographics help strengthen market penetration The life insurance coverage in India is very low, and many of those insured are underinsured.There is immense potential as the working popu lation (25–60 years) is expected to increase from 675. 8 million to 795. 5 million in the next 20 years (2006–2026). The projected per capita GDP is expected to increase from INR18, 280 in FY01 to INR100, 680 in FY26, which is indicative of rising disposable incomes. The demand for insurance products is expected to increase in light of the increase in purchasing power. > Health insurance attracts insurance companies The Indian health insurance industry was valued at INR51. 2 billion as of FY10. During the period FY03–10, the growth of the industry was recorded at a CAGR of 32. 9%. The share of health insurance was 20. 8% of the total non-life insurance premiums in FY10. Health insurance premiums are expected to increase to INR300 billion by 2015. Private sector insurers are more aggressive in this segment. Favorable demographics, fast progression of medical technology as well as the increasing demand for better healthcare has facilitated growth in the health ins urance sector. Life insurance companies are expected to target primarily the young population so that they can amortize the risk over the policy term. >Rising focus on the rural marketSince more than two-thirds of India’s population lives in rural areas, micro insurance is seen as the most suitable aid to reach the poor and socially disadvantaged sections of society. Poor insurance literacy and awareness, high transaction costs and inadequate understanding of client needs and expectations has restricted the demand for micro-insurance products. However, the market remains significantly underserved, creating a vast opportunity to reach a large number of customers with good value insurance, whether from the base of existing insurers or through retail distribution networks.In FY09, individuals generated new business premium worth INR365. 7 million under 2. 15 million policies, and the group insurance business amounted to INR2, 059. 5 million under 126 million lives. LIC contribut ed most of the business procured in this portfolio by garnering INR311. 9 million of individual premium from 1. 54 million lives and INR1,726. 9 million of group premium under 11. 1 million lives. LIC was the first player to offer specialized products with lower premium costs for the rural population. Other private players have also started focusing onthe rural market to strengthen their reach.Government tax incentive Currently, insurance products enjoy EEE benefits, giving insurance products an advantage over mutual funds. Investors are motivated to purchase insurance products to avail the nearly 30% effective tax benefit on select investments (including life insurance premiums) made every financial year. Life insurance is already the most popular financial product among Indians because of the tax benefits and income protection it offers in a country where there is very little social security. This drives more and more people to come within the insurance ambit. Emerging trendsExplo ring multiple distribution channels for insurance products: To increase market penetration, insurance companies need to expand their distribution network. In the recent past, the industry has witnessed the emergence of alternate distribution channels, which include banc assurance, direct selling agents, brokers, online distribution, corporate agents such as non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and tie-ups of parabanking companies with local corporate agencies (e. g. NGOs) in remote areas. Agencies have been the most important and effective channel of distribution hitherto.The industry is viewing the movement of intermediaries from mere agents to advisors. Product innovation With customers asking for higher levels of customization, product innovation is one of the best strategies for companies to increase their market share. This also creates greater efficiency as companies can maintain lower unit costs, offer improved services and distributors can increase flexibility to pay high er commissions and generate higher sales. The pension sector, due to its inadequate penetration (only 10% of the working population is covered) offers tremendous potential for insurance companies to be more innovative.Consolidation in future The past few years have witnessed the entry of many companies in the domestic insurance industry, attracted by the significant potential of insurance sector. However, increasing competition in easily accessible urban areas, the FDI limit of 26% and the recent downturn in equity markets have impacted the growth prospects of some small private insurance companies. Such players may have to rethink about their future growth plans. Hence, consolidation with large and established players may prove to be a better solution for such small insurers.Larger companies would also prefer to take over or merge with other companies with established networks and avoid spending money in marketing and promotion. Therefore, consolidation will result in fewer but str onger players in the country as well as generate healthy competition. Mounting focus on EV over profitability Many companies are achieving profitability by controlling expenses; releasing funds for future appropriations as well as through a strong renewal premium build up. As a few larger insurers continue to expand, most are focused on cost rationalization and the alignment of business models to ground level realities.This will better equip insurers to realize reported embedded value (EV) and generate value from future new business. In the short term, companies are likely to face challenges to achieve the desired levels of profitability. As companies are also planning to get listed and raise funds, the higher profitability will help companies to get a better valuation of shares. However, in the long term, companies would need to focus on increasing EV, as almost 70% of a company’s EV is influenced by renewal business and profitability is not as much of an indicator for valua tion.Hence, players are now focusing on increasing their EV than profitability figures. Rising capital requirements Since insurance is a capital-intensive industry, capital requirements are likely to increase in the coming period. The capital requirement in the life insurance business is a function of the three factors: (1) sum at risk; (2) policyholders’ assets; (3) new business strain and expense overruns. With new guidelines in place, capital requirements across the sector are likely to go up due to: Higher sum assured driving higher sum at risk Greater allocation to policyholders’ assets due to lower chargesBack loading of charges is resulting in high new business strain, and expense overruns due to low productivity of the newly set distribution network (and inability to recover corresponding costs upfront) For non-life insurance companies, the growing demand for health insurance products as well as motor insurance products is likely to boost the capital requiremen t. With the capital market picking up and valuations on the rise, insurance companies are exploring various ways of increasing their capital base to invest in product innovation, introducing new distribution channels, educating customers, developing the brand, etc.This is due to the following reasons: A major portion of the costs in insurance companies is fixed (though it should be variable or semi-variable in nature). Hence, the reduction in sales will not result in the lowering of operational expenses, thus adversely impacting margins. As such, reduced margins would impact profitability, and insurers would need to invest additional funds. The sustained bearishness in capital markets could further pressurize the investment margins and increase the capital strain, especially in the case of capital/return guarantee product.Besides, companies are likely to witness a slowdown in new business growth. Companies may also opt for product restructuring to lower their costs and optimally uti lize capital. According to IRDA Regulations 2000, all insurance companies are required to maintain a solvency ratio of 1. 5 at all times. But this solvency margin is not sustainable. With the growing market risks, the level of required capital will be linked to the risks inherent in the underlying business. India is likely to start implementing Solvency II norms in the next three to four years.The transition from Solvency I norms to Solvency II norms by 2012 is expected to increase the demand for actuaries and risk management professionals. The regulator has also asked insurance companies to get their risk management systems and processes audited every three years by an external auditor. Many insurance companies have started aligning themselves with the new norms and hiring professionals to meet the deadline. Contribution of the insurance sector to the economy Insurance has had a very positive impact on India’s economic development.The sector is gradually increasing its contr ibution to the country’s GDP. In addition, insurance is driving the infrastructure sector by increasing investments each year. Further, insurance has boosted the employment scenario in India by providing direct as well as indirect employment opportunities. Due to the healthy performance of the Indian economy, the share of life insurance premiums in the gross domestic savings (GDS) of the households sector has increased. The increased contribution of the insurance industry from the household GDS has been ploughed back into the economy, generating higher growth.The following factors showcase how the contribution of the insurance industry has strengthened economic growth: Contribution of insurance to FDI The importance of FDI in the development of a capital deficient country such as India cannot be undermined. This is where the high-growth sectors of an economy play an important role by attracting substantial foreign investments. Currently, the total FDI in the insurance sector, which was INR50. 3 billion at the end of FY09, is estimated to increase to approximately INR51 billion in FY10.It is difficult to estimate, but an equal amount of additional foreign investment, can roughly flow into the sector if the government increases the FDI limit from 26% to 49%. The insurance sector, by virtue of attracting long-term funds, is best placed to channelize long-term funds toward the productive sectors of the economy. Therefore, the growth in their premium collections is expected to translate into higher investments in other key sectors of the economy. Therefore, the liberalization of FDI norms for insurance would not only benefit the sector, but several other criticalsectors of the economy.Section II:Industry at cross-roadsof development Insurance industry: significantly untapped latent potential India’s insurance industry has witnessed rapid growth during the last decade. Consequently, many foreign companies have expressed their interest in investing in d omestic insurance companies, despite the Government of India’s regulation, which mandates that the foreign shareholding limit is fixed at 26% for the life as well as non-life insurance sectors. The country’s strong economic growth in recent years has helped increase penetration levels substantially. Premium income, as a percentage of GDP, increased from 3. % in FY03 to 7. 6% in FY09. However, the penetration of insurance in India still continues to be low, as compared to other developed and developing economies. The Indian life insurance sector has witnessed exponential growth, driven by innovation in product offerings and distribution owing to market entrants since the opening up of the sector in 2000. Currently, it is the fifth-largest life insurance market in Asia. The rapid expansion in the life sector coincided with a period of rising household savings and a growing middle class, backed with strong economic growth. Innovative product design (e. . launch of ULIPs) and aggressive distribution strategies (e. g. development of banc assurance) by private sector players have significantly contributed to strong premium growth. The following diagram shows the increasing premium per capita during the same period. The global economy has slowly started recovering from the economic recession. Lagging employment, coupled with declining aggregate wages, a weakened residential and commercial real estate market, tight credit and a behavioral shift on the part of consumers from consumption to savings are factors contributing to a delayed recovery.Although the global insurance industry has not been impacted by the financial crisis as much as the banks, it still has its set of issues. The leading five issues on the global insurance watch list are: * Managing risk: The most significant concern for insurance companies is risk in all its forms. Increasingly, insurance companies are adopting an enterprise-wide view of managing risks—employing a framework to address them across the organization. * Promoting compliance: The cost of regulatory compliance and the attendant reputational risk of non-compliance are on the rise. Growing globally: The expansion into new markets is expected to help drive profits, as developed economies witness slower growth in the demand for insurance. * Lack of innovation around products and delivery: Theuse of technology and emphasis on innovation will helpprovide better service and delivery. Institutions can alsostrengthen their ties with customers and differentiatethemselves from competition. * Adapting to demographic shifts: The demographicchanges in North America, Europe, Japan and other areasis starting to shift assets from equities to annuities as wellas other fixed-income products.According to Swiss Re, among the key Asian markets, India is likely to have the fastest-growing life insurance market, with life premium poised to grow at a CAGR of 15% for the next decade, slightly faster than the 14% expect ed for China. The growing consumer class, rising insurance awareness and greater infrastructure spending have made India and China the two most promising markets in Asia. Europe and the Americas represent relatively mature insurance markets. Though India’s penetration appears higher, it is not excessive, given the high level of investments in insurance policies underwritten.Nonetheless, besides India, Taiwan is the other Asian market that shares similar characteristics. Taiwan has the highest insurance penetration in Asia, largely driven by the immense popularity of ULIPs. The progress of the Indian insurance industry over the last decade has been the most crucial period in the establishment of this industry; post the formation of IRDA in 2000. The initial four to five years witnessed the entry of many private players, each trying to acquire market share.The latter part of this phase witnessed a heightened focus on the expanding product range, developing innovative products a nd building a robust distribution channel. The last one to two years have been very critical as the industry is trying to sustain its growth in light of the new regulationsbeing formulated. The Indian insurance industry is at a threshold from where it can witness the next growth wave, if presented with a favorable policy framework and an enabling distribution environment. The industry is poised to witness the emergence of new leaders who would carve a niche for themselves by using nstruments such as alternative channels of distribution, cost management and product innovation, among others. At this cross section, the role of the regulator is very significant. IRDA is in the finalization stage of most of the regulations pertaining to the industry. The regulator has introduced certain regulations to help improve disclosures, profitability, capital, consumer protection, etc. Promoting health insurance * IRDA has allowed insurance companies to offer â€Å"Health plus Life Combi Product, † a policy that would provide life cover along with health insurance to subscribers.Under the guidelines issued by the IRDA, life and non-life insurance firms can also partner in offering the healthplus- life cover. The combi products may be promoted by all life insurance and non-life insurance companies, however, a tie up is permitted between one life insurer and one nonlife insurer only. Thus, a life insurer is permitted to enter an alliance with only one non-life insurer and vice-versa. * The sale of combi products can be made through direct marketing channels, brokers and composite individual and corporate agents, common to both insurers.However, these products are not allowed to be marketed through â€Å"bank referral† arrangements. The regulator further specified that the guidelines do not apply to micro insurance products, which are governed by IRDA (Micro Insurance) Regulations, 2005. * Under the †Combi Product,† the underwriting of the respective po rtion of the risks will be underwritten by respective insurance companies, i. e. , life insurance risk will be underwritten by the life insurance company and the health insurance portion of risk will be underwritten by the non-life insurance company. ImplicationsLife insurance has a much deeper penetration in India, as compared to the non-life insurance segment. This step is in sync with the government’s, regulator’s and the insurance company’s strategy to cover more people under the insurance umbrella. As insurers leverage on the marketing and operational network of their partner insurers, the proposed product innovation is expected to facilitate policy holders to select an integrated product of their choice under a single roof without shopping around the market for two different insurance coverage options from two different insurers.Therefore, insurers are expected to offer appropriate covers as an attractive proposition for the policyholders. India Foreign Di rect Investment Trends India FDI Inflows a The decade gone by would be considered as the golden year for foreign direct investment (FDI) in India. Between year 2000-11, India attracted cumulative FDI inflow of USD 237 Bn. 70% of this FDI constituted equity inflows, rest being re-invested earnings and other zcapital. Over the last decade, FDI in India grew at CAGR 23% The bull run in India FDI started in FY 2006-07 when it grew at 146% over the previous year.FDI peaked in year FY 2007-08 and only marginally declined in the following years of economic crisis. For the eight months of FY 2011-12 (Apr- Nov 2011), India has already garnered USD 33 Bn. of FDI matching the full year FDI of the previous year. Share of top five investing countries in India stood at 69%. Mauritius was the top country of origin for FDI flows into India primarily driven by the tax haven status enjoyed by Mauritius. Services sector (Financial & Non-financial) attracted the largest FDI equity flows amounting USD 3 1 Bn. (20. % share). Other high share sectors in top five were – Telecom (8%), Computer Software & Hardware (7%), Housing & Real Estate (7%) and Construction (7%). Over the years, Automatic route has become the most used entry route for FDI investments in India indicating the gradual liberalisation of FDI policy. In FY 2010-11, 64% of Equity FDI inflows in India came via â€Å"Automatic Route† almost trebling from 22% share in FY 2000-01. â€Å"Acquisition of shares† constituted 25% and â€Å"FIPB/SIA† constituted 11% of equity inflows in 2010-11.India’s FDI policy has progressively liberalised since nineties and only a few sectors, primarily in services sectornow has FDI cap on investment. India’s inward investment regime is now be considered most liberal and transparent amongst emerging economies. Financial Sector FDI Over the last decade, BFSI (Financial, Insurance & Banking services) was the most preferred destination for FDI in India. F DI in the BFSI sector accounted for over 12% of the total cumulative FDI inflows into India and over 59% of the FDI in Services sector.Between 2000-11, Services sector (BFSI and Non-Financial) attracted FDI of USD 31 Bn. With a 59% share, BFSI FDI share amounted to USD 18 Bn. The subsectors with BFSI attracted the following FDI equity inflows – Financial : USD 13 Bn. , Banking: USD 2. 9 Bn and Insurance:USD 2. 3 Bn. Cumulative Inflows Mauritius had the largest share of FDI investment at 43% amongst top countries investing in Indian Financial services sector. Singapore (14%), UK (11%), USA (8. 5%) and Cyprus (3%) were the other countries in the top five lists.Top 10 BFSI FDI Equity inflows in India over the last decade amounted USD 4. 2 Bn. Key US investors in Indian BFSI sector included Merill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Bank of New York Mellon, JP Morgan, Citibank Overseas, Franklin Templeton, New York Life, Metlife, AIG, Pramerica and PE/VC firms like Warburg, Blackstone, Carlyl e, KKR & Co. and Apollo. Development of Indian capital markets (especially corporate bond markets) and further policy liberalisation in commercial banking will be the key for future investments in Indian BFSI segment.FDI Inflows from United States United States of America has been one of the top FDI investors in India. Reported cumulative FDI Equity Inflows from USA into India between 2000 –2011 were $9. 8 Bn,placing it at rank 3rd after Mauritius & Singapore. If we account for the US FDI equity inflows into India routed through tax havens, the FDI number will be considerably higher. Keeping up with overall trend, the Services sector (Financial & Non-Financial) accounted for the highest share of cumulative FDI equity inflows from USA with share of 22% amounting USD 2. Bn. USA FDI equity inflows in services sector represented 7% of the total FDI equity inflows in Indian services sector and in Financial services sector represented 8. 5% of the total FDI equity inflows from all countries amounting USD 2. 6 Bn. Following were the top FDI inflows from USA in Indian financial services: #1 Citibank Overseas Investment Corp. into E-serve International: USD 112 Mn. #2 Bank of New York Mellon into Kotak Mahindra Bank: USD 102 Mn. #3 JP Morgan International Finance into JP Morgan Securities India Ltd. : USD 75 Mn.FDI in Insurance sector Indian insurance sector got liberalised in 2001. Since then the sector has grown at 20% annually and have seen entry of 41 private insurance companies (Life: 23, General: 18) with many of them choosing to enter with a foreign joint venture partner. Investment through the FDI can be a maximum of 26%. In 2011, India was ranked 9th in life insurance business and 19th in general insurance business globally. The insurance density stood at USD 64. 4 (USD 9. 9 in 2001) and insurance penetration was 5. 2% (2. 3% in 2001).India has 49 life and general insurance companies with total investment of USD 6 Bn. as of March 2011. There are 24 comp anies operating each in the life insurance and general insurance with an investment of USD 4. 7 Bn. and USD 1. 3 Bn. respectively. One company operates in re-insurance sector. FDI in Indian insurance sector stood at USD 1. 36 Bn of which life insurance comprised USD1. 1 Bn and general insurance comprised USD 0. 2 Bn of FDI. American companies have been investing in the Indian insurance sector since it opened up in 2001.As of March 2011, there are four American insurance players operating in India as joint venture partners namely – New York Life, Metlife, AIG and Pramerica Financial. In 2011, Berkshire Hathway announced its entry into India Life insurance segment and Libery Mutual Group also got necessary approvals from IRDA for entry into general insurance business with an Indian partner. Besides insurers, US based brokers like Marsh & McLennan and Aon corp have also entered Indian markets. The total investment by American insurance companies in India is USD 315 Mn contributi ng 26% equity capital of USD 1. Bn. Share capital of the entities they were joint venture partners of. American origin FDI constituted 23% of FDI. India’s insurance industry is expected to reach USD 350-400 Bn. in premium income by 2020 making it among the top 3 life insurance markets and amongst top 15 general insurance markets. It’s estimated the Indian insurance sector would attract USD 15-20 Bn. of investments in next couple of years. Liberalization of foreign investment in insurance sector thereby permitting up to 49% FDI will accelerate this flow f investments putting Indian insurance sector on a fast track to the top of the global insurance market. FDI in Financial Inclusion Indian Financial Inclusion sector is predominantly characterized by rural retail banking, Non-Banking Financial Corporations & Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs). For over a decade now, the Indianmicrofinance industry has been a posterchild of Indian Financial Inclusion. As of2010, microfinan ce institutions had a clientbase of 26 million borrowers and the totalloan outstanding was in excess of $3 Bn.The number of clients is expected toincrease to 64 million in 2012. Investments in NBFCs & MFIs not traded on the stock exchange fall under the purview of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). FIPB has set the following rules for FDI in start-up companies. From a slow start in 2006, equity investments in the Indian Microfinance sector skyrocketed in the 3 years from 2006 to 2009. The sector saw a total of 32 deals with a total invested capital of ~$230 mnbetween 2006 to 2009. Private equity investments constitute ~70% of the total investments in Indian Micro Finance sector. 0% is constituted by Microfinance focused funds and private investors. US based private equity firms, Sequoia capital, Silicon Valley Bank & Sandstone capital have invested ~$150 mn in the Indian Microfinance sector. Another area within Financial Inclusion which has attracted private equity investors is technology services for microfinance institutions. US based Private equity firms like Blackstone, Intel Capital has invested ~$50 mn in Financial Information Network & Operations (FINO), a technology services company in the Financial Inclusion sector.The large size of the unbanked population means that there is great potential for continued high growth. Although the MFI sector is currently tweaking its business model to new regulatory reality, the high growth potential holds a significant promise for the investors in years to come FDI in Capital Markets Indian bourses both securities & commodities are amongst the favorite hunting spots for foreign investors betting on India’s growth story. These businesses appeal to investors as theyhave long term horizons and signify bets onthe country’s growth.In 2004, 13% of thetotal PE investments made in the banking &financial services space were in stockexchanges. Since the beginning of 2007, 17 transactions (including consor tium deals)took place with a disclosed deal value ofmore than $1. 15 billion. Out of this, 8 dealswith disclosed value of more than $268million happened in 2010 only. In 2010, NSE had 12 foreign investors with a total foreign investment of 32% compared to BSE which had 8 foreign investors with share of 27% investments. In the same period, MCX had 22% foreign holding & NCDEX 15% foreign investments.Some of the key US investors active in Indian exchanges are NYSE group, Atlantic LLC, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Northwest Venture Partners, George Soros, Argonaut ventures. Fidelity, Intel Capital, Merril Lynch, and Bessemer Capital are some of the US investors. Most of the transactions involving these exchanges have been secondary in nature. The change in regulations (restricting the single investor holding to 5%) also added to the spurt in secondary deals. The lucrative exchange space continues to attract more players who are looking to increase their market shares.India outward FDI in USA Strong economic growth and progressive liberalization has induced Indian companies toexpand their presence into new markets and USA is the largest recipient of Indian outboundinvestments. During 2004-09, India invested USD 5. 5 Bn. in US across 127 Greenfield projects. 80% ofthis investment went into five sectors – Metals, Software & IT services, Leisure &Entertainment, industrial machinery, equipment & tools and financial services. The topthree states for Indian investments were Minnesota, Virginia and Texas. 10 Indiancompanies accounted for more than 70% of the US $5. Bn invested in Greenfield initiativesin US. In the same period, Indian companiesinvested USD 21 Bn. in mergers &acquisitions in United States. 83% of M&Ainvestments from India were in thefollowing sectors – Manufacturing, IT & ITenabled services, Biotech, Chemicals &Pharmaceuticals, Automotive and Telecom. As of FY2010, US accounted for 6. 5% ofIndia’s outward FDI flows making Indiathe second largest investor in USA. As far as Indian Financial services sector investments in US goes, only a few public and private sector banks have expanded in USA by providing niche services (e. g. remittances).Indian outbound deals in the US are predominantly majority stakes paid in cash and financed with debt. In future, the nature of collaboration is likely to evolve with Indian companies seeking more alliances and transactions involving minority stakes & joint ventures rather than focusing on majority stakes. US offer Indian companies many benefits for investment notably – abundant naturalresources, large consumer markets and access to innovation. Reciprocally, India’sinvestment in this world’s largest recipient of FDI brings new skills, strengthenmanufacturing and will create jobs in the US. Literature review Dunning and Narula, 1996) Export growth in India has been much faster than GDP growth over the past few decades. Several factors appear to ha ve contributed to this phenomenon including foreign direct investment (FDI). However, despite increasing inflowsof FDI especially in recent years there has not been any attempt to assess its contribution to India's exportperformance one of the channels through which FDI influences growth. The Government of India recognizes thesignificant role played by foreign direct investment in accelerating the economic growth of the country and thusstarted a swing of economic and financial reforms in 1991.India is now initiating the second generation reformsintended for a faster integration of the Indian economy with the world economy. As a consequence of theintroduction of various policies, India has been quickly changing from a restrictive regime to a liberal one. Now FDIis also encouraged in most of the economic activities under the automatic route. Studies about Western firms propose that market size and expected growth are the most essential determinants ofFDI into the area. Political and e conomic stability is also an important factor affecting FDI.Over the past 30 years,there have been various studies done on the impact of outbound and inbound activity of multinationals on thegrowth and fiscal restructuring of the economies that they operate in. These studiessuggest that this is dependent on three main variables; the type of FDI taken on, the composition of the localresources and capabilities of the country, and the economic and organizational policies followed by governments. Firms employ FDI in order to best utilize or manage more efficiently the existing competitive advantages. (Love and Lage-Hidalgo, 2000)Labor cost which is one of the main components of the cost function also influences FDI. Some studies find verylittle or negative relationship between wages and FDI, Some studies suggest that higher wages do not alwaysdiscourage FDI in some markets and therefore there is a positive relationship between wages and FDI. As higher labour costs leads to higher produc tivity which gives better quality goods. Latelystudies are aimed towards the impact of specific policy variables on FDI in the host country. Trade, tariff, taxes andexchange rate are included in these policy variables. Asied (2002).Emphasize on policy reforms in developingcountries that act as a determinant of FDI. They state the corporate tax rates and the sincerity to foreign investmentare important determinants of FDI. Horizontal FDI is linked with market seeking behavior and is induced by lowtrade costs. Therefore high tariff barriers motivate firms to take on horizontal FDI. Thus production abroad byforei