Research Topics: Bangladesh Case Studies

Domestic Violence on Married Male in Bangladesh

Domestic Violence in Bangladesh                 It is very ironic how women and children suffer so much danger where   they should be safest, inside their home. The people that should be protecting   them from any harm are those who inflict harm to them. The word ‘home’   became estranged to them because it is the place where terror and pain dwells.               Domestic violence, or the abuse that happens inside the home by an   intimate partner or other family members, continues to be a global epidemic   maiming women and children the capacity to themselves as a whole human   being. Violence does not confine with the physical battering, it also dwarfs the   psychological, sexual and economic aspects of one’s life. Unfortunately, many   cases had been left unreported because tolerance and forgiveness of the family   members always takes place.               Domestic abuse is a severe act of human rights violation. The victims’   lives are stolen by threat, fear and trauma. It is a challenge to all the countries   worldwide to end impunity for the perpetrators by legislating law that will enact   strong protection for the women and children and punish severely for those   abusers.               According to the United Nations Population Fund, Bangladesh ranks   fourth among nations worldwide in terms of most cases of violence against   women. 65 percent of Bangladeshi males think that it is justifiable to beat up their   wives while 38 percent have no clear idea what constitutes physical violence.   Another 40 percent supports on keeping the female gender socially dormant. It is   clear how the women are treated by their male counterparts and how they play role into the society. They are not just socially inactive, they are very well abused   as well.               Moreover, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) observes that   despite  the 1997 statement issued by the United Nations Convention on the   Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) that the   Bangladesh government is questionable on legislating effective laws protecting   women from violence, the current situation remains awful and the abuse   continues.               However, the status of autonomy of a woman is linked to risk of   experiencing domestic violence. In some rural areas that are culturally   conservative, a married woman who had been a member of a credit group may   likely to be beaten by her husband with the odds ratio of 1:3. Whereas in the less   conservative places, the risk of odds would be 1:6. Credit group membership   strengthen women’s solidarity and independence. This sense of empowerment   discourages husband to beat their wives, however, some men take this as an   insult to their egos.                   Multilevel analysis identifies that a husband was more likely to abuse his   wife if his father abuses his mother. Also, the risk of violence increases if the wife   is much younger and if the husband is educated beyond tenth grade. In rural   areas, income-earning woman is likely to be beaten while in urban areas,   husbands educated beyond the sixth grade were less likely to beat their wives.               On the other hand, the domestic violence against women does not only   limit itself in physical abuse. Despite the remarkable success of the government   in the health and family program in terms of immunization, contraceptive   endorsements and reducing mortality rate among children under five years old,   the life expectancy of female is much lower than the make and more than 14   percent of pregnancy deaths are associated with injuries regarding violence.   Moreover, 70 percent of pregnant women suffer from nutritional deficiency while   67 percent do not receive prenatal care due to gender discrimination.               Most women in Bangladesh do not experience their reproductive rights   like the concerns of fertility and sexuality. Sexual intercourse is usually with   coercion and violence. Early marriage often forces women to keep unwanted   pregnancy or to have unsafe abortion. Women’s health is in great jeopardy   because the basic right of health is not granted to them.                Domestic violence should be recognized as an impediment to the social,   cultural, political and economic growth of every country. It is not just a gender   discrimination issue, it is a crucial problem on how the people is culturally-   oriented on treating their counterparts. It should be taken for granted as if having   a blind eye or a deaf ear. Women play an important part of society. And   remember that women are not weaklings. In fact, they are very strong to survive   in the plague of domestic violence for so many decades.           References:   http://www.unhcr.org   http://centre.icddrb.org   http://www.hurights.or.jp   Domestic Violence Against Women and Girls, June 2000 Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Domestic Violence on Married Male in Bangladesh

Domestic Violence in Bangladesh It is very ironic how women and children suffer so much danger where they should be ...

Research Proposal on Project Management and Annual Development Program-Problems and Prospect: A case Study of Bangladesh

Project Management and Annual Development Program-Problems and Prospect: A case Study of Bangladesh Introduction A timely and regular project is important in order to achieve the admirable outcomes –economic growth and development of the country. Most of the organizations rely on their projects to support their own growth in business performance and investment. The developmental projects of the organization do not only reflect on the ability of the people to manage the changes and support the ongoing process. Background and Problem Statement The process of planning, organizing, controlling, and measuring enclosed in management are essential parts in order to facilitate the success of the project. Every organization has their own version of desirable projects in which all the activities are linked, carried out in an organized manner, with a clear start and end point. This is important in the project to achieve some specific results desired to satisfy the needs of the entire organization according to the current time. The continuous development of the organization with an aim to support the national economic growth is a good indication that the influence of globalization never ceases. However, is it true that the regular and timely project management in country, such as Bangladesh, is important to reduce the poverty and achieve the millennium development goals?   Research Aim and Objectives The main aim of the study is to identify the factors that lead to the economic growth and development of Bangladesh through the use of the project management among the organizations. In order to achieve this aim, the study prepared the three objectives. First is to identify the phases that involved in the project management of an organization. Second is to recognize the essential activities that should include in the project management. And third is to determine the tasks that can support the continuous accomplishment of the project.   Literature Review Good governance is not an abstract idea and this very same idea should be employed in all over the country to fight the poverty and promote the economic growth. If the results are opposite on what is anticipated then, Bangladesh is going to struggle to reach the MDGs or Millennium Development Goals. It is proposed that the involvement of the local government in monitoring the public services should be emphasized in order to improve quality and outcomes. Therefore, strengthening the business sector is also accountable as part of the sustainable solutions. The reason behind this is the link of the government and businesses in communities. The role they play in changing the lives of the people is vital which can definitely affect the total growth and development of Bangladesh.  The rapid reaction of the country in MDG can be mirrored through their ability to focus on the existing and pre-existing problems and preparing the early approaches to eliminate the negative impacts toward the country. It is also important that the accurate and timely management of project in the organizations are aid to represent the development phases of the country. MDGs can be only a dream if the organization failed to focus on the ways to secure the accountability in their projects and partnerships with the community and government (Wallich, 2006). After China and India, Bangladesh has the third largest number of poor and because of this sad truth, MDG progress is being monitored. The MDGs are the global common goals to be achieved by all the development partners and offer themselves as the nucleus around which development efforts can be elaborated at the country level. The organizations can reduce the signs of poverty through the proper investment and managing their projects while attempting to compete in the international market (GB & UN, 2005).  The unique process of the organization in utilizing the appropriate resource for the proposed projects is the most basic way to reduce the poverty and promote the development in the country (Pradhan, 2010). Methodology The suggested method in the study is the use of secondary information that is focused in the project management. The available resources that can be used in the study are the company or organizational profile that facilitates the project management and draw the success in development. The organizations that can be featured should be operating in Bangladesh; this is for the reason to discover the significant economic growth in the national level. In addition, the resource or materials coming from the World Bank or ADB and other economic organizations that magnify the economic growth in Bangladesh can be also referenced as part of gathering the information.      References: GB & UN, (2005) Millennium Development Goals Bangladesh Progress Report, Government of Bangladesh and the United Nations Country Team in Bangladesh, [Online] Available at: http://www.searo.who.int/LinkFiles/MDG_Reports_BangladeshMDG.pdf [Accessed 22 July 2010]. Pradhan, K.B., (2010) Project Management [Online] Available at: http://www.pitt.edu/~super7/16011-17001/16111.ppt [Accessed 22 July 2010]. Wallich, C., (2006) Towards a Strategy for Achieving MDG Outcomes in Bangladesh MDG Workshop [Online] Available at: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/BANGLADESHEXTN/Resources/ChristinesSpeechMDGworkshop.pdf [Accessed 22 July 2010]. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Research Proposal on Project Management and Annual Development Program-Problems and Prospect: A case Study of Bangladesh

Project Management and Annual Development Program-Problems and Prospect: A case Study of Bangladesh Introduction A timely and regular p...

Research Proposal on Domestic Violence Against Married Male in Bangladesh

Domestic Violence Against Married Male in Bangladesh   Introduction The family is the basic and the most influential social unit being the basic institution that shapes, nurtures, and quite possibly exasperates an individual more than any other social group. Families are complex systems. They can provide some of the most challenging situations providing the core avenues and essential channels to learn and acquire attitude and behaviour patterns of an individual in order to respond effectively and adapt to societal changes. Unfortunately, the family at present is being confronted with social issues and problems concerning violence. According to Shipway (2004) domestic violence is defined as any hurtful or unwanted behaviour perpetrated upon an individual by an intimate or prior intimate which normally is characterized by physical, psychological and emotional abuse. Domestic violence is based on the victim-offender relationship in the form of marriage, family ties, romantic relationships or a former marriage. It includes violence and abuse within same-sex relationships, violence by women against men as well as violence and abuse perpetrated by one family member against another (Shipway, 2004).  However, studies show that most cases of domestic violence which occurred have been on women as well as children (Humphreys et al., 2000). As such, this proposed  research will present analysis of the domestic violence, its impact to women and children and the possible recommendations for the society of Bangladesh to avoid or eliminate domestic violence.             Primarily, the goal of this paper is to evaluate and assess the extent of domestic violence of married male in Bangladesh   Research Objectives Still it is imperative and highly relevant for the society to be vigilant particularly when the most important institution in the community – which is the family – is threatened. Recognizing the social damage of increased cases and incidents of domestic violence should be realized as detrimental not just to the victims of the household abuse but also the overall well being of the entire community.  In this regard, the following are the objectives of the proposed research a.    To tackle key issues regarding domestic violence against married male in Bangladesh b.    To make the community be aware of the impact and consequences of domestic violence among children and the society. c.    To determine ways on how the problem of domestic violence can be changed.   It has been argued that despite being weakened and embattled, the family will survive as a fundamental social institution having been the cradle of the modern social order for quite a long time. However it is imperative to distinguish the impact of violence among women and children in order to help the victims cope with the short-term and long-term consequences of the suffering they have experienced.   Research Methodology The study intends to investigate if domestic violence against married male in Bangladesh.  For this study, primary research and secondary research will be used. Primary research will be conducted using the data that comes from the mother. The researcher will also conduct focus interview to the doctors and other medical experts in this field. The data will be analyzed and compiled for the correlation of the hypothesis.. For this study, primary research and secondary research will be utilized. Primary research is conducted using questionnaire surveys that will be sent to the mothers and their clinicians. Here, the questionnaires will be used to collect quantitative data and the interviews will be used to provide qualitative insights into the data collected. As stated above, this research will partially base its findings through quantitative research methods because this permits a flexible and iterative approach. During data gathering the choice and design of methods are constantly modified, based on ongoing analysis. This study will also employ qualitative research method because it will try to find and build theories that will explain the relationship of one variable with another variable through qualitative elements in research. Through this method, qualitative elements that do not have standard measures such as behavior, attitudes, opinions, and beliefs about bullying will be analyzed.       Reference Shipway, L 2004, Domestic Violence: A Handbook for Health Professionals, New Humphreys, C & Thiara, R 2002, Routes to Safety: Protection issues facing abused women and children and the role of outreach services, Bristol: Women’s Aid Federation of England.   Shipway, L 2004, Domestic Violence: A Handbook for Health Professionals, New York: Routledge.   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Research Proposal on Domestic Violence Against Married Male in Bangladesh

Domestic Violence Against Married Male in Bangladesh Introduction The family is the basic and the most influential social unit being t...

Reduce the Use of Plastic Bags : a Research Proposal paper

Reduce the Use of Plastic Bags Introduction The rapid change in climate is very obvious nowadays. The experts told that the climate changes are the effects of the abusive methods of the people in the environment. In order to provide the essential strategies regarding the country growth, the industrialism affected the environment for all over the world. Apparently, various environmental awareness campaigns already help by various organizations to, at least, minimize the abuse of mankind in the environment. Because of the aim of the organizations, the most common campaign they use is educating the people regarding the negative effects of the plastics and emphasizing the methods of reuse, reduce, and recycle.    Background and Problem Statement In every country, it is identified that there is less than 1% of commercial bags are recycled. This is because, it cost more to recycle a bag than to produce a new one (USEP, 2003). The failure of campaigns of the environmentalists regarding the reduction of the plastic production and use is not because of the slack of their campaign or its insignificant impact but on the compliance of the organizations in producing the plastics. Obviously, the plastics can affect the environment particularly the land and water. In this case, the usage of plastics lies on the hands of the consumers. How can an environmental group or organization persuade the consumer to reduce the use of plastics, particularly in shopping?   Research Aim and Objectives The main aim of the study is to investigate the appropriate solution to lessen the use of plastics. In order to achieve this aim, there are three objectives that should be satisfied. First is to recognize the various solutions or methods used by the marketers to lessen the production and consumption of plastics. Second is to give ideas regarding the disadvantages of using the plastics. And third is to identify the factors that might contribute on the hesitation of the people in reducing their use of plastic bags. Literature Review The Greenpeace organization already placed their position in the fight against the plastic bags. Definitely, the plastics can pollute both land and water. The animals on both land and water suffer in the plastic pollution because they mistakenly took the plastics as food. Plastics are another contributing factor that increase the death toll of the animals because it enters in their body and destroy the food chain process. For the environmental organizations, the aim for the “zero plastic campaign” is impossible if the people do not support their initiatives. Because of the plastic pollution problem, poverty can be also mirrored. The large contributor of plastic pollution is the industries and their improper waste management approach. The industries litter the plastics on the land and sea without knowing that they can affect both wildlife and humans. The works of the organizations cannot be effective if the people has no concern and address the strategies they impose. The simple usage of plastic bags in shopping can create a significant impact on the environment and affect the entire ecosystem (Greenpeace, 2008).   The plastics can also cause clogs into the public drainage if washed by the strong rain and cause floods in the cities. Singapore is one of the cleanest countries that successfully implemented the zero waste products. The solution they provided is through imposing the penalty or fine for the individuals who were caught improperly disposing their garbage. However, the organizations do not look for the strict compliance but in the action of the consumers in using the recyclable bags. That can replace the shopping plastic bags. It is possible for the other country to follow the actions of countries like the Ireland, Bangladesh, South Africa, Thailand, and Taiwan. Although, the most developed country like the United States can apply the environmental actions of the other countries. The other proposed method that can be applied is the use of plastic bags but with the properties that can be recycle (Mieszkowski, 2007). Methodology The suggested method in the study is the use of secondary information regarding the plastic usage. The materials that can be use are the organizational reports, particularly on their CSR (corporate social responsibility) on the environment and their compliance with the environmental agreement with the governments. The other resources that can be use are the reports coming from the Department of Environment, various organizations such as the Greenpeace Organizations and the like. Through the examination of the reports coming from these organizations, the study can analyze the appropriate methods and ways in increasing the campaigns towards the reduction of plastic bags.   References: Greenpeace, (2008) Greenpeace Statement on Plastic Bags [Online] Available at: http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/news-and-events/media/releases/general/greenpeace-statement-on-plastic [Accessed 06 Aug 2010]. Mieszkowski, K., (2007) Plastic Bags are Killing Us [Online] Available at: http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/08/10/plastic_bags/ [Accessed 06 Aug 2010]. USEP, (2003) National Geographic News, United States Environmental Protection Agency [Online] Available at: http://lee.ifas.ufl.edu/FYN/FYNPubs/TheDangersofPlasticBags.pdf [Accessed 06 Aug 2010]   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Reduce the Use of Plastic Bags : a Research Proposal paper

Reduce the Use of Plastic Bags Introduction The rapid change in climate is very obvious nowadays. The experts told that the climate cha...

Research Proposal on Development of Public Administration in the Context of Bangladesh

Development of Public Administration in the Context of Bangladesh Introduction Managing the changes is the overall implementation strategy that concerns the support and coordinates all the initiative in the public administration of the country. The reform and development of Bangladesh proposes to actively involve all the major stakeholders. The action and initiatives of the country in the reform also includes the technical expertise available in the country. In all government ministries and departments, the change in management can support the change in agencies that results in new agents, networks, leaders, and gradually the expansion of the mind-set towards the total change in civil service.  Background and Problem Statement From the past experiences in public administration and reforms in Bangladesh, it is recognize and shown a little result and impact in terms of developments. The developments implemented in the country encompass the country’s commitment over the poverty reduction and its agreement with the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). With this, the government shifts the spending towards the social sectors and creates better governance. In addition, with an aim to increase the professionalism in civil service, there is a given attention on the Career Development for the public administrators (WBO, 2005; Jahan, 2006). However, how effective does the development of public administration in Bangladesh and is there any room to increase it positive influence towards the total development?   Significance of the Study The significance of the study is to resolve the issues regarding the common perception of the people on their civil servants. People often think that the public servant or the bureaucrats are in the position but have the inability to take actions. Commonly, this issue arrives from their experience in engagement with the public servants and described that the officials are deaf or unwilling to listen regarding the needs of the people. In Bangladesh, two problems arise- the defective recruitment and the politicization of the civil service, which creates a negative impact in the public administration. Therefore, the pressures are placed to manage the changes and aim for development. Research Aim and Objectives The main aim of the study is to investigate the developments created in Bangladesh from the previous years and generate the analysis on how much growth does the developments impacted in the public administration of the country. In order to provide the adequate information, there are three objectives that should be considered. First is to recognize the policies implemented and measure its importance. Second is to identify the problems in the public administration before and after the recent developments. And third is to provide the additional features or suggestions on how to strengthen the policies for the common good of the country.     Literature Review The field of public administration evolved in recent decades because of the external and internal pressures it received. The government is forced to redefine the roles of the state and provide the appropriate methods to emphasize the capacities of the public administrators. This kind of changes is assumed to respond on the contemporary economic pressures and political practice within each and every sector (Alam, 2006). But despite the significant efforts in public administration, the reforms and some successful modernization of projects, still Bangladesh is caught in the middle of traditional concept of public administration and civil service. There are initiatives meant to improve the human resources management and development for the internal control of the public administration but the process has a little response regarding the organizational performance of each people. Overall, this is very crucial in aiming for the progress of the organizations and civil services. However, the government is expected to prepare the solution to effectively implement the necessary reforms in the civil services and one of those agenda is to create a governing body that will control and monitor the changes (Kim, et al, 2007). The development in public administration should include the three models of traditional public administration, public management, and developments on the new public management and responsive governance.   Methodology The suggested method of the study is the use of secondary information coming from the Public Administration Reform Commission (PARC), government agencies, and the national report coming from the various organizations like the Work Bank. The method will measure the performances of the agencies in terms of the standards and their answer towards the economic and socio-political infrastructure, general services, technical services, and educational services. The innovations are also part of the review in which can generate a significant outcome for the success of the development of public administration. References: Alam, M., (2006) Role and Effectiveness of Bangladesh Civil Service in Achieving Millennium Development Goals, UNDP Bangladesh [Online] Available at: http://www.undp.org.bd/projects/prodocs/DCSC/MDGs%20and%20Bangladesh%20Civil%20Service.pdf [Accessed 11 August 2010] Jahan, F., (2006) Public Administration in Bangladesh, The State of Governance in Bangladesh [Online] Available at: http://dspace.bracu.ac.bd/bitstream/10361/402/1/CGS%20working%20paper%201.pdf [Accessed 11 August 2010] Kim, P., Johnston, J., Monem, M., Stoop, P., & Thomas, T.., (2007) End of Assignment Report by the Formulation Mission on Civil Service Reform Program, United Nations Development Programme Bangladesh [Online] Available at: http://www.undp.org.bd/projects/prodocs/DCSC/Civil%20Service%20Reform%20Program_2007.pdf [Accessed 11 August 2010]. WBO, (2005) Bangladesh PRSP Forum Economic Update: Recent Developments and Future Perspectives, The World Bank Office [Online] Available at: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTBANGLADESH/Resources/EconomicUpdate-Forum-102705.pdf [Accessed 11 August 2010].   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Research Proposal on Development of Public Administration in the Context of Bangladesh

Development of Public Administration in the Context of Bangladesh Introduction Managing the changes is the overall implementation strate...

Global Business Environment in Bangladesh

GLOBAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT IN BANGLADESH         Bangladesh is a small country in Asia having a parliamentary democratic form of government. Their country has experience famine, food scarcity and political turmoil during 1970’s war somehow they have recovered during the recovery of democracy during the early 1990’s in a better economic standing. Bangladesh still faced various difficulties including political problems of corruption and unemployment that leads to poverty, overpopulation and various economic and environmental distresses that makes them on the level of less competitiveness in International Market.       Their Gross Domestic Products has not shown an upward movement up to the present condition. Recently this month of September 2011 the Global Report for Competitiveness (GRC) provided by World Economic Forum (WEF) this reports shows a slow growth performance especially in infrastructure which is an indication of weaknesses that among the nations they have gotten the 107th  to 108th position compare to 106th last year. Infrastructure is one of the most important indicator of competitiveness has fallen down however in the area of education, labor market and financial efficiency has a good standing.       The government reports shows that it is the transportation and shortage in gas and power problem in land and seas that has been the problem in reaching areas, this has been the results of slow growth in business from other places still could not move from one place to another so they need to pay too much for transportation, gas and labor cost that causes additional prices to their goods and services to raise up their price until it reaches the final market. The government still shows a strong positive reaction that they can survive but the people has been asking about the actions not just only survival to ease the burden and helplessness in transportation. The problem in transportation increases due to heavy rains and floods, the government continue to plan the construction of the largest sea port in South Asia and with the budget of $ 7.5 billion USD it will also include the largest airport in South Asia with an area wide large capacity but this plan not been finalized and still under study.         In the area of Information Technology they have raised position significantly from 130 last 2010 to 118 these 2011. Students and businesses have enjoyed this area and they step up in computer education and better services in their government sectors. If this continues the government can reach their envisioned campaign of 2020 they call it “Digital Bangladesh” for better ICT services and governance in information and communication sustainability to provide their people a competitive benchmark to generate a world class IT’s in their country.       Corruption has somehow decrease to mark the position of 139th out of 180 countries that shows a strong position compare to 147th in 2010 reported by Transparency International (TI). During the start of 2001 to 2005 they have shown a very corrupt standing that they always belong to the top 10 status. The government has shown continuous reforms in their parliamentary government, they aim to continuously fight corruption as a sustainable solution for economic growth. The anti corruption practices and organizations will dwell into fighting and execute the opportunist who will be found guilty in practicing illegal operations in any forms within the government sectors. If the political stability will continue the other problem in their economy will follow to uphold a greater chance of recovery. (Sheikh Hasina Wajed )       In their Business Sectors shows a stable area in agricultural, industrial and domestic production of fiscal year in 2010 a good 5.9 Gross Domestic Products compare to 5.5 last few years, they are expected to grow even more in the coming year although they have predicted a steep competition from other Asian nations especially in agricultural products will be one of its major components of growth determinants in 2011. This should be good news to the most of their farmers that attracts foreign investors to their export products and the clothing industry will also be included. If they continue to suffer from gas and power shortage their production in textile which comprises almost 3 million workers of mostly women will also suffer. Other industrial products will be highly affected especially in the demand of their export industry so they expect the government to release a better budget in gas and power generation for the next fiscal years.       Bangladesh paved its way in a dramatic increase in foreign investments, a number of International Business and Organizations have been establishing their offices and factory in the last few years in Bangladesh these includes Dragon groups, Chevron, Akij Groups, KDS group of company among others. The remittances from their domestic and professional workers abroad shows a good sign to stimulate growth in Bangladesh, their exchange rate is expected to have a stable to slow growth in the next few years, their (taka/USD) should maintain its position from the current year as expected. Their sector in tourism is slowly gaining attention in International scene contributing additional dollar earning opportunity and employment generation. Finally they have decreased their based ratings in foreign grants and dependency of loan in 2010. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Global Business Environment in Bangladesh

GLOBAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT IN BANGLADESH Bangladesh is a small country in Asia having a parliamentary democratic form of gover...

THE NATURE OF MICROFINANCE PRODUCTS AND THEIR IMPACT ON CUSTOMER LOYALTY IN MICROFINANCE

THE NATURE OF MICROFINANCE PRODUCTS AND THEIR IMPACT ON CUSTOMER LOYALTY IN MICROFINANCE Designing optimal incentives for credit agents has become a major concern for microfinance institutions (MFIs). The existing literature on microfinance has focused almost exclusively on incentive issues between borrowers and lenders. Yet, as credit agents play a critical role in ensuring the success of the MFIs they are working for, they must also be provided with adequate incentives. Without those, they may exert insufficient effort to learn about potential borrowers’ characteristics, they may under-report repayments, and they may mis-represent the information they have obtained on potential borrowers. The issue is particularly acute in pro-poor MFIs. Many pro-poor MFIs derive from non-governmental organizations and have non-profit status. Their objective is to give access to credit to very poor individuals with viable projects. There has, however, been a widely noted ‘mission drift’ among these MFIs as they increasingly tend to work with clients that are less poor, a drift that has accelerated with rising competition from for-profit MFIs (Weiss and Montgomery, 2005). This has led donors supporting these institutions in search for mechanisms that can induce MFIs to resist mission drift. This paper explores how to design credit agent incentives to achieve this result. If less-poor borrowers reimburse more on average than very poor borrowers, a pro-poor MFI must strike a balance between financial viability and the selection of very poor borrowers. It wants to lend to an optimal mix of very poor and less-poor borrowers selected among individuals with high ability and most likely to repay. The higher expected repayment rate with less-poor borrowers is used to cross-subsidize loans to very poor individuals, while meeting the zero profit constraint. But incentives for credit agents to select high-ability individuals then tend to conflict with incentives to select very poor individuals, who repay less. For these MFIs, repayment is an incomplete measure of an agent’s performance. To induce search for information on simultaneously poverty levels and ability, one would need to use incentive schemes that are non-monotonous in repayment. But such schemes would give the agent incentives to hide, and possibly withhold, repayment. Observing another variable correlated with wealth is thus necessary. This requires costly audits. To meet their objectives, pro-poor MFIs thus have to bear the additional cost of an audit generating signals on the true type of borrowers; by contrast to for-profit MFIs that bear no cost in providing incentives to their credit agents. Audits are, however, not always feasible. In contexts where the cost of finding information on wealth is high, a pro-poor MFI will choose to offer incentives based only on repayment performance, as would a for-profit MFI. An important assumption in our analysis is that wealth and repayment are positively correlated. If less poor borrowers were not more profitable to the lender than the very poor, there fundamentally would be no tension between the outreach objective of the MFI and the viability constraint. There would be no possibility for cross subsidization, and lending to the poor would have to be viable. This would lead to the particular case in which a pro-poor MFI would always lend only to very poor borrowers, and only to very poor borrowers of high ability if acquiring information on ability is not too costly.1 Yet a positive correlation is more plausible2, at least in areas where mission drift is a concern. A positive correlation arises when less poor borrowers have access to better education, better quality inputs and land, and better social capital that facilitate success in their activity. Empirically, Sharma and Zeller (1997) in Bangladesh, SEF (2003) in South Africa, and Zeller (1998) in Madagascar all find that repayment performance does increase with wealth — the very poor tend to invest in low-return activities and in poorly developed markets where environmental and economic shocks are frequent, while they have low ability to bear risk (Hulme, 2000). This positive correlation, and the conflict it creates between outreach and financial viability, is confirmed by a concern among practitioners that using repayment performance incentives for agents reinforces their drift towards less poor clients. Based on a global survey of microfinance institutions, McKim and Hugart (2005) report that 70% of the MFIs that implemented an incentive scheme acknowledged that it reduced focus on the target population. Another assumption made is that the agent is risk neutral with unlimited liability. This (admittedly special) case is particularly useful as it offers a clear benchmark: a for-profit MFI would bear no incentive cost due to delegation in this setting. Any cost borne by a pro-poor MFI stems exclusively from the interaction of the particular objective of a non-profit organization with internal incentives. If the agent was protected by limited liability or was risk averse, additional incentive costs would obviously arise but our main insights would hold.   References J. Weiss and H. Montgomery, Great expectations: microfinance and poverty reduction in Asia and Latin America, Oxford Development Studies 33 (3) (2005), pp. 391–416. M. Sharma and M. Zeller, Repayment performance in group based credit programs in Bangladesh: an empirical analysis, World Development 25 (10) (1997), pp. 1731–1742. SEF, Small Enterprise Fund, 2004 SEF, Small Enterprise Fund, Overview, 2003 (2004) www.sef.co.za/sef%20overview/more_about_sef.htm. M. Zeller, Determinants of repayment performance in credit groups: the role of program design, intra-group risk pooling, and social cohesion, Economic Development and Cultural Change 46 (3) (1998), pp. 599–620. D. Hulme, Is microdebt good for poor people? A note on the dark side of MicroFinance, Small Enterprise Development 11 (1) (2000), pp. 26–28. A. McKim and M. Hugart, Staff incentive schemes in practice: findings from a global survey of microfinance institutions, MicroFinance Network (2005) http://www.mfnetwork.org/working_groups/staff_incentives.html. MicroLINKS, 2008 MicroLINKS. 2008. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

THE NATURE OF MICROFINANCE PRODUCTS AND THEIR IMPACT ON CUSTOMER LOYALTY IN MICROFINANCE

THE NATURE OF MICROFINANCE PRODUCTS AND THEIR IMPACT ON CUSTOMER LOYALTY IN MICROFINANCE Designing optimal incentives for credit agents...

The Role of Financial Management

The Role of Financial Management Introduction It is natural in every organization to protect all their finances and other resources. Part of the internal work of the organizational leaders is to formulate the appropriate strategy or technique that is fit for their managerial skills and knowledge. Due to different constraints came from the economic and financial crises, certain protocol or standard is needed to ensure that all their efforts will not be wasted. The call for a management of the financial resources is indeed became part of the organization’s traditional setting for the internal management. Financial Management The financial industry’s business and regulatory environment is dramatically changing, leading to the creation of new challenges and risks (NERA, 2009). This is an observation based on business analysts which pertains to the connection of changes and the formulation of the challenges and risks. Because of the growing interest of various industries on globalization, the revolution for changes appears. Alongside is the growth of the challenges that should be addressed by the organization. The involvement of the financial industry considers the idea regarding its management. Organizations should determine the capacity of their financial status to support the ongoing operation. Various organizations are attempting to enhance their financial stability through the variation of the measurement and managing the risks. The business leaders seeks the best practices wherein they can implement in the entire system is the major problem that they can encounter. Seconded to this fact is the challenge to carry all the changes that may appear within or outside the organization. For sure, those challenges can create an impact in the performance of the organization as well as their financial strengths. There is only one thing that the business leaders should understand, every industry is different to the other and the application of the strategies depends on the nature of their industry. However, the organizations tapped the idea of market risk, credit risk, liquidity risk, and operational risk assessments. The exposure of an organization in the changes drives to the processes in effective risk management. As an ongoing procedure, the organizations are advised by the shareholders or the business analyst to take precautions before spending on a venture wherein there is no clear future. In this case, the review on the financial status and current reports should be implemented to address the capability of the organization in continuing the foreseen projects. Risk assessment is applied in the organizations to avoid the most common drastic situation which is the bankruptcy. The help of an investment is a strong alternative strategy. But the organization should also look on their capacity to return the capital if it was came from the financial sources. And in this is the crucial world of credit risk which another type of assessment of various risk in financial management.    For Analysis Through examining the organization’s financial records, the company’s net profit for the year was divided by the net revenues, in which is often expressed in percentage. This indicates on how effective a company at cost control. The higher the net profit margin is the more effective the company in converting the revenue into an actual profit. The net profit margin is a good way of comparing the companies which are in the same industry because they are subject to similar business conditions. It is also used in comparing companies of different industries to tell which industry is more profitable. The Return on Equity indicates the rate of return in the stockholder’s equity. The increasing return on assets and equity is an advantage of the company to allocate more of their investments in any other proposed projects. Meanwhile, the debt-equity ratio measure’s the company’s financial leverage. If a company handled higher debt-equity ratio, the assumptions will be riskier, especially in times of rising interest rates. It is because due to the additional interest for the long-term debt. In contrast, the company’s good performance in the industry is good news to the company. This turnover in accounts payable only means that a company is paying off their suppliers in an average projected in the industry. The gross profit margin of the company has a poor indication. A gross profit margin indicates that every dollar generated in sales will help the company cover the operating costs and profit. And the ratio of the company in inventory only indicates that the company has a more chance to sell their products. Conclusion In the view of an investor: Predicting the future is what financial statement analysis is all about, but in the view of the management: Financial statement analysis is useful both as a way to anticipate future conditions and, more important, as a starting point of planning actions that will influence the future course of events. References: Brigham, E., & Gapenski, L., (1997) Financial Management Theory and Practice, Dryden Press 8th Ed. Pp. 35 – 57. Focus Group, (2007) Credit Risk Management Industry Best Practices [Online] Available at: http://www.bangladesh-bank.org/mediaroom/corerisks/creditrisks.pdf [Accessed 21 February 2011]. NERA, (2009) Financial Risk Management, National Economic Research Associates, Inc. [Online] Available at: http://www.nera.com/image/BRO_Financial_Risk_Management_0909.pdf [Accessed 21 February 2011]. Pratt, T., (2007) S&P Completes Initial “PIM” Risk Management Review For Selected U.S. Energy Firms. Standard & Poor’s Ratings Direct. [Online] Available at: http://www2.standardandpoors.com/spf/pdf/events/InitailPIM.pdf [Accessed 21 February 2011]. Rao, A., & Marie, A., (2007) Current Practices of Enterprise Risk Management in Dubai, Management Accounting Quarterly, 8(3).   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

The Role of Financial Management

The Role of Financial Management Introduction It is natural in every organization to protect all their finances and other resources. Par...