The Turning Point in Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare :: Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

In this essay, I will be explaining how act 3 Scene 1 is a turning point. ?Romeo and Juliet? is a tragic love fabrication based on two passionate lovers, Romeo and Juliet. However, their families dislike each other, forcing the young couple to only painful end. William Shakespeare made this story full of betrayal, love, jealousy, anger and death. In act 3 Scene 1, it shows the turning point of the whole account as one of Romeo?s best friend, Mercutio, is stabbed by Tybalt and died. Therefore, guilty Romeo decided to seek revenge and killed Tybalt. The author then introduces the prince of Verona who once said that if anyone ever disturbs the peace again, they will be executed. This shows that Romeo must suffer the consequences by being banished from Verona. In this essay, I will be discussing closely seven turning points of the play. This story is primary(prenominal)ly a comedy because there are the trey playful friends who are Benvolio, Romeo, and Mercutio joking around and fli rt the nurse mercilessly in Act 2 Scene 4. This phrase proves that the following statement is true(p) tis no less, I tell ye, for the bawdy hand of the dial is now upon the prick of the moon?. After that, the nurse scolded the three young men for teasing her and called them a spoil brat, which makes the plot a little more humorous. After the turning point, the play becomes a tragedy. This is because Tybalt wants to kill Romeo but ends up with Romeo killing Tybalt tone for revenge and justice for Mercutio. Now that he committed a serious crime, he is a wanted person. He is a murderer and criminal in Verona, he is banished and he is not allowed to go back to Verona or else he will be executed. The main theme of this plot is love, like the relationship surrounded by Mercutio and Benvolio. They are both looking after each other, to prevent from something bad from happening. In the beginning of Act three scene 1, Benvolio wants Mercutio to withdraw because the Capulets are about and looking for trouble. This shows that Benvolio doesn?t want Mercutio to get in trouble since he is a troublemaker. After that, the main theme changes into death as two of the main characters died. As Romeo went to the Capulet?s party, which is an insult to Tybalt, there would be more hatred and misunderstanding between both of the family.

Essay example --

MotivationMotivation is defined as the process that guides, initiates, and maintains goal orientated behavior and public opinion (Cherry, 2013). Motivation is what drives exclusives to do what they do, whether it is something as simple as getting a drink because he or she are thirsty or something as bounteous as getting up every day and gong to work for a paycheck. Identify at least two sources of motivationMotivation cannister come from internal sources (intrinsic), which have psychological and biological variables or from external (extrinsic) sources like incentives and goals (Deckers, 2010). Intrinsic motivation develops in individuals to give them their own personalities and preferences towards specific behaviors, examples acknowledge participating in certain activities or sports because you find them enjoyable or doing a Sudoku puzzle because it is a challenge you find fun or interesting. In these examples, an individuals behavior is motivated by something internal that mak es them want to participate in the activity just to do it (Cherry, 2013). Extrinsic motivation is when an individual performs...

Type 1 diabetes :: essays research papers

Squats Versus LungeThe purpose of my project grade sheet is to get a better understanding of the movement I chose which was squats versus lunges. The ashes of my research paper will give the reader a better understanding of the following for my specific movement. Anatomy The origin and insertions that are mixed accept the Glutes- gluteus medius, gluteus maximus, Hamstrings- lliotibial band, biceps femoris, semitendinosus, adductor magnus, gracilis, semimembranosus. Calves- Gastrocnemius, soleus, peroneus brevis, flexor hallucis longus. Thighs- Pectineus, sartorius, adductor longus, tensor fasciae latae, gracilis, quadriceps, rectus femoris, vastus intermedius, vastus lateralis, and vastus medialis. These muscles originate just beneath the gluteus maximus on the pelvic bone and attach on the tibia. The elementary functions are knee flexions which involve bringing the heel towards the gluteus maximus and hip extensions moving the leg to the rear end. Squats and lunges are a simple but very(prenominal) effective exercise for the lower bodies specifically the legs. It helps with sleep and coordination which comes very useful for any sporting events as well as muscle development. The hamstrings, gluteus, and quadriceps muscles freighter be worked by using dumbbells, barbells or just by simply using your own body weight, which we refer to as calisthenics. The most important plosive to remember about calisthenics is that if your muscles do not receive more than stress than what they are used to, you are wasting your time. The advantages of using dumbbells and barbells are more effective in developing the smaller synergistic (helping) muscles and stabilizer muscles. Synergism is the combined effects of two or more parts of forces or agents which is greater than the sum of individual effects. The bone articulations that are involved include the pelvic bone, tibia bone and femur. The soft tissue ligaments (connects bone to bone) and tendons (connects muscle to b one) that are involved are the anterior and posterior cruciates, patella tendon connects quadriceps muscles to patella, and it also involves the shins. Kinetics Sir Isaac Newton a scientist during the 1600s, made observations about the world surrounding him. The observations he came up with and out of those he developed the three laws of motion. Newtons laws of motion explain rest, constant motion, and acceleration motion He described how balance and unbalanced forces act to cause the states of motions. In other words they are fundamental to understanding human movement. The laws that account for my movements are the law of inertia, which is the first law, it states a body in motion tends to remain in motion at the same speed in a straight line unless acted on by a force a body at rest tends to remain at rest unless acted on by a force.

Nat Turners Confessions and Frederick Douglass The Heroic Slave Essay

Nat Turners Confessions and Frederick Douglass The Heroic Slave The names of Nat Turner and Frederick Douglass are remembered because of the fame that they earned as black Americans during pre-Civil contend slave period. However, their names color the pages of history books for widely different reasons Nat Turner led one of the greatest slave revolts in almost 150 days of slavery, while Frederick Douglass obtained his freedom and education, going on to become a renowned speaker, author, and public leader. Nat Turners insurrection in Southampton, Virginia in 1831 was a massacre of over 60 slaveholders and subsequently many slaves as Turner and his alliance of slaves joined together in protest of their enslavement. The story of the revolt, complete with its motives and facts, is recorded in a publish document called Nat Turners Confessions, written by a washcloth lawyer upon interviewing Turner in prison after the insurrection. It is the most accurate and detailed document open on the revolt. Frederick Douglass, on the other hand, after gaining his freedom, published literary works that include his own narrative of his life and some rook stories. One of his short stories is a fictional account of a slave revolt called The Heroic Slave. Although it is based on a real life slave revolt, Douglass work is broadly literary creativity glorifying a strong black leader. By examining the non-fiction document on Turners revolt and the fiction story written by Douglass, along with different aspects of the authors backgrounds, conditions under slavery, and education, this page compares and contrasts the fiction versus non-fiction characteristics of slave revolts. We only know about the childhoods of Douglass and Turner through a... ... a white man, I would have followed willingly and lief in any honorable enterprise. Our difference of color was the only ground for difference of action. (The Heroic Slave-77) This reveals to the reader the importance to the white m ans, the idea of being white and of racial purity. Although this man reveals that Madison was a smart and admirable man, he can not respect him because he is black. ReferencesDouglass, Frederick. The Heroic Slave. In Violence In the Black Imagination. Ed, Ronald T. Takaki. New York Oxford University Press, 1993. Greenberg, Kenneth S., ed.The Confessions Of Nat Turner. New York St. Martins Press, 1996. Sale, Maggie. To Make The Past Useful Frederick Douglass Politics of Solidarity. Arizona Quarterly 52.3 (Autumn 1995)25-60. Online. Internet. 12 Nov 1998. Available http//itech.fgcu.edu/faculty/wohlpart/alra/douglass.htm.

Housmans To An Athlete Dying Young :: Poem Housman Athlete Dying Essays

Housmans To An Athlete Dying YoungA. E. Housmans To an Athlete Dying Young, also known as Lyric XIX in AShropshire Lad, holds as its main theme the premature death of a young athleteas told from the point of view of a friend percentage as pall beargonr. The poemreveals the concept that those dying at the peak of their glory or youth arereally quite well-off. The first fewer readings of To an Athlete Dying Youngprovides the reader with an understanding of Housmans view of death.Additional readings reveal Housmans attempt to convey the classical idea thatyouth, beauty, and glory can be preserved only in death.A line-by-line analysis helps to determine the purpose of the poem. Thefirst stanza of the poem tells of the athletes triumph and his glory filledparade through the townsfolk in which the crowd loves and cheers for him. As BobbyJoe Leggett defines at this point, the athlete is carried of the shoulders ofhis friends after a winning backwash (54). In Housmans wordsThe time you won your town the raceWe chaired you through the market placeMan and boy stood cheering by,And home we brought you shoulder-high. (Housman 967).Stanza devil describes a much more somber procession. The athlete is being carriedto his grave. In Leggetts opinion, The parallels between this procession andthe former triumph are carefully drawn (54). The reader should see thatHousman makes another reference to shoulders as an allusion to connect thefirst two stanzasToday, the road all runners come,Shoulder high we bring you home,And set you at the threshold down,Townsman of a stiller town. (967)In stanza three Housman describes the laurel growing earlier yet dying quickerthan a rose. (967) This parallels the smart lad who chose to slip betimesaway at the height of his fame (Explicator 188). Leggetts implication ofthis parallel is that death, too is a victory (54). He should considerhimself lucky that he died in his prime and will not out live his fame. HousmansaysEyes the shady night ha s shutCannot see the record cut,And silence sounds no worse than cheersAfter earth has stopped the ears. (967)Leggett feels that death in the poem becomes the agent by which the process ofchange is halted (54). In the next stanza symbolism is apply as the physicalworld is in Leggetts terms, The field where glories do not stay (54). Fameand beauty are represented by a rose and the laurel, which are both subject todecay, Leggett explains (54). The athlete dying is described here by Housman

Housmans To An Athlete Dying Young :: Poem Housman Athlete Dying Essays

Housmans To An Athlete Dying YoungA. E. Housmans To an Athlete Dying Young, also known as Lyric XIX in AShropshire Lad, holds as its main theme the premature death of a young athleteas told from the point of cypher of a friend serving as pall bearer. The poemreveals the concept that those dying at the peak of their glory or youth are real quite lucky. The first few readings of To an Athlete Dying Youngprovides the reader with an understanding of Housmans view of death.Additional readings reveal Housmans attempt to convey the classical topic thatyouth, beauty, and glory can be preserved only in death.A line-by-line analysis helps to determine the purpose of the poem. Thefirst stanza of the poem tells of the athletes triumph and his glory changeparade through the town in which the crowd loves and cheers for him. As BobbyJoe Leggett defines at this point, the athlete is carried of the shoulders ofhis friends after a winning race (54). In Housmans wordsThe term you won your town the raceWe chaired you through the market placeMan and boy stood cheering by,And home we brought you shoulder-high. (Housman 967).Stanza two describes a much more mysterious procession. The athlete is being carriedto his grave. In Leggetts opinion, The parallels between this procession andthe former triumph are carefully drawn (54). The reader should catch thatHousman makes another reference to shoulders as an allusion to connect thefirst two stanzasToday, the road all runners come,Shoulder high we bring you home,And set you at the threshold down,Townsman of a stiller town. (967)In stanza trine Housman describes the laurel growing early yet dying quickerthan a rose. (967) This parallels the smart lad who chose to slip betimesaway at the height of his fame (Explicator 188). Leggetts implication ofthis parallel is that death, too is a advantage (54). He should considerhimself lucky that he died in his prime and will not out live his fame. HousmansaysEyes the shady night has shutCannot see the record cut,And silence sounds no worse than cheersAfter earth has stopped the ears. (967)Leggett feels that death in the poem becomes the agent by which the process ofchange is halted (54). In the next stanza symbolism is used as the physicalworld is in Leggetts terms, The field where glories do not stay (54). Fameand beauty are represented by a rose and the laurel, which are both subject todecay, Leggett explains (54). The athlete dying is described here by Housman

Cleopatra

She remained In advocate while constantly straggling with a brother or sister and property alliances with capital of Italy at the same time. She held her own even out when the first papistic Emperor was coming once against her. Her fatal mistake was that she reached too far. She tried to become the prescript of the attention knowledge base, along with her lover and her children. Rome just didnt let that happen Firstly, Cleopatra family may pretend ruled Egypt, but they were Greek. Cleopatra was the first of her family to learn native Egyptian bearing in mind her family ruled Egypt for 300 years.She also closely associated herself with the Egyptian goddess, Siss. This would indicate she had a respect for the people she ruled and understood the splendour of being subject to relate to them. Therefore she was popular among Egyptians. Her father had a catastrophic reign and when he died, she squabbled with her siblings over who would rule Egypt. She cleverly maneuvered herself Into a nigh political position marrying her brother to 1 . )keep her brothers accommodateers happy, 2. ) keep the Egyptians happy she was going along with tradition and upholding her fathers will 3. Pep any male, who opposed female rule, happy. to a greater extent importantly, she allied herself with Caesar and sealed the deal by producing a son. She gradually edged her brothers out of the picture over time, so much so that it was barely noticed. Rome was of course, the biggest power in the Mediterranean and arguably, the ball, at that time. By attaching herself as the consort of Its biggest leader she was gaining the Roman empire as an ally and securing the Roman army. In return, Caesar was gaining the support and wealth of Egypt It Is Important to note that Egypt effectively fed Rome and was extremely wealthy.We cant know for indisputable If this was a love match, but It was definitely two political giants Joggling to nonplusher as equals, when nearly all of Rooms allies we re subjects paying tribute. When Caesar was killed unexpectedly, Cleopatra was left in both a bad and good position she made sure e preciseone was aware she considered her son by Caesar as an heir to Rome. This put her son in a dangerous position, which would later backfire. In a dangerous move, Cleopatra again allied herself with a Roman politicians Anthony.The Roman people increasingly began to see her as a threat to their public They were very much against exponents and Anthony was effectively King of Egypt. Furthermore, he rejected his Roman wife to be with Cleopatra. This turned Rome against him and Octavia began to establish himself as emperor and true heir to the now deified Julius Caesar. Cleopatra attempt to get a foothold In Roman politics began to backfire on her her son was now a very real threat to Octavia (later Augustus) Rome unavoidable Egypt around. So in a way she was a good leader, bonding with her people and she showed great political astuteness.However her ambition arguably led to her downfall No doubt you know what append Anthony and Cleopatra lost against Octavia and her son was killed. She may begin understood her own people, but she couldnt have understood Romans very well she should have known they would never accept her as a consort of Antimonys (Their marriage wasnt recognized in Roman law) that they would never accept her son as a leader Illus Caesar himself knew this and in his will dictated Octavia as his heir), and she should have known the idea of kingship was abhorrent to them. Http//www. Smithsonian. Com/history/who-was-Cleopatra-1513560131? Noise=CleopatraIn the ancient world, male prevail societies, known as patriarchy, prevailed. Men occupied roles of supremacy and power. Those few wo workforce, who did succeed In gaining positions of power, marked their place In history. Most notable among them were Hatchets (1508 1458 BC), Cleopatra (69 30 BC) and Grapping (1 5 59 AD). Hatchets was one of the most successful pharaohs, reigning longer than any other woman of an Egyptian dynasty. Cleopatra was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty and was the last pharaoh of past Egypt. Grapping was a Roman Empress who was once the most powerful woman in Roman Empire.Each had to overcome ingrained prejudices and faced barriers that their male counterparts did not. Their strategies for gaining power in a world of men varied but they were clever, resourceful, ruthless and ambitious. They effectively used the power that men held to their own advantage. Cleopatra was portrayed as a great beauty, who very strategically formed successful liaisons with men of power, which was a contributing factor for achieving the power she sought. Cleopatra has been a topic of interest throughout history and is seen as a woman of mystery.By all accounts she was an alluring woman who used this to her advantage. Cassias Did, a source of primary evidence and Roman consul of the 1st century AD, wrote, She was a woman of especial(a) beauty She possessed a most charming voice and knowledge of how to make herself agreeable to everyone (peg. 42) Plutarch, Greek historian as well as biographer of Roman Emperors reiterates Cassias Ids bring in on Cleopatra In 75 AD in Life of opposite (a importary source), where he wrote her beauty, as we are told, was in itself neither exclusively incomparable, nor such as to strike those who saw her What ultimately made Cleopatra attractive were her wit, charm and sweetness in the tones of her voice. (peg. 27) Accounts of Cleopatra also typically present her using her charms to entice the most powerful men in the western world. Plutarch writes, for example, that she had The power to subjugate everyone, even a love-sated man already past his prime, Of Caesar conquest of Egypt he wrote, Caesar overcame Egypt. He did not, however, make It subject to the Romans, but bestowed it upon Cleopatra, for whose sake he had waged the conflict. (peg. 42-55) powerful men, namely Julius C aesar and Marc Anthony, in times of the supremacy of en, and when the glory of Rome was paramount, that she is characterized in this prejudiced way as a bewitching beauty by Cassias Did, a Roman official and this is reaffirmed in Plutarch account. In both ancient and modern sources in that location are sources that represent the ruthlessness of Cleopatra in her pursuit of power. Ptolemy XIV, written by Professor Mallow H.Smith (2008) from Rutgers University and the BBC show Cleopatra Portrait of a Killer (2009), reveal the darker side of Cleopatra. Revelations made intromit assertions that Cleopatra had Mark Antonym execute her sister Orisons on the tepees of the temple of Artemisia, a violation of the temple sanctuary and an act which scandals Rome. Furthermore, claims are made that Cleopatra had Ptolemy XIV (her second youngest brother and co-ruler as well as husband), poisoned in order to proclaim, Ptolemy XV (Cleopatra son with Caesar), as co-ruler.Although these accounts in the large are not fully substantiated in primary sources, where these incidences are shrouded in mystery and contradiction, they point to a certain brutality in her pursuit of power and provide support for those who would portray her as an evil queen. Cleopatra was more aligned with a Bewitching Beauty rather than an Evil Queen of the East. Certainly she was a woman of considerable allure who was able to use her looks and considerable wits to charm men who would be of use to her.However, rather than bemuse and bewitch, which implies that she was able to control people through supernatural means, she was a clever and strategic woman. She was certainly ruthless in her pursuit of power and most probably did perpetrate quite evil acts. According to Cassias Did, In view of Careers favor there was nothing that she could not do. (peg. 44) To call re evil however, is to discount the times in which she lived where such violence in the pursuit of power was not uncommon. Leadership in Egypt a nd Rome, for example, was often changed by murder or mysterious disappearances.Caligula or more commonly known as Gauss was a Roman Emperor, is an example of this as he had those he saw as a possible threat executed (Caligula Gauss Julius Caesar Augustus Germanic). Such men who have performed such acts have in large escaped the label of evil. Cleopatra actions therefore need to be regarded in this context and her considerable achievements in the face of significant gender barriers even the credit they deserve. Cleopatra and other women of power in the ancient world have been reduced to stereotypes because of male bias and patriarchy.The patriarchal nature of the ancient world meant that roles were clearly defined on the basis of gender and women had little access to power in their own right which explains why there were so hard, and within the governing body of male domination, to Justify their positions. In such a world, extreme positions were taken on these women that helped to explain such anomalies. In turn, scholars today are at the pity of the sources written by men and influenced by the times in which they lived, which fall into these extreme positions.These stereotypical representations of Cleopatra have persisted and perhaps have even been exaggerated in the name of entertainment to dramatist the truth to appeal to audiences in the mane of entertainment. In many stories, movies and other interpretations of Cleopatra such as Shakespearean play Antonym and Cleopatra(1607), Cleopatra is frequently portrayed as vain and theatrical. In the more recent film Cleopatra (1963) directed by Joseph L. Mackenzie, she is portrayed as exotic, luxurious and manipulative.However, taking such stereotypical positions does not help to understand the complex woman that Cleopatra must have been, to have reached such heights of power. Women who became leaders in the ancient world experienced particular difficulties in their quest for power as they contested conventional ideas and standards of the time regarding the traditional role of women. To succeed in a world dominated by men they needed to be clever, resourceful, ruthless and ambitious. Cleopatra was all these things, and like other women of note in these times, effectively utilized the power that men held for her ascendancy into the very echelons of power.

NET framework and common language runtime Essay

The . NET framework is a comp cardinalnt of Windows that enables the running of more innovative applications and XML Web services (DePetrillo, 2002). One of the main aim of coming up with this framework is to enable applications to have a consistent object-oriented programming methodology. It is in like manner utilizable in that it eliminate software deployment and the execution of code safely without problems of scripting and interpreted environments. Microsoft. NET is also referred to as Windows DNA, it was a Microsofts previous platform use for developing all enterprise applications.It includes a variety of proven technologies which are in the production they include Microsoft Transaction server (MTS) and COM+, Microsoft Message Queue (MSMQ), the Microsoft SQL Server database. roughhewn Language Runtime provides the . NET framework applications an environment to execute. These language runtime includes common type system Just-in-time compiler, manages warehousing and gives co mpiler the tribute required. Design of . NET and Common Language Runtime (CLR) The design of . NE framework gives of room for interoperability..NET frameworks have a way of allowing applications which were developed in the framework to still operate in environments outdoors of . NET environment. The ability to access COM components is made possible by . NET developers which are in the SRIS and the System Services namespace. With this platform, communication between old and parvenue applications is increasing and is becoming a reality. The design of . NET and CLR also allows for security implementation for applications. .NET has two features for security for their mechanisms for security. These two features include validation and verification, and Code inlet Security.The latter feature uses the association with specific assembly (DePetrillo, 2002). Normally, the assembly source acts as the evidence regardless of whether they are installed on the local machine or has been downloa ded from the Internet. This mechanism uses evidence to determine permissions that are given to the code. With other code, they can affect that calling code be given a specific permission. This demand normally enables CLR to countercheck the permissions called call stack walk. This is a situation whereby for every assembly of each method in the stack is scrutinized for the required permissions.An exception is impel if an assembly does non have the right permissions. When an assembly is launched, the CLR performs very many tests. Two of the tests include validation and verification. The verification purpose is to check if the code result do anything which is not safe. Also, . NET framework uses appdomains to isolate code running in a process (DePetrillo, 2002). The appdomains help when there is a crash in a system. In case one application crushes in a system, the other applications within that system will not be affected. An example of security problem is the buffer overflows.This is taken care of with the use of . NET framework. The stability of . NET is assured because it brings with it the end of manual memory management. The . NET framework does memory management by itself thus freeing the user the burden of doing this. The memory that was allocated for instantiations of objects meant for . NET is done contiguously from memory heap. This heap is normally managed by CLR. The . NET also manages garbage sight. This is done by the garbage collector which is compacting and non-deterministic. Memory leakage is an example of stability issue that is solved with the use of .NET framework. The last design feature added to . NET and CLR is the addition of associate libraries. These libraries help in maintenance of the applications because one does not have to create applications afresh. Someone seeking to add around more functionality to their applications or do some maintenance will just use the class libraries available at their disposal to achieve all these. The class libraries is a collection of thousands of interfaces, classes, structures and enumerations that are aimed at adding functionality of core system and application services in order to ease programming.There are various classes that psyche can use to manipulate the file system. For example there are classes to manipulate XML files, classes to manipulate databases, and serialize objects. In addition to the availability of vast collection of libraries in . NET, the user also has the capability of creating their own classes which they can use in many applications (DePetrillo, 2002). Advantages and disadvantages of . NET Framework Microsoft. NET offers a variety of features much(prenominal) as the time-to-market which are not found in others like the J2EE.It gives a fairly complete solution from the single vendor-Microsoft which may lack some higher(prenominal) end features. With the Microsoft. NET there is one place to get similar information since there is no question of what is the shared context repository. There is an realised passport which is an active system. Microsoft. NET gives one the language neutrality when coming up with their new eBusiness applications thus allowing one to view other languages as one application. The cons It does not support a true web services since it lacks the support for ebXML. Microsoft.NET does not give tactics for improving the performance thus not allowing the developers to introduce errors into their systems. It requires qualified developers who are well educated and can handle more hand-holding. It is difficult to maintain since the . NET supports Win32 only in which a bear-sized number of machines are required. Microsoft. NET web services are not interoperable with the present industry standards since their BizTalk framework has proprietary SOAP extensions which do not support ebXML. References DePetrillo, B. A. (2002). Think Microsoft. NET. Que.

Supplier Relationships: a Strategic Initiative

contributer Relationships A Strategic maiden Jagdish N. Sheth Goizueta Business School Emory University Arun Sharma University of Miami Jagdish N. Sheth is Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Marketing, Emory Business School, Emory University and Arun Sharma is Associate Professor of Marketing, University of Miami. This paper extends research make by the authors in industrial Marketing solicitude (March 1997). Please address correspondence to Arun Sharma, Department of Marketing, University of Miami, P. O. Box 248147, Coral Gables FL 33124, Teleph wiz (305) 284 1770, FAX (305) 284 5326.Supplier Relationships A Strategic Initiative* Abstract In an increasing competitive commercialiseplace, firms argon enamourking new methods of enhancing competitive advantage. Today, buy is suitable a strategic function and a constitute factor in competitive positioning. This paper suggests that effective family kind with suppliers go away provide firms with interest(a)-generational comp etitive advantage. With consolidation of firms within industries, continuos product evolution and constant pressure level on costs, supplier relationships go awaying become more critical in the future.This paper discusses the emergence of supplier relationships, and how this shift toward supplier relationships has and will change the role, processes and strategies of firms. Although purchasing has strategic importance within a firm, good relationships surrounded by customers and suppliers are elusive. Firms, therefore, penury to accentuate aspects that will enhance supplier relationships. * This paper extends research published by the authors in Industrial Marketing Management (March 1997). Supplier Relationships A Strategic InitiativeIntroduction Firms are facing increasingly competitive environments characterized by continuos pressure on costs, large global players, continuously evolving products, customer fragmentation and emerging technologies. To ensure success, firms rea lize that they can non be experts in all businesses and are concentrating on their core competencies. As an example, Westinghouse is selling its power and defense lines to concentrate on the broadcasting business. To enhance their per skeletal systemance in non-core competency areas, companies are reevaluating business relationships so as to form closer relationships with strategic suppliers 1, 2, 3.Firms hold back realized that collaborative business relationships improve a firms ability to respond to the new business environment by allowing them to emphasis on their core businesses and overcome costs in business processes. In an earlier paper, we had suggested that the source of next-generational competitive advantage will be collaborative relationships that firms take with their suppliers 4. We suggested four originators for this phenomena. First, marketers or sellers are driving this change as firms have started identifying and catering to the requirements of specific cust omers.Thus, having a relationship with suppliers will enable firms to get wind better service and therefore be more efficient in procurement. Second, firms recognize that supplier relationships will allow them to be more effective. It is easier to implement strategies such as quality platforms, if firms have relationships with their suppliers. Third, there are enabling technologies that allow firms to select their best customers and suppliers. Computer programs allow firms to calculate profitability rapscallion 2 associated with each customer or supplier.Finally, competition and the growth of alliances are forcing firms to develop better supplier relationships to maintain a competitive edge. The purpose of this paper is to empha coat that supplier partnerships will provide a strategic advantage to firms. This paper identifies the benefits of supplier partnerships and provides guidelines for future supplier partnering. Shift in Organizational Strategy The reason for the emerging e mphasis on supplier relationships is the shift in organizational buying strategies 4. Organizational purchasing strategies have been dramatically changing for four reasons (please see Figure 1).First, global competitiveness had made firms realize the competitive advantages of creating and managing supply chain relationships. Second, emergence of the Total Quality Management philosophy has encouraged turnaround market starting with external customers and moving backward into procurement processes. For example, Demand Driven Manufacturing or flexible manufacturing and operations have been instituted in order to serve well the diversity of demand with respect to form, place and time value to customers. The role of suppliers is critical in this regard.Third, industry restructuring through mergers, acquisitions and alliances on a global root word has reorganized the procurement function from a de concentrate administrative function to a centralized strategic function. This is further intensified by outsourcing many certification functions such as selective information processing, and human resources. Finally, uses of information technologies have restructured the buying philosophy, processes and platforms by allowing firms to share market information and use market information to memorandum design and manufacturing of products better. Page 3Fundamentally, the consequence of changing paradigms of organizational strategy is alike(p)ly to result in a both dimensional shift as shown in Figure 2. Organizational purchasing strategy shifts from a transaction oriented to a relational oriented philosophy, and from a decentralized domestic sourcing to a centralized global sourcing process. Relationship with Suppliers As stated earlier, we suggest that developing relationship with suppliers will be critical for the effective functioning of firms. This trend is reflected in dining table 1 that shows that large firms have substantially reduced their number of suppliers .This trend also suggests that some suppliers would be exclusive to firms. The primary reasons are that corporations are becoming leaner. The procurement function is becoming more centralized while the profit-and-loss (P) responsibility of firms is becoming less centralized. Business-unit heads are raising more questions rough the way things are bought. And as vertically integrated companies those that have complete inwrought capabilities and are self-sufficient become relics and outsourcing of operations become a reality, more opportunities to partner with suppliers will a stand.Taking advantage of these opportunities is increasingly important for several reasons Declining market prices. Nobody expects prices to rise anymore. There is going to be a tighter squeeze on the margins of customer companies. They would like to get that margin reestablished by inventing with suppliers. Rising competitive intensity. With the restructuring of the world economy, the formation of the Wo rld Trade Organization, and greater economic integration within and between regions, global and regional consolidation is clearly taking place and resulting in greater Page 4 competition. Advanced technology enablers. Electronic commerce and networked figuring are here. Dramatically reduced cycle times are becoming an ordinary achievement. These require partnering with suppliers. Reverse marketing strategies. The traditional process flow from R and sourcing to manufacturing, sales and service is becoming a thing of the past. Today, market-focused organizations are organizing into reverse marketing starting with the end users. Partnering with suppliers is critical to this strategy. Strategic positioning. In the past, companies partnered primarily for in operation(p) efficiency (i. . , just-in-time procedures or zero-inventory models). Today, intense competition is coming from existing rivals, new entrants and the threat of substitutes. Partnering with suppliers is an increasin gly important way of minimizing the competitions negative advert on an industry. Example of Companies Benefitting from Supplier Relationships The major research regarding the advantage of supplier relationships comes from a study of the Japanese automotive component industry 5. They found that the second-rate length of the relationship between suppliers and buyers was 22 years.In addition, the major customer bought closely half the output of the supplier firm. About 26% of the suppliers emergence effort was devoted to a single customer. Competition was restricted to 2-4 other suppliers. Finally, the quality of delivered product was very good. The data would suggest that supplier relationship compound the design efforts of the buying company and reduced uncertainty and costs for the Page 5 supplier company. Eastman Kodak, Ford Motor Company, Levi Strauss, DuPont , McKesson and Bose corporation demonstrate that some nest egg can be achieved by supplier relationships 2.These firm s as well as examples of other firms using specific tactics to benefit from fortunate relationships are discussed next Eastman Kodak Company Eastman Kodak Company has outsourced its data and information processing system to IBM. Kodak has achieved substantial cost thrifts through reducing personnel, assets and capital expenditures in an area that is non its area of core competency. This shift toward asking data processing and systems management consultants to manage the information and data processing of a firm has accelerated as major firms such as Xerox and Ryder have outsourced their internal data processing systems.Ford Motor Company Ford formed a relationship with one of their own attach suppliers. Ford examined the production process of their supplier and was able to reduce the cost of the clutch by 20% benefitting twain Ford and the clutch supplier. Similarly, based on their past experience with Donnelly, Honda picked Donnelly as an exterior mirror supplier, although Donn elly had no experience in the area 3. Honda sent its engineers into Donnellys plant life, and Honda and Donnelly engineers reorganized the plant and re engineered the product process.Sales are expected to be $60 million in 1997 and costs are expected to decline 2% annually benefitting both Honda and Donnelly. JC Penny and Levi Strauss JC Penny and Levi Strauss are linked with an electronic Data Page 6 interchange (EDI) that allows Levi Strauss to obtain sales data. Levi Strauss obtains data on the exact size of jeans sold in individual stores. This data allows Levi Strauss to better plan the production process as well as better control inventory and delivery. This saving leads to a reduction in costs and prices benefitting both JC Penny and Levi Strauss.DuPont Dupont has reduced the costs of each purchase transaction in the maintenance and repair supplies function from $120 to $16 by working with a smaller number of suppliers. DuPont selected one distributor in each region for a s upplier relationship. They whence implemented a paperless order, receipt and payment process. In addition to decreased costs of transaction, inventory at the maintenance and repair facilities were reduced by 50%. McKesson Drug Company McKesson a major drug distributor, developed a relationship with Johnson and Johnson, one of their major suppliers.Through a joint computer system increment effort, both firms receive data on inventory, point of sale, demand, and customer information. This has led to Johnson and Johnson providing better service to McKesson increasing the level of service that McKesson provides to its customers. Due to the success of the relationship, Johnson and Johnson has sour over a million dollars worth of business to McKesson. Bose Corporation Bose corporation has attempted to eliminate both purchasers and salespeople by bringing suppliers into the manufacturing process.Suppliers have access to Boses data, employees and processes. They work with Boses engineers on evince and future products. The Page 7 reduction in personnel reduces costs for both sides, and a direct have-to doe with between the user and producer enhances quality and innovation. Establishing and Maintaining Supplier Relationships Wilson 6 suggests that the majority of alliances fail. We feel that most of the problems are associated with the selection and maintaining of supplier relationships. We present research finding from academician research, USGAO 2 and our own experiences.In order to establish relationships, we suggest that firms be very selective in their criteria. In addition to the normal criteria of competency and quality, we suggest the following special factors be taken into consideration Trust and Commitment to Long-term Goals. Both suppliers and buyers need to demonstrate trust and trueness toward a long-term vision. Trust and commitment have been shown to be the major predictors of successful relationships. Mutual Benefit. The relationship should be of benefit to both the buyer and the seller.If the relationship has one-sided benefits, the relationship will not last. Top Management Support. Most successful relationships are associated with support from the top managers of a firm. As examples, the success of Walmart and Corning in forming relationships is because their CEOs have supported supplier relationships. Also, DuPont and passage Express have formed an Executive Board that meets at both companies to enhance their relationship 2. Compatible Organizational Culture. The culture of firms should be compatible. This Page 8 uggests that they share common values and share common reward systems. A major relationship initiative between two telecommunication firms did not work because they did not share a common work philosophy. One firm was very intense, whereas the other firm was laid back. The relationship dissolved in sixsome months. Sharing of Information. Relationships require sharing of information. The benefits of relat ionships arise from reducing the uncertainty associated with transaction oriented exchanges. Information increases certainty and reduces needless interaction.As an example, Bailey Controls, a manufacturer of control systems shares data with two of its main electronic distributors that has allowed Bailey to reduce inventory and costs 3. Strong and Open Communications. Strong and open communications reduces misunderstanding and enhances the quality of relationships. Maintaining Successful Relationships The following aspects are regarded as important for the successful maintenance of relationships. Simple and Flexible Contract. Simple and flexible contracts enhance relationships as they are used as guides preferably than specifying all contingencies.For example, when Kodak outsourced their computer support function to IBM, they used an eleven-page contract 2. In contrast, typically simple business contracts run to about 30 pages. Intensive Management Involvement. Cross functional teams from both the supplier and buyer organizations that meet periodically to enhance their relationships. For example, Ford uses salespeople to provide suppliers with consumer feedback 2. Page 9 Periodic Performance Monitoring. We have found that performance monitoring is critical for relationships. Suppliers also appreciate a formal performance evaluation method.As an example, Motorola evaluates and generates a score card for all of its suppliers 3. The suppliers next order is based on the suppliers previous performance. Suppliers appreciate this knowledge and compete better. Internal Controls. It is intuitive but companies need to protect access and distribution of confidential information with rigorous internal controls. Problem Solving Procedures. Companies need to establish problem solving procedures that reduce conflicts or prevent conflicts. One of the simplest forms is frequent communication at all levels of the customer and supplier organization.Organizational Changes Need to Establish Supplier Relationships As stated earlier, as we give chase from a transaction and domestic orientation to a relationship and global orientation, firms will need to emphasize the development of relationship with suppliers. This emphasis of a relationship orientation toward suppliers will lead to an expertise in many aspects of business buying. These areas are highlighted in Figure 3, raised in our earlier paper 4 and discussed next. 1. Supplier as a client. As discussed earlier, there will be a thrust toward developing and maintaining relationship with customers.However, firms understanding in this area is very limited. Firms will need to develop commitment, trust and cooperation with their suppliers. Firms will need to invest in mutual goals, interdependence, structural bonds, adaptation, non Page 10 retrievable assets, shared technology and kind bonds to ensure successful relationships 6. 2. Cross-Functional Supplier Teams. Marketers have used interdisciplinary teams to contact and maintain relationships with their customers. As individual suppliers relationships become more important we expect a similar thrust toward cross-functional teams that are dedicated or focused on their key suppliers.The importance of individual suppliers is expected to increase because of the emergence of sourcing on a global and relational basis with a few key suppliers. Firms will need to change goals, reward structure and group norms of the purchasing function. 3. Does Partnering Pay? Firms will need to monitor the return on investment in establishing relationships with suppliers. Therefore, firms will need to develop a performance metric that analytically quantifies supplier relationship equity. We feel that supplier partnering with smaller share suppliers will not be economical.The cost-benefit analysis of supplier relationships should result in increased supplier selectivity. 4. Supply pay back Curves. Managing supplier relationships will not be an easy ta sk. The task of managing relationships on a global basis will be more complex and not analogous to domestic supplier management as most business customers have realized. Therefore, in industries where supply function is a key strategic advantage, companies need to focus on creating core competency in supply side management and develop sharper experience curves. Page 11 5. Hub and Spokes Organization. We expect organizations to reduce the number of uppliers in each product or service category. In addition, re engineering has forced firms to out source internal activities. We expect the results of these two trends to lead to a hub and spoke organization in which one or two suppliers in each product or service category are the spokes and the procurement organization becomes the hub on a global basis. 6. Bonding with Suppliers. Marketers, specifically those that practice relationship marketing have learned to bond with their customers. Bonding relates to the empathy that the marketing o rganizations feel toward their customer groups.With an increasing trend toward creating, managing, and enhancing ongoing relationships with suppliers on a global basis, organizations will have to invest in supplier bonding processes and philosophies. 7. spherical Sourcing. We expect global sourcing to be a source of strategic advantage. While several global enterprises, especially in the automotive, high technology and the aerospace industries are establishing processes and platforms, it is salvage at an infancy stage of practice in other industries. Firms will have to develop expertise in global sourcing strategies as well as global logistics. . Cross-Culture Values. Firms will need to be more aware of cross-cultural values. These values may be in conflict with the firms present value system. As an example, firms in the US are accused of focusing on short-term profitability whereas firms in Japan are concerned about long-term positioning. Similarly, in some cultures, reciprocity is declared illegal and unethical Page 12 whereas in other cultures it is the preferred way of doing business. What is considered as an spot fee in one country is recognized as a bribe, subject to prosecution under the anticorruption laws.Similarly, doing business with family members and politically connected individuals are presumed to provide a sense of trust and commitment in some cultures whereas it is considered as nepotism and unethical behavior in others. 9. Cross-National Rules. Firms will also have to learn about cross national rules. Specifically, the two tier regulations (one for domestic and the other for foreign enterprises) are common with respect to ownership, management control, and co-production practices in countries such as China.With the rise of nationalism in recent years, this has become a key issue for global enterprises such as McDonalds, Coca-Cola, General Electric, and Enron, especially as they expand their market scope and supply scope in large emerging n ations such as India, China, and Indonesia. 10. Services Procurement. As organizations out source more and more internal services, and as suppliers engage in providing value-added services to their customers, firms need to better understand and research services procurement. Additionally, as most advanced countries are services economies, services procurement will rise in prominence.Conclusions The paper examined the reasons for the emergence supplier relations as source of Page 13 competitive advantage. The paper discusses successful relationships, rules for developing relationships and concludes with organizational strategies that will enhance supplier relationships. Page 14 References 1. Napolitano, Lisa, Customer-Supplier Partnering A Strategy Whose Time has Come, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 4 (Fall), 1-8 (1997). United States General Accounting Office, Partnerships Customer-Supplier Relationships can be Improved through Partnering, Report Number 94-173, Wa shington, D.C. (1994). Magnet, Myron, The New Golden Rule of Business, Fortune, February 21, 60-64 (1994). Sheth, Jagdish N. , and Arun Sharma, Supplier Relationships Emerging Issues and Challenges, Industrial Marketing Management, 26 (2), 91-100 (1997). Wasti, S Nazli, Jeffrey K. Liker, Risky business or competitive power? Supplier involvement in Japanese product design, Journal of growth Innovation Management, 14 (September), 337-55 (1997). Wilson, David T. , An Integrated Model of Buyer Seller Relationships, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 23, 4, 335-45, (1995). Emshwiller, John R. Suppliers Struggle to Improve Quality as striking Firms Slash their Vendor Roles, Wall Street Journal, August 16, B1, (1991). 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Page 15 Table 1 Reduction in the Number of Suppliers Company Number of Suppliers afoot(predicate) Previous 5,000 10,000 9,000 10,000 1,800 22,000 520 7,500 Percentage Change 90. 00% 70. 00% 66. 66% 45. 00% 44. 44% 36. 36% 26. 92% 20. 00% Xerox M otorola Digital Equipment General Motors Ford Motor Texas Instruments Rainbird Allied-Signal Aerospace 500 3,000 3,000 5,500 1,000 14,000 380 6,000 Source Emshwiller 7. Page 16 Figure 1 Changing Paradigm of Organizational Purchasing StrategyGlobal Competitiveness Technology Enablers Changing Paradigms of Procurement TQM Philosophy diligence Restructuring Page 17 Figure 2 Shift in Organizational Purchasing Strategy Global Sourcing Changing Paradigms of Procurement Transaction Oriented Relationship Oriented Industry Restructuring Domestic Sourcing Page 18 Figure 3 Emerging Areas of Expertise in Supplier Relationships Service Procurement Supplier as a Customer Cross Functional Supplier Teams Cross-National Rules Partnering Cross Cultural Values Supply Experience Curve Global Sourcing Bonding with Suppliers Hub and Spoke Organization Page 19

Narrative Writing – Low Profile

Boris Watkins was humming a tune to the radio in his car when the music was interrupted by a special news bulletin. We split up into our regular programming to bring you an update on the bank robbery that occurred earlier today at the St. Georges branch of the United Bank. A lone sub escaped with nearly two million dollars, wounding two guards and an off-duty police officer while making his exit. Due to a malfunction in the banks trade protection cameras, a photograph is not available, but a police sketch has just been released to the public. More details will follow as they come to light. We right away return you to our regular broadcast.Boris strolled through the side door of the packed jewelry livestock, avoiding the businesss main entrance. Casually he surveyed the store as he pretended to case a banner proclaiming Diamond Sale Days. One of the works, an attractive young woman dressed in a formal business suit, was speaking in low tones to the stores handsome young securi ty guard. Though the store itself was crowded, the saleswomans area was experiencing a lax eon. She was taking advantage of the lull by passing the time with the handsome guard.From the way the two of them spoke, Boris guessed they were planning an after-hours rendezvous when suddenly the girls eyes caught his. In the brief span of their eye contact, he felt something unrivaled in her stare. Had she recognised him, or in some uncanny way knew what he was up to? There had been a sudden burst of something he couldnt kind of place his finger on before their gazes broke. No, he was just being paranoid. It was part of the rush that accompanied his thefts, something he had to control. When he was stealing, Boris always felt as if he was on the verge of being caught. If he was honest with himself, he would acknowledge that this was part of the thrill.When he glanced back at the girl, he saw that she was employed in deep conversation with her beau, forgetting ab erupt him completely. Th at was the way Boris liked it the lower the profile, the better. Boris walked out of their direct sight and approached a busy counter where several customers were vying for a lone salesmans attentions. Perfect.He pushed his way to the counter, and after several minutes of waiting, managed to catch the mans attention. Boris asked to see three sets of expensive diamond earrings and one set of inferior jewellery most likely brought into the store just for the sale. Pretending to ponder the choices, Boris ignored the bustling crowd at his elbows. Finally another customer grew impatient with him and give tongue to in a stern voice to the salesman, While hes making up his mind, I see exactly what I want. I insist that you take my notes right now.That was what Boris had been waiting for. With the salesmans attention distracted for a few moments, Boris slipped the most expensive earrings off the counter and into his pocket before anyone could see what hed done.In supererogatory sight, he picked up the cheap earrings and approached the salesman with a fifty dollar bill in his hand. Boris said, Ive made up my mind. Ill take these.The salesman looked at Boris, then back at the abandoned earrings still on the counter ten paces away. Breathlessly, he said, One moment, please, as he retrieved the unclaimed diamond sets remaining. Frowning for a second at the counter, he shrugged slightly before replacing the remaining sets back in the display.Boris hadnt even realized hed been holding his breath. After accepting the womans purchase ahead of him, the clerk took care of Boris, pointedly ignoring his attempt at small talk as he watched a few disgruntled customers walking away empty-handed. With a store bag proudly displayed, Boris fought his way back to the side entrance hed just come in. The odds of anyone suspecting him of wrongdoing should be negligible. After all, he had a d.o.a. legitimate receipt in his possession for the cheap earrings now in his bag. It was simply a matter of walking out of the store unnoticed and hed be home free.As he passed the counter where the attractive young woman had been speaking with the security guard, Boris was relieved to see that both of them had vanished, probably taking their breaks together. He was just stepping out of the door when he noticed a squad of police facing him, their guns drawn in a semi-circle, every weapon pointing promptly at him.Through a bullhorn, one of the police officers commanded, Drop your bag and hit the ground, or well shoot.Boris did as he was told, stunned by the massive see of force. He looked up in despair as he saw an officer clad in a bullet-proof vest approach him cautiously. In seconds, Boris was handcuffed and jerked to his feet.He said, I dont understand whats going on.The officer who had cuffed him said, Dont play dumb. A clerk inside spotted you the second you walked in the door.Yeah, Ive been arrested once before, but it was never with this frequently fuss.What did you expect? Its not like you were keeping a low profile.What are you talking about?Without saying a word, the officer reached into his back pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper.Boris found his sketched image staring back at him from the Wanted Bulletin. His knees went weak as he realised that he was a dead ringer for the police sketch of the man whod just robbed the bank.

Channels of Distribution for Insurance Products

Channels of dissemination for amends Products PRAKASH PRABHAKAR PATIL DPGD/JL10/0480 Specialization Banking, Investment and restitution Welingkar make up of Management Development & Research Year of submission May 2012 ACKNOWLEDGMENT I would like to ac acknowledgeledge and extend my heartfelt gratitude to the fol slumping persons who mould do the completion of this project possible. I am highly indebted to Wellingkar Institute of Management for this opportunity and constant guidance as well as for providing demand in establishment regarding the project.I would like to express my gratitude towards my p arnts & colleagues of HDFC Life indemnity for their kind co-operation and encouragement which help me in completion of this project. I would like to express my special gratitude and convey to constancy persons for giving me such(prenominal)(prenominal) attention and time. Prakash Patil TABLE OF CONTENTS Content Page No Introduction policy Market in India A speedily look 4 Distribution Channel Definition & Importance 6 authorized distribution origins for Insurance products 8 Tied ( path) Channel 9 Corporate Agency 13 Brokers 14 Bancassurance 17 Online/ Internet 23 Micro insurance policy 26 Worksite Marketing 28 Indian Postal Services 30 telecommerce 32 KIOSK or Virtual Marketing 33 Background 34 Methodology 35 Problems in Distribution of Insurance products in India 35 Conclusions & Recommendations 44 Limitations 48 Bibliography 49 INTRODUCTION ? Insurance Market in India A Quick look Life indemnity industry in India has asleep(p) with many phases since its start in 1818 with the establishment of the Oriental Life Insurance c whollyer in Calcutta. In 1829, the Madras Equitable had begun transacting life history indemnity worry in the Madras Presidency. 870 saw the enactment of the British Insurance Act and in the last three decades of the clubhouseteenth century, the Bombay Mutual (1871), Oriental (1874) and Empi re of India (1897) were started in the Bombay Residency. This era, however, was dominate by foreign redress offices which did good seam in India, namely Albert Life Assurance, Royal Insurance, Liverpool and London Globe Insurance and the Indian offices were up for great(p) competition from the foreign companies. In 1914, the brass 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 cable.In 1928, the Indian Insurance Companies Act was enacted to modify the Goernment to collect statistical information well-nigh both life and non-life business transacted in India by Indian and foreign insurers including provident amends societies. In 1938, with a fascinate to protecting the interest of the Insurance human race, the earlier legislation was consolidated and amended by the Insurance Act, 1938 with comprehensive supplyings for effective defend over the activities o f insurers. The Insurance Amendment Act of 1950 abolished Principal Agencies. even, there were a large morsel of restitution companies operating in India by independence and the level of competition was high. there were as well as allegations of unfair trade practices. thitherfore, post independence, Government of India decided to nationalize insurance business.Accordingly in January 1956, communization of life insurance was d atomic number 53 by formation of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) by absorbing 154 Indian, 16 non-Indian insurers and 75 provident societies. In 1972, planetary insurance business was also nationalized with effect from 1st January, 1973. 107 insurers were amalgamated and grouped into four companies, namely National Insurance Company Ltd. , the New India Assurance Company Ltd. , the Oriental Insurance Company Ltd and the United India Insurance Company Ltd. The General Insurance Corporation of India was in corporald as a company in 1971 which commenced it s trading operations in 1st January 1973. There has been considerable time lag between reforms of insurance arena and rest of financial sector.Therefore in 1993, Government of India set up committee chaired by RN Malhotra, former governor of RBI, to propose recommendations for reforms in Insurance sector. Committee submitted its report in 1994 wherein it recommended to open the Insurance Sector for close and foreign players. Following the recommendations of the Malhotra Committee report, in 1999 the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) was constituted as an autonomous body to regulate and develop the insurance industry. The IRDA was in collectived as a statutory body in April, 2000. The key objectives of the IRDA include promotion of competition so as to enhance client atvirtuosoment finished increased consumer choice and lower insurance premiums, while ensuring the financial security of the insurance marketplace place.The IRDA opened up the market in August 2000 with the invitation for application for registrations. external companies were allowed ownership of up to 26%. A number of amendments were brought in conglomerate insurance related statutes, viz. , Insurance Act, 1938, LIC Act, 1956 and General Insurance Business communization Act, 1972 (GIBA). The Progress in the general developments in the insurance sector were swift and to a greater finish prominent after the establishment of IRDA. The four public sector non-life insurance companies were de-linked from being subsidiary of the General Insurance Company of India. Now they operate independently and compete with each other. With the progress of reforms, Insurance market has been flooded with a number of players.As at end- promenade 2006, among the life insurers, there were 23 companies in private sector and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) was the solitary public sector company. Among non-life insurers, nine companies were in private sector and four companies were in public sector (Annex II). As regarding the present size of the insurance market in India, it is stated that India accounts non even one per cent of the global Insurance market. However, studies commence degreeed go forth that Indias insurance market is expected to grow rapidly in the following 10 yrs. The Indian Insurance Industry A Case Study Lets understand the rules for formation of Insurance Company in India. alphabet is foreign company having diverse business interests, including the arketing and selling of insurance products in the United States of America (USA). It has a strong infra construction, good customer base and pit equity. alphabet has heard that the Indian insurance market has opened up and seeks just about information about opportunities there. rudiment wants to link with an Indian company (XYZ) by forming a say venture and wants to know the occur of equity it erect hold in an Indian peg venture company and the insurance products it back sell in India. The company has distributable profits in three (3) preceding financial years, prior to the year in which sh bes with differential unspoileds argon to be issued Further, first principle has a subsidiary in India (the ABC Sub).ABC wants to know whether ABC Sub can bow into a joint venture with XYZ. Observations and Comments The Indian governance has recently passed the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority Act, 1999 (the IRDA) whereby amendments live been make to the existing insurance laws prevailing in the country, namely, the Insurance Act, 1938 (the Ins Act), the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956 (the Life Act), and the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act, 1972 (the GIB Act). An authority called the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (the Authority) has been formal to regulate the insurance sector. ( plane section 3 of the IRDA) The Authority, inter alia, lead prolong the power to Issue applicants a certificate of registration re refre shed, modify, withdraw, suspend or cancel such registration. (Section 14(2)(a) of the IRDA) A certificate of registration allow for have to be renewed annually. (Section 3A of the Ins Act r/w the First register of the IRDA) Prescribe prudential norms such as solvency margins and investment guidelines for insurance companies (Section 14(2)(k) and (l) of the IRDA) Protect interests of policyholders in matters concerning assignments of policies, nominations by policyholders, insurable interest, settlement of insurance claims, surrender value of policies, and other terms and conditions of contracts of insurance. (Section 14(2)(b) of the IRDA)However, the Indian Government has retained with itself the power to issue directions on questions of policy. (Section 14(2)(b) of the IRDA) The definition of an Indian insurance company has been amended to include any insurer being a company- 1. Which is form and registered under the Companies Act, 1956 2. In which the aggregate belongings of equity sh ars by a foreign company, either by itself or through its subsidiary companies or its nominees does not exceed twenty-six per cent (26%) of the paid-up chapiter and 3. Whose sole purpose is to carry on life insurance business or general insurance business or reinsurance business. (Section 2(7A) of the Ins Act r/w the First Schedule of the IRDA)The explanation to this section provides that a foreign company is a company that is not a domestic company. (Section 2(23A) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 r/w section 2(7A) of the Ins Act r/w the First Schedule of the IRDA) The IRDA by amending the Ins Act clearly provides that the aggregate holding of equity shargons by a foreign company, either by itself or through its subsidiary companies or nominees should not exceed 26% of the paid-up great of the insurance company. It has been clarified that the twenty-six per cent (26%) jacket applicable to foreign companies go out also apply to foreign institutional investors, non-resident Indians and overseas corporate bodies. Section 2(7A)(b) of the Ins Act r/w the First Schedule of the IRDA) Thus, a foreign company is now permitted to own upto 26% of the equity in an Indian joint venture company. Therefore, if ABC proposes to form a joint venture with XYZ, ABCs shareholding will be restricted to a minority shareholding of 26% in the joint venture company. It must be noted that the Indian insurance company must be a public limited company. (Section 2C of the Ins Act) Now, let us larn that ABC has a subsidiary company in India (the ABC Sub) in which it owns a fifty-one per cent (51%) equity and decides that ABC Sub should enter into the insurance joint venture with XYZ. This will not be permissible.According to recent informal pronouncements of the Authority, Indian companies that are subsidiaries of overseas companies will not be allowed to tie-up with other Indian companies to do insurance business. The Authority perceives this as violation of the twenty-six per c ent (26%) equity cap by forming insurance companies. ABC can, however, along with some(prenominal) other foreign companies have a stake in an insurance company operating in India as long as the feature equity stake of all foreign companies does not exceed twenty-six per cent (26%). The Authority will not register any new insurance company carrying on the business of life or general insurance unless it has a minimum paid-up swell of Rs. 100 crores. No composite manifest for life and non-life business will be granted.For companies in the reinsurance sector, a minimum paid-up outstanding of Rs. 200 crores is required. (Section 6 of the Ins Act) The foregoing paid-up share capital must be brought into the new company within six (6) months of issue of the license. (Section 6 of the Ins Act r/w the First Schedule of the IRDA) In addition, any insurer will be required to undertake such percentages of life insurance or general insurance business in the rural or social sector, as speci fied in the Official Gazette by the Authority in this behalf. (Section 27D of the Ins Act r/w the First Schedule of the IRDA) Further more(prenominal), a new insurance company will be permitted to invest policyholders funds sole(prenominal) in India. Section 27C of the Ins Act r/w the First Schedule of the IRDA) E genuinely insurer shall, in respect of its life insurance business, be required to deposit with the Reserve Bank of India, either in cash or in approved securities, a sum equal to one per cent (1%) of its total gross premium written in India, not, however, exceeding Rs. 10 crores. In respect of the general insurance business, this sum will equal three per cent (3%) of its total gross premium written in India, not, however, exceeding Rs. 10 crores. In respect of re-insurance business, this sum will equal Rs. 20 crores. (Section 7(i) of the Ins Act r/w the First Schedule of the IRDA) It has been provided that an Indian promoter holding more than twenty-six per cent (26%) o f the paid-up equity capital of an Indian insurance company will ave to divest in a phased manner the share capital in excess of twenty-six per cent (26%), after a period of ten (10) years from the date of commencement of business by the Indian insurance company. (Provision to section 6AA of the Ins Act r/w the First Schedule of the IRDA) On the one hand, the Indian organisation has restricted foreign equity ownership in Indian insurance companies to twenty-six per cent (26%) whereas on the other hand, it wants Indian partners to divest their equity holdings to twenty-six per cent (26%) after ten (10) years. Recently government has been in considering increasing the limit on foreign investments up to 49% from current 26%. Also norms for IPO are expected to be finalized dead which would enable companies to go public for raising funds.The IRDA has allowed three kinds of insurance brokerage firms to operate in the country, namely, insurance, re-insurance, and composite brokerage firm s. The twenty-six per cent (26%) equity cap will apply to such firms too, except that composite brokers may enjoy a higher equity cap of forty-nine per cent (49%). Company formation consideration On complying with the registration formalities, ABC and XYZ will have to enter into a shareholders agreement. The main issue that arises here is exercise of control in the function of the joint venture company. Generally, exercise of control can be at two levels Board of Directors and Shareholders. Under the Companies Act, 1956 (the Cos.Act) a company can carry on activities by passing either of two resolutions, special resolutions and ordinary resolutions. Ordinary resolutions can be passed by shareholders having 50% plus one shares with voting rights in the company, whereas special resolutions can be passed solely by shareholders having 75% shares with voting rights in the company. A special resolution is, inter alia, required to amend the enumeration and Articles of Association of a company, to issue further shares through a rights issue, to give loans or guarantees to other companies, etc. With a twenty-six per cent (26%) equity stake, ABC will only be in a position to block special resolutions. It will not be able to control the day-to-day functioning of the joint venture company.Additionally, the Authority has prescribed that foreign insurance companies cannot retain Board control in Indian insurance joint venture companies. Therefore, ABC will not be able to ap quest majority directors on the joint venture companys Board. Another pertinent point that arises is infusion of funds to the extent of seventy-four per cent (74%) of the equity of the joint venture company by the Indian partner, namely, XYZ. XYZ will have to bring in a minimum amount of 74 cores, if the joint venture company seeks to enter into the business of life or general insurance. Further, in the event of increase of share capital, XYZ will have to pump in an amount equal to its seventy-four per cent (74%) equity stake.This can cause some lines. It should be noted that preference shares cannot be issued by companies carrying on life insurance business (Section 6A(1)(i) of the Ins Act). As such, the joint venture company carrying on life insurance business cannot comply with the capitalization stipulations by issuing preference shares to ABC In such circumstances, the parties can consider entering into a three-way joint venture either with another(prenominal) Indian company or with a bank. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has permitted banks to enter into the insurance sector and to invest up to fifty per cent (50%) of their paid-up capital in insurance joint ventures.The liberalization of the Indian insurance sector has open up the sector to private competition. If ABC and XYZ can establish the right amount of trust and take a long-term perspective on the Indian market, their joint venture can be a major success. ? Distribution Channel Definition & Importance in India n insurance Industry The process of making a product or service available to customer for use or consumption at desired place and time by set of two or more interdependent organizations. It can also be termed as an Intermediary between end consumer and seller or service provider. Intermediaries typically charge a mark-up or commission for participating in the channel.Post nationalization of Insurance companies, tied agentive roles were the primary channels for insurance distribution in the Indian market the public sector insurance companies have their branches in almost all parts of the country and have puffed local good deal to wrick their agents. The agents are from various shares in society and collectively cover the absolute spectrum of society. A person who has lived in the locality for many years sells the products of the insurance company with a local branch nearby. This ensures the last mile touch point being closer to the customer. Of course, the profile of the people who acted as agents suggests they may not have been sufficiently knowledgeable about the different products offered, and may not have interchange the best possible product to the client. Nonetheless, the customer trusted the agent and company. This arrangement worked adequately in the absence of competition.In terms of Insurance Penetration symmetry (defined as ratio of insurance premium to GDP), a key indicator of the spread of insurance coverage and insurance culture, India compares very scummyly by outside(a) standards. The acumen ratio was less than one per cent in 1990s and it mendd to 5. 2% by year ended on March 2009. As against this, as per report from Swiss Re penetration ratio by year ended on March 2009, in respect of some of the unquestionable countries, viz. , UK and South Africa at 12. 90%. In Asia, Taiwan and Hong Kong had registered their respective ratio of as high as 16. 8% and 11. 0%. Insurance penetration for the world was placed at 7. 0% which was far ahe ad than that of India. Refer instrument panel 1) Thus in a country with 1. 21 billion overall population, the penetration ratio indicates that steady there is vast majority of population still outside reach of Insurance especially in rural and semi-urban areas, in the context of the absence of social security schemes. This clearly suggests that there is a vast opportunity to tap in insurance sector by broadening the distribution channels. Nearly as old as the banking industry or perhaps even older, insurance as a model of risk counsel, is centuries old. though the industry began in a small way, it evolved to sire an integral part of the financial services businesses over time.Table 1 International Comparison Of Insurance Penetration, March 2009. Developed Countries Country Total Life Non-Life Australia 6. 40 3. 40 3. 00 Brazil 3. 10 1. 60 1. 50 France 10. 30 7. 20 3. 10 Germany 7. 00 3. 30 3. 0 Russia 2. 50 0. 00 2. 50 South Africa 12. 90 10. 00 2. 90 Switzerland 9. 80 5. 40 4. 50 United Kingdom 12. 90 10. 00 3. 00 United States 8. 00 3. 50 4. 50 Asian Countries Country Total Life Non-Life Bangladesh 0. 90 0. 70 0. 20 Hong Kong 11. 00 9. 60 1. 40 India 5. 20 4. 60 0. 60 Japan 9. 90 7. 80 2. 10 Malaysia 4. 40 2. 90 1. 0 Pakistan 0. 70 0. 30 0. 40 PR China 3. 40 2. 30 1. 10 Singapore 6. 80 5. 10 1. 70 South Korea 10. 40 6. 50 3. 90 Sri Lanka 1. 40 0. 60 0. 90 Taiwan 16. 0 13. 80 3. 00 Thailand 4. 00 2. 40 1. 60 World 7. 00 4. 00 3. 00 Source Swiss Re, Sigma various volumes * Insurance penetration is measured as ratio of premium (in US Dollars) to GDP (in US Dollars) Data relates to financial year ? Current distribution channels for Insurance products in India- Traditionally before privatization insurance products were only sold by agents.Strategy also worked due to absence of competition in market. However post privatization, competition got tougher and need for alternate channels of distribution was strongly felt. Currently insura nce products are being distributed through following channels Current distribution of Insurance products in India Insurers ? Tied (Agency) Todays insurance agent has to know which product will appeal to the customer, and also know his competitors products in the same billet to be an effective salesman who can sell his company, the product, and himself to the customer. To the average customer, every new company is the same. Perceptions about the public sector companies are also cemented in his mind.The new companies are looking for educated, aware individuals with marketing flair, an elite group who can be attracted only with high remuneration and the lure of a fashionable job, all of which may not be possible in this business with its price pressures and the complexity of selling insurance. Unable to attract this segment, they have started easing recruitment conditions as against the stringent norms they had earlier, thereby diluting the process. While the public sector companies a re able to attract agents, they continue to suffer from high attrition rates due to indiscriminate agent appointment. The most successful of these companies tied agents are hardly of the elite variety of salesman.They are still the people from neighborhood the postman, the schoolteacher, and the shopkeeper who know the people and are themselves known in the community. The challenge here is the lack of knowledge of the competitive market and the inability to do intelligent comparisons with the competitors products. Educating and train these agents is a honest challenge for the insurance company. The relevance of this kind of agent continues even today as agents are sought or contacted by families by word of mouth. Insurance companies are advised not to follow the path of FMCGs/credit card companies, believing that a suited and booted customer care consultant or financial consultant will necessarily appeal to the average Indian customer.In this context it might be a rewarding exe rcise to recruit some older people (who have taken Voluntary Retirement from banks and other financial institutions) to sell some lines of products like pension plans, annuities etc. Gender of agents is another relevant feature in the rural context that makes a difference, especially for the female population. Women to whom the customers can relate e. g. , nurses, gram sevikas can target the female segment of the population more effectively. What is applicable for the rural women and children health programs and population control programs is equally applicable for insurance selling also. With this kind of segmentation of intermediaries the challenge for the insurance company lies in procreation and educating these people to become effective sales persons. plainly this in no way diminishes the hits of intermediary segmentation. SWOT summary on Agency Channel Strengths- Typicality of Indian customers who always favors known and reliable intermediary. Through agency, individua lized contact and relationship can be conventional with the customer. Agents usually enjoy personal credibility with customers. Agents provide various presales and post sales services to customers. This channels awareness and acceptability is maximum among people. Cross selling is possible through this channel. Due to personal contact, it can provide valuable feedback about the need and expectation of consumers. Weakness- Insurers have to bare higher cost to set up of agency channel network and provide readiness to personnel Higher commission rates forces insurers to deduct high charges from policy. High attrition rate of agents is a serious concern. Due to this, initial investment done on training and educating the agents goes waste. Attrition causes the problem of servicing orphan policies. Agents are generally not technical school savvy. Opportunities- High net worth individuals who prefer relationship over cost can be tapped. Technology can be embraced to convert prosp ect into business. Commissions structure can be designed in such a way that agents would want to stay active for long term. Threats- Alternate distribution channels are more preferred by the insurers due to cost effectiveness over agency channel. At present, the number of agents working in life insurance industry is approximately 15 hundred thousands but a majority of them are dormant which leads to poor activity ratio. Out of the massive agency force approximately only 20% are active. What is need of the hour is not the quantity but the quality. Having some productive and lots of unproductive lot drags down the morale of the community of agents, leads to discontent within the profession and the respect for the profession is downgraded. Over manpower has its cost to the company in terms of unrecovered or under recovered training cost.Also, opportunity cost in terms of a more productive agent serving in place of a dormant agent cant be looked over. Over manpower also contributes to mis-selling and refunds. Adequate concept, product and soft learning training is indispensible for professionalizing agency force. IRDA mandates companies to impart 100 hour training to its agents and today most of the companies have in-house training installing. But number of agents attending subsequent product trainings at the time of product launches and other soft skill training sessions gets rock-bottom substantially. It leads to poor knowledge about companys whole basket of offerings and agents selling only a few products instead of doing a true need-based selling to customers.The concern of the regulator towards outgrowth proportion of linked products in companies total percentage of business can also be attributed to biasedness of training programs in favor of linked products. Training becomes all the more all important(p) in todays competitive environment where the agent is not only selling insurance but the company providing insurance. Adequate and quality initial trai ning at the time of licensing is like laying a strong existence for agents entering the industry and subsequent trainings are like sharpening the agents willingness to stay competitive. Agents are off-roll employees of an insurance company and keeping them motivated is a big challenge. Companies run trueness and engagement programs and sales incentive programs (like short term contests) providing various monetary and non-monetary benefits.They serve well to motivate the agents to perform better, increase interaction of agents with the companies, promote heart and soul of healthy competition among the agents and to recognize good performing agents, provided these programs are easily understandable, transparent and quick in benefit disbursal. This profession is also not odd untouched by Information Technology. Most of the companies have a dedicated agents portal but the number of agents accessing them is less than satiscircumstanceory. One tint forward in making the agents more e fficient and professional is to make them more tech-savvy through training and other means. Looking at the regulatory front, a dispute redressal mechanism for the agents should be established by the IRDA. Insurance selling is a tough job.Agents are facing sharp competition from other alternating(a) distribution channels and with so many insurance players in the fray, their job has become all the more difficult. Though the image of an agent has undergone lot of diverseness since the time it was first introduced but still agents face a lot of sales ohmic resistance. Insurance companies need to consciously endeavor into dedicated efforts for the image makeover of their agents which will go much beyond calling them advisors or financial consultants instead of agents. Agents are the true Brand Ambassadors of the company and they deserve a fair interposition from the insurers. In spite of multitude of other distribution channels coming up, tied agency is here to stay because of attitu de and typicality of Indian customers.What is needed is a genuine effort in recruitment, training and development of a good agency force critical for growth and survival, knowing that for a long-term business like insurance quality, productivity and ethical values must be deep-rooted fully in the workforce. ? Corporate Agency The corporate agent is an reference book of the agent as the insurance agent is an individual and if two agents join together and form a firm or company, it becomes corporate agent. The procedure to become a corporate agent is the same as that of an agent but may have to contribute the share capital of 15 lakh at the discretion of the insurer. Corporate agency channel was the key distribution channel for Insurance. Since IRDA allowed corporate agents into distribution of Insurance, it flourished like anything.It has a major advantage of cost affordability over traditional agency channel for insurers. However due to increased complaints of mis-selling and high lapsation of policies sourced through corporate agencies was a growing concern over the time. Majority of the policies were sold as a short term investment option rather than long term security. Customers were kept under dark about various charges of policy and other terms and conditions which makes insurance policy a long term investment option. Also there were instances where same set of individuals have floated different corporate agencies and they even employed people without valid licenses. To overcome these challenges and protect customer interest, IRDA came up with tringent licensing norms for corporate agencies in June 2010 which tighten the license renewal process that do many small corporate agents ineligible as they were not conforming to the new norms. In addition of this IRDA also recommended regular on-side inspection of corporate agents to control various mal practices that had entered the system. Due to IRDAs on-side inspection companies wherein same set of individ uals have floated different corporate agencies went out of business. In November 2011, IRDA came out with persistency ratio for corporate agents according to which it would mandatory for corporate agents to retain at least 50% of their clients. These norms with cap on commission have made its viability questionable.Also IRDA proposed a disincentive for lapsation in the form of commission claw back by the insurer, on a proportionate basis. Alternatively, a part of the first year commission should be withheld to be paid based on persistency in later years. These guidelines have ensured the restriction of the agencies which used to sell the insurance policies only for higher first year commission by use malpractices and only those who are willing to do long term and ethical business can survive. ? Brokers Insurance brokers is being completely new distribution channel which can sell the products of all the insurers on all India basis but minimum capital requirement is 50 lakh with pro per office infrastructure and manpower.Every Insurance Broker will have to pay annual fees of 0. 5% of his brokerage and insure himself under Professional gift insurance. Broker channel offers several benefits for customers like Choice, expertise and customer servicing. These are elaborated below. Choice- There are about 50 insurance companies in India and as a result hundreds of different product options which can help customer to choose product exactly as per his need. Unfortunately the benefit of this market diversity never reaches the customers if they purchase insurance through agents. Brokers by definition are not tied to any one insurer and have a bias to present as many options as possible to clients.Also, brokers have a unique advantage as they can combine the life, non-life and health insurance requirements of a client. A broker can explain the distinctions of these different product types to a client and pick the most relevant options. This allows brokers to work with co mparatively diminutiver companies in a profitable manner. Individual insurers and agents would not have the same economies of scale in serving small clients. Expertise- Brokers are constantly loose to people and product offerings of different companies. Brokers participate in training programme conducted by different companies. This puts brokers in a unique position to understand market trends and developments. A good broker will harness this information to create deep market expertise.Such expertise has three main benefits. First, brokers can educate clients about product options and then push insurers hard to develop the appropriate products. The result is a steady improvement in product quality. Second, brokers can express a clients showcase in a language that insurers understand and vice versa. Quite often clients are confused when faced with all the technicalities of insurance. Brokers bridge this gap. Finally, the expertise is indispensable in effectively managing the clie nts risk, particularly in volatile times. Customer Servicing- Because of the privileged customerbroker relationship, the broker has to build customer servicing capability.In fact the ability of a broker to retain a client, quite often depends upon its servicing strengths. No insurer or agent can play this single-valued function adequately because of the inherent conflict of interest between the claimant and the insurance company. Benefits to Industry and regulators point of view- Brokers offer several benefits to the regulator as well. The strong customer focus of a broker is an obvious benefit. Moreover, primarily because of their deep expertise, brokers can be a very effective route to collate consumer feedback on its guidelines and regulations. Brokers go through a rigorous screening process by the regulator. Fly-by-night operators are effectively screened out.Therefore, a robust broking channel will result in fewer customer grievances and mis-selling issues. Last but not the le ast brokers are very effective in reducing the cost of distribution. The experience in several countries has been that intermediation costs reduce as the broking channel becomes better established. The IRDA has a significant role to play in strengthening the brokers role in industry. First, it should attract high quality talent and capital in the channel. The quality of the players will be the foremost determinant of the development of the channel. Second, IRDA should look to incentivize focus on saturated protection solutions.The low ticket size of pure protection plans and the current commission structure results in small absolute earnings for the channel. In the backcloth of low consumer awareness, the cost of acquiring a customer is high, hence the current compensation does not provide an economic rationale for intermediaries to focus on such pure risk products. Finally, in its developmental role, IRDA can educate customers on the advantages, roles and responsibilities of a br oker. Issues faced by Brokers Channel- The Brokers segment offers a mystifying problem to the insurers. This segment is able to reach out to a wide audience and has gained pace over the decade since liberalization.Hence it is an effective channel to gain market share. But profitability issues remain due to greater costs incurred on this high maintenance channel. Given that the Indian customer, just as customers in the developing world, will not like to pay upfront charges for consulting, the broker too needs to maintain his overheads by placing the policy that makes the most economic sense, rather than one that would benefit the customer the most. That said, brokers segment is a specialized channel that will continue to maintain a reasonable share in the new business premiums. The positives are that brokers in the urban arena can attract the elite and the upper middle fellowship customer.Brokers represent the customer and will sell the products of more than one company. They seek t o determine the best fit for the client and can effectively address the mind block faced by the public about the various companies. This is applicable in the case of life insurance for the high-end and corporate/group segment. In the non-life segment, broking is not intactly new, as reinsurance brokers were arranging exotic covers. For individual customers also, with a wide range of competitive products, the broker can get a good deal. The corporate broking companies will have to play a prominent role. We are still in the early years of the industrys growth in India. The best is yet to come.We expect that over time the market will mature and the broking channel will develop with considerable depth and robustness. ? Bancassurance Comprehensive medium of Insurance distribution The banking & Insurance industry have charged rapidly in the ever-changing and challenging economic environment through out the globe. In the competitive & open environment each & every one wants to do better than others. And they know that if they are not able to provide better service they wont survive in Industry. Insurance companies are also to be competitive by trim cost & serving in the better way to customers. Now the time has come to choose and adopt appropriate distribution channel.The Bancassurance is the distribution of insurance products through the banks distribution channels. It is a phenomenon where in insurance products are offered through the distribution channels of the banking services along with a complete range of banking & investment products & services. In simple term we can say Bancassurance tries to exploit synergies between both the insurance companies & banks. Bankers Perspective- In the post reforms, the financial sector has more number of players of both domestic and foreign and the dividing line between the banks and non-banking financial institutions activities had considerably thinned down. Overlapping in one anothers functions/ areas have become more com mon than exception.The direct upshot of these developments led to intensive competition in the banking sector and which in turn had a strong bearing on the banks net interest margin (spread). In fact the emerging scenario is likely to bring down the banks spread even thinner. Despite the monstrous size of public sector banks, they too observed decline in their spread. Further, banking system in India was prone to very high NPAs (Non Performing assets) which was further ruining the effect on banks. Therefore, banks were compelled to be constantly on the look out for stable alternate sources of earnings in the form of non- traditional and fee based sources of incomes and variegation towards new areas such as bancassurance, promises greater scope for further enhancement in earnings with no menace of increase in NPAs.Persistent endeavor in scouting for new technology, new products/ services/ new avenues, has become necessary for the growth as well as sustainability of banking system. I t is in this context possibly, bancassurance could well be an appropriate choice for banks to increase their stable source of income with relatively less investments in the form of new infrastructure. As far as banking sectors infrastructure is concerned, only a few countries could match with India for having largest banking network in terms of bank branches spreading almost throughout the length and breadth of the country. As on year end on March 2011, no of branches of all banks across India stands at staggering 89622 with growth of 36% since 2010.Out of this large network of branches around 62% of branches are located in rural and semi urban areas and the remaining around 38% are in urban and metropolitan areas. as well as the commercial banking system, India has large rural credit cooperatives as also urban cooperative banking network. Taken together these institutional set up, the ratio of population served by a bank branch would work out to be far lower. Thus, on the one han d we have a very low insurance penetration and low insurance density as compared with the international standards on the other hand, India has a widely stretched and well established banking network infrastructure.It is this contrasting smear to absorb the two systems by way of bancassurance strategy to reap the benefits of synergy. This is an opportune time for both banking and the insurance sectors to come closer and forge an alliance for the mutual benefit. For, both the regulators, i. e. , RBI and IRDA have al posit proffered appropriate policy guidelines and set in a congenial environment for such an endeavor. Besides, the Government of Indias unquestionable policy to provide insurance cover to the low income households and the people at large at a minimum cost are also favorable. Table 2 POPULATION GROUP-WISE NUMBER OF BRANCHES OF BANKS IN INDIA YEAR RURAL SEMI-URBAN URBAN METROPOLITAN TOTAL 1970 3063 3718 1744 1606 10131 1980 15105 8122 5178 4014 32419 1990 34791 11324 8042 5595 59752 2000 32734 14407 10052 8219 65412 2001 32562 14597 10293 8467 65919 2002 32380 14747 10477 8586 66190 2003 32303 14859 10693 8680 66535 2004 32121 15091 11000 8976 67188 2005 32082 15403 11500 9370 68355 2006 30579 15556 12032 11304 69471 2007 30551 16361 12970 11957 71839 2008 30914 17791 14416 13038 76159 2009 31576 19075 15479 13921 80051 2010 32497 20707 16884 14935 85023 2011 33495 22631 17712 15784 89622 Source RBI annual report, 2010-11. Note Data are exclusive of administrative offices.Above all, in India still vast majority of banking operations are conducted manually at the banks branch level with relatively less automation such as ATMs, tele-banking, internet banking, etc. , unlike many developed countries. This stands out as an added advantage for the banks to have direct embrasure with the customers, to understand their needs/tastes and preferences, etc. , and accordingly customize insurance products. In fact there is also greater scope for innovation of new insurance products in the process. Therefore bancassurance can be a feasible activity and viable source of additional revenue for the banks. Insurers Perspective-Contemporaneously, with the sweeping financial reforms in the insurance sector and the consequent opening up of this sector, all the private entities plunged almost simultaneously with a very little spacing of time and the entire insurance sector has been exposed to stiff competition. Insurers too have much to gain from bancassurance. The cost of the traditional agency channel is prohibitive with the high risk of agency turnover ranging between 30 to 40% every year, thus making the entire recruiting and training expenses going down the drain. Moreover, the price competition has reduced the profit margins and increased the compensation demands of the successful agents. The incentive pattern has a lot to do in this spiraling of the cost of the agency channel. Bancassurance has come in very handy for winning the middle income market which forms the bulk of the bank customers.With Bancassurance, the cost of opening new insurance branches comes down drastically for the insurer. With an agreement with a bank, all the thousand and more branches of the bank become the extended arms of the insurer. Customer Perspective- The most immediate advantage for customers is that, in insurance business the question of trust plays a greater role, especially due to the inbuilt requirement of a long term relationship between the insurer and the insured. In India, for decades, customers were used to the monopolistic attitude of public sector insurance companies, despite there were many drawbacks in their dealing, they enjoyed customer confidence, this trend continues even now in general due to their Government ownership.The customers to move over to private insurance companies that are collaborated with foreign companies which are less known to the Indian public would take little more time. The void betw een the less known newer private insurance companies and the prospective insured could be comfortably filled by the banks because of their well established and long cherished relationship. Under these circumstances, any new insurance products routed through the bancassurance channel would be well received by the customers. Bancassurance is always a win-win station for customers. It provides greater convenience by providing all the financial needs under one roof.The customer need not always wait for his insurance agent to come and render service. Whenever the client goes to the bank for his/her other needs like housing loan, overdraft, some draft issuance etc, he can complete his insurance needs too. Its always easier to deal with one agent for all the financial needs rather than separate agents for every product. For paying renewal premium for policy would also be easier with services like ECS, Billpay or standing Instructions. Reduced distribution cost for insurers will lead to re duced premiums for policies. SWOT Analysis on Bancassurance Strengths- In a country of more than one billion population, sky is the limit for selling insurance products.There is a vast untapped authority as the life insurance industry just covered around 20 crores of people the number of policies will be more in view of the multiplicity of the policies per person. Millions of people travel out of India every year for various reasons, necessitating the purchase of Travel insurance and Health insurance. This is besides their need for conventional policies. There are a lot of sunrise industries like the IT sector, the hospitality sector, the healthcare portfolio, the education sector, BPOs and the call centers, R & D etc, providing a huge pool of professionals ready to be tapped for their insurance needs. Weakness- The difference in working style and culture of the banks and insurance sector needs greater appreciation.Insurance is a business of compendium unlike a typical banking se rvice, it requires great drive to sell/ market the insurance products. It should, however, be recognized that bancassurance is not simply about selling insurance but about changing the mindset of a bank. Moreover, in India since the majority of the banking sector is in public sector and which has been widely disparaged for the lethargic attitude and poor quality of customer service, it needs to refurbish the blemished image. Else, the bancassurance would be difficult to succeed in these banks. Unlike, the banking service, there is no guarantee for insurance products that all efforts that a bank staff spends in explaining to a customer would clinch the deal due to the very nature of the insurance products.This frustration of the bank staff has the hazard of spillover effect even on their regular banking business. With the financial reforms and technological revolution embracing the financial system, there has been a great deal of flexibility in the mind set of people to accept chang e. The above outlined problems need not, however, deter the banking sector to embark on bancassurance as any form of resistance from the bank employees could be tackled by devising an appropriate incentive system commensurate with intensive training to the frontline bank staff. On other hand, the middle class population is over-burdened today by the inflationary pressures.This is considerably reducing the amount of savings of a middle class income group. Also absence of elementary IT requirements is still the case in many of the PSU and co-operative bank branches which is a concern area. Opportunities- Bank has a huge database to work on. This has to be analyzed thoroughly and similar groups should be churned out in order to sell the bancassurance products. Since the Government pensions and other payments are handled through the bank branches, the bank can become a rallying point for more and more insurance business. Banks can become the One stop shop where a customer can apply for banking, mortgages, pensions, investment and insurance products. Threats-The bank employee is so well entrenched in his classical way of working that there is a definite threat of resistance to any change the Bancassurance may bring in. The knowledge level of the bank staff on insurance matters is so low that all enquiries of the customers are turned over to the insurer much to the mortification and discomfiture of the client. The bank employee simply becomes a post man in transferring the problems of the client. The same trouble comes in the matter of other servicing aspects like the policy revivals or claims. There are hazards of direct competition to conventional banking products. The bank personnel may become resistant to sell insurance products, fearing that the banks savings may be diverted to the insurance companies.The strategy should be using multiple banks according to their presence in different regions. Success would come by using bancassurance where it will be most eff ective i. e. selling simple, cheap products to the masses at a low cost. This awareness is growing and is evident from the fact that well-nigh every insurance company has partnered with one or many banks to implement bancassurance. ? Online Sales Channel A feasible alternative India is joining the fast growing breed of net users and using net for banking transactions is also growing rapidly. Now almost all the public and private sector banks provide online banking facility as an add-on advantage with savings accounts.In insurance industry, just few years back internet was used mostly used by Insurers for insurance policy servicing, promotion of new products and providing various tools like illustrative calculators etc However selling insurance products online is a relatively new concept in India. Lets understand the need of online distribution in Insurance industry. In 2010, the insurance regulator tightened norms which forced insurers to cut down commission to agents. The regulat or also made it mandatory for agents to achieve a minimum level of productivity and persistency of business. As a result of these tough measures the number of life insurance agents dropped from 28. 03 lakh in September 2010 to 24. 53 lakh in September 2011.Until a couple of years back most life insurers were swearing by face to face sales and maintained that online would be largely used for servicing. Change in the regulatory environment, which has compelled insurers to cut distribution costs, is leading companies to look at new low-cost channels for distribution. Recent developments in information technology (IT) and web-enabled systems have made it easier for insurers to run global operations in a way that would not have been possible even two years ago. Insurers are already reaping advantages from IT improvements in internal efficiencies in areas as diverse as underwriting, claims, policy administration, financial report and human resources.But efficiencies go beyond these inte rnal ones. In the coming years, the internet will have at least two major effects on the insurance industry cost efficiencies and broader distribution. These efficiencies will come as insurers experience a greater availability of data from the internet and the transfer of business processes from manual-related or computer-related systems to newer communication related systems. Such internet-style technology will reduce cost reduce the level of effort and improve accessibility to large-scale data. Data assembly becomes much easier under the internet approach and thus affects costs and value of insurance.The internet will bring insurers to a whole new base of customers and will allow them to sample new markets that would have been too expensive to enter. Making information available to potential customers and the ability to market products to the new audience will have a tremendous impact. Advantages of Online distribution- It would reduce the internal administration and management costs by automating business processes, permitting real-time networking of company departments, and improving management information. It would reduce the commissions paid to intermediaries since it can be sold directly to clients. It would reduce the cost of training staff and other miscellaneous expenses required to run a branch. Response time for a conversion of policy would be much lesser than the manual submission. 24 hour connectivity for purchase and servicing of insurance policies. This would enable customer to pay premiums, get NAV, track due dates etc. as per his or her convenience. It will enable online request for quotes and data gathering which will improve efficiency. It will reduce the re-keying and typing errors which would save time and decrease risk. Compared to online stock broking or online banking, development of internet in insurance industry is somewhat cautious. There are some factors which makes the online selling of insurance policies difficult. Diffic ulties in selling Insurance online- The complexity of many insurance products can make it difficult to automate the provision of information. However with improved technology and continuous innovations sometimes later it may be possible to automate complex information and offer that product online. In many cases, it is difficult to standardize claims settlement. E. g. Claims involves various investigations which needs to be carried out before making decision and would be subjective on case to case basis. This process often involves people and companies who are not in a contractual relation with insurers. Internet is particularly suitable for products where contact with company is very frequent.For Insurance products, contact with customer is often infrequent. Once policy is carried out, with some type of insurance the policy holder and insurers would get in touch only in case of occurrence of insured event. In India many customers still view internet as an insecure medium. This p revents large transactions being carried out through Internet and it deters the transmission of confidential information, both of which are essential aspects of insurance policies. While the technology capability is there, improvement in bandwidth and infrastructure are needed. There is also a need of simpler products where auto-under writing is feasible.Automobile insurance, one of the segments of insurance purchased off the shelf in India, would be the ideal segment to start with. On the life side, term assurance for standard lives with simplified underwriting is a possibility. Nowadays many general insurance products like Travel Insurance, Auto Insurance, Health Insurance and in case of life insurance Term Insurance are being sold over internet successfully. Because of the simple nature of these products insurers are have standardized the terms and conditions to be able to sell products online. Online selling has given them chance to go beyond the normal markets and sell these pr oducts to new entrants altogether. ? MicroinsuranceMicroinsurance is the protection of low -income people against specific perils in exchange for regular premium payments proportionate to the likelihood and cost of the risk involved. Low-income people can use microinsurance, where it is available, as one of several tools (specifically designed for this market in terms of premiums, terms, coverage, and delivery) to manage their risks. India currently has the most dynamic microinsurance sector in the world. Liberalization of the economy and the insurance sector has created new opportunities for insurance to reach the vast majority of the poor, including those working in the informal sector. Even so, market penetration is largely driven by supply, not demand.It is often assumed that a microinsurance policy is simply a low -premium insurance policy. This is not so. There are a number of other important factors. Low-income clients often Live in remote rural areas, requiring a different distribution channel to urban insurance products Are often illiterate and strange with the concept of insurance, requiring new approaches to both marketing and contracting. Tend to face more risks than wealthier people do because they cannot afford the same defenses. So, for example, on average they are more prone to illness because they do not eat as well, work under hazardous conditions and do not have regular medical check ups. Have little experience of dealing with formal financial institutions, with the exception of the National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) Linkage Banking programme. Traditiona