Chaos and the strange actor of meaning Essay

According to Cable an employee’s duties are to take care of his or her safety and health, cooperate with the supervisor, utilize resources, contribute to developments and generally everything listed in the employee contract (2007). A leader’s duty that should not be performed by an employee is to create and explain to team members their job description, provide and allocate resources, keep open communication lines, and mentor employees of the company among others (Cable, 2007). Leaders have guidelines for planning personnel so as to can allocate them into the right positions. These include; firstly looking at what is needed, defining the work, and then check the plans according to the guidelines. In assessing individual capabilities if they are suitable, leaders should be able to know the guideline for measuring which include; what they are designed to measure and predict and level of objectivity, and standardization (Cable, 2007). In order to motivate employees effectively in an organization, the leaders should be able to communicate clearly, reward individual efforts, and engage them in problem-solving among others. According to Cable, change can be managed in an organization by nurturing the guiding group, relaying the right vision and mission, and find ways to make the change a new culture of the organization (2007). Information can be managed by leaders through providing focus on adoption policies, and choosing projects wisely and many more. When it comes to designing jobs, the processes of complementing should marry the objectives, and should be continuous among others. Relationships grow in an organization when people treat each other with integrity, respecting one another’s boundaries and accepting individual difference (Cable, 2007). These new science guidelines for business organization ensure to leaders are able to, tap into people’s skills, projecting positive image to the clientele and strengthening company credibility (Cable, 2007). Managers and leaders should learn how to communicate effectively, being honest, building beneficial relationships, should be fair and open, and model favorable behaviors. References Daniel M Cable. (2007) .Change to strange: create a great organization by building a strange workforce. Upper Saddle River, N.J Source document

Riordan Manufacturing

Running Head: Process Design for Riordan Manufacturing Process Design for Riordan Manufacturing: Inception to Production Planning Writer’s Name Course Name, Semester No, Class Level Supervisor Name September 23, 2009 Introduction The present paper discusses the proposal package for Riordan which handles each step of electric fans from inception to production. It includes the material requirement planning phase of fans being manufactured at the China Plant. There is further analysis of existing process for the production of the Riordan electric fans. It provides the basic outline for designing the new process to remove the bottleneck in the process to optimize it for meeting the demands of customer by supply-chain concepts. Production forecast for the Riordan electric fans is discussed along with implementation plan of Lean Production using Gantt Charts. Finally, cover letter describes the coordination of aggregate operations planning and suggested TQM process to define the strategic objective of the company. The MRP for the Manufacturing of the Riordan Electric Fans The China plant of Riordan Manufacturing is the production unit which applies material requirement planning to meet the time-phased requirement of material for assembled units or fan production operations. Raw materials are collected at receiving departments. These are processed to make it suitable for molding departments. The molded unit acts as input for trimming department which can be selectively used for creating further parts. Sometimes, it can become waste by-products. The trimmed parts are assembled at the assembly department to create higher components. These components are handled at packaging department. The shipping department supplies the packaged units of electric fans for distribution unit. (University of Phoenix, 2009). There are scrap materials from each department which is creating a concern for the firm. There is need of minimizing the waste products from each operational unit to reduce the cost of fan production. The manufacturing unit in Hangzhou, China uses these spare parts to create customized products. There are issues in achieving the periodic orders to supply the number of fans as the production plan is based on yearly demand of electric fans. The lack of definite pattern in order leaves the gap in assessing the exact material requirement on the short notice. The management team of company is concentrating on the optimization strategy to improve the process of MRP based on process variability involved in the supply, demand and production of Riordian electric fans. A New Process Design for the Production of the Riordan Electric Fans The current process of Riordian Manufacturing's China plant operation is based on the quantity of fans to be produced. The local company is supposed to provide the required stock of motors based on the production forecast. But this method of operation is able to deliver only 93% of the stock on time. The company can opt for alternative manufacturers along with existing unit to meet the forecasted production of motors. This will increase the competitiveness among the manufacturing unit and delivery schedule will not have slippages. There are other options of keeping the readymade supplies of motors as inventory unit in Riordian inventory itself. But it will increase the inventory cost. Since plastic polymer used in electric fans has plenty of supplies, the lower stock of plastic polymer can balance the cost to reduce the financial burden due to extra stock of motors. Flow Chart for Existing Production Process of Riordian Electric Fans In above paragraph, few options have been considered for improving the existing production process of Riordian Electric fans. The key processes involved in the material plan requirements and the supply chain process in China manufacturing unit can improve the efficiency of production plan in cost effective manner. Lean production using just-in-time system can be very effective in operation processes along with better strategic planning for meeting the demand of customer. A supply chain for the electric fans The Supply Chain Management process is at the very center of all the core operational processes of a company. It plays the role of a central nervous system regulating the product flow by managing the associated information flow that runs through a company. It has very strong linkages with major core processes like product development management, purchasing management and customer relationship management. For instance, the linkage between the Riordian Electric fan development management process and the Supply Chain Management process is bi-directional: on one side, the product development process feeds the Supply Chain Management process with the electric fans introduction plans and engineering change notices on bill of materials and routings, while in return the Supply Chain Management process provides the product development process with the supply chain constraints that need to be considered when scheduling the development of fans, in order to make sure that these products will hit the market at the right time. It will provide the Riordan Manufacturing an edge in the market over other rival companies. (Chase, 2006). Outsourcing is one of the approach to offshoot the responsibility and decision criteria to other companies which can take care of the several components of the supply-chain. The inventory management process can reduce the cost of operating firm’s own distribution center from remote location which is huge relief in handling the logistics (Polakoff, 2009). Global product sourcing and mass customization is also one of the feasible options which provides the procurement process with the future purchasing requirements that have been derived from the demand and production plans, while the procurement process provides in return visibility on supply constraints – in other words quotas imposed by suppliers – that need to be considered to generate valid supply chain plans. It also reduces the cost of procurement which is available at lower price in other countries. â€Å"Companies must turn a resilient supply chain into a competitive advantage† (Industrial Week, p. 0, 2009). The supply chain process can concentrate on inventory management process in the system to fulfill the order requested (Chase, 2006). Riordan focuses on management of inventory from raw material to completion of finished product. It is necessary for tracking the quality and need of inventory in timely manner to extract optimum performance from supply-ch ain process. The network topology of supply-chain should be well-connected in identifying the adequate supply of materials for production of electric fans as well as forecasting the future production sales (Chase, 2006). The categorization of product helps in ordering the right amount of parts from the concerned supplier. The improvement in measurement process is deciding factor in raising the customer satisfaction index with sufficient cost reduction which is the primary objective of the Riordian business strategy. A production forecast for the Riordan electric fans The plant’s production forecast is based on the theory of moving averages. China’s manufacturing unit takes care of electric motors and plastic polymers required for production of fans. The demands for next year production are calculated on the basis of average sales for the last three years which is projected for the coming year (Riordan, 2006). This plant also takes care of customized version of electric fans for individual customer on small scale. The estimation of cost for planning, scheduling, production and delivery is based on order requirement of yearly production rather than forecasted early to meet the demands in effective manner. (Riordan, 2006). These products are supplied to US customers. Adoption of lean production process is supposed to be the best business strategy to respond to the market needs to introduce the right product at right time in right place with right quantity to follow perfect workflow of execution by reducing waste and flexibility to respond to the changes (Shields, 1999). An Implementation Plan for the Riordan Electric Fans [pic] Plan for Lean Production can be implemented in two phases. First phase will be called Project A which is duration of implementation for pilot project. It has been divided into four tasks. Task A1 will consist of team formation and top management approval with basic outline for project and definition of roles and responsibilities for the implementation of project. Task A2 consists of selection of tool for implementation for pilot project which will be used in Phase 2 also for Project B. Training on tools and requirement gathering for the lean production in China plant will happen between 19th February, 2010 and 18th March, 2010. Task A3 consists of actual implementation of Lean production applying JIT from 26th March, 2010 to 24th April 2010. Total quality management process is under Task A4. It will be the duration of quality control and troubleshooting in production support. Project B will be the actual implementation of Lean Production in the China Manufacturing plant on the holistic basis. It will follow similar process to pilot project A. Task B1 will be the extension of pilot project in real production environment which will require gathering of requirement for workshop between 19th March, 2010 to 14th April, 2010. Task B2 consists of implementation of functionality using JIT system from 16th April, 2010 to 12th June, 2010. Task B3 of TQM and maintenance will happen between 16th May, 2010 and 14th July, 2010. A Cover Letter detailing how you will coordinate aggregate operations planning and TQM for the Riordan electric fans Date:- Sender’s Address:- Recipient’s Address:- Dear CEO, We are pleased to introduce the proposal for implementation of Lean production and TQM for improving the Process Design of Riordan Manufacturing. There are various options to track the current operational process in the firm. The selection of right tools for Lean Production and quality can provide insight regarding the material requirement planning and strategy to meet the demands of periodic order besides the current forecasting based on yearly demand. There will be two phase of implementation. Pilot project will identify all the bottlenecks in the process of forecast demand and production plan to achieve the balance to satisfy the quantity of Riordian electric fans ordered by the customer. The final implementation will extrapolate the results of pilot project to forecast the demand of next year in optimal way. Defect prevention, quality issues, enhancement in production process, cost reduction and other project parameters will be captured by applying the concepts of six sigma using pareto charts and other relevant statistical measurement analysis. Please let me know your feedback on the proposal. If there are any changes required or suggestions for altering the structure, please e-mail me [email  protected] com or call me at XXX-XXX-XXXX. Sincerely, ——————- References Chase, Richard B. , Jacobs, F. R. , & Aquilano, Nichlas J. (2006). Operations management for competitive advantage (11th ed. ). New York: McGraw-Hill. Krajewski, Lee J. , & Ritzman, Larry P. (2005), Operations Management: Processes and Value Chains. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Shields, T. (1999). Tutorials – lean production / lean manufacturing. Defense Aquisition University. Retrieved September 23, 2009, from http://www. dau. mil/educdept/mm_dept_resources/navbar/lean/01rdg-lean. asp University of Phoenix (2009). Riordan manufacturing virtual organization. Retrieved September 23, 2009, from Apollo Group, Inc. , Week Four, OPS571- Operations Management. ———————– Order for plastic polymer from local supplier N END Produce the Riordan Electric Fan Is plastic polymer available? Use the motors for manufacturing Order the no of motors required for meeting the supply Is supply of Motors enough? Manufacturing of Electric Fans at Riordan START Y Y N Riordan Manufacturing They are a company they will strive to keep focus on what is important and to continue to create trainees as they are needed to continue to compete against rivals they have and to show how they can perform. Ordain Manufacturing is a company focused on being the leader in manufacturing polymer materials for companies like automotive and aircraft parts manufacturers and beverage makers and bottlers. Achieving and maintaining a healthy profit helps the company ensure that they have enough financial strength, and the right amount of employees available for sustained growth.Based on what they currently manufacture and market to and their goals the company Is Implementing a differentiation focus strategy. In the differentiation focus strategy, Ordain alms to set themselves apart from any competitors within all of their target market segments. The specialized needs of these segments mean that there are opportunities to provide products that differ from competitors who may be trying to targe t a broader group of customers. Ordain has already made some strides in expanding their operations globally with the acquisition of the China plant in 2000.The company should continue using the differentiation focus strategy to improve the innovation and sustainability of the business. If Ordain stays on track with providing new polymer products to meet the current and future needs of its customers as well as attracting new clients with those Innovations. It will help to ensure the future success of the company. Ordain Manufacturing Is a worldwide plastics manufacturer that employs more than 500 people. Ordain manufactures products such as plastic beverage containers, custom plastic parts in its plants in China.The company's mission incorporates in remaining a leader in the plastic industry and staying focused on identifying industry trends (Ordain Manufacturing, 2012). Ordain promised to produce quality by exercising Six Sigma ideas and surpassing ISO 9000 standards allowing the co rporation to produce the remedy for customers' requests instead of the problem. The achievement of Ordain Manufacturing rests within its knowledgeable employees and braced by an innovative and team openness work environment.The first key factor that provides Ordain a competitive advantage Is Its strategic planning. Strategic planning permits the company to malting a competitive advantage above Its competitors because the organization have the knowledge track trends and produce new and creative reduces. Ordain Corporation offers innovative products to companies in the meal Title Ana Department AT Detente. I Nils Detent TTS ten company Dye performing business as a one-stop company for customers who have several demands.Ordain research and development team produces unique designs and merchandises produced for the future such as a pyramid shaped bottle. The pyramid bottle revolutionized the industry, as Ordain possesses exclusivity (Ordain Manufacturing, 2012). Developing a special prod uct like the pyramid bottle permits the Ordain Company to sustain a competitive advantage. One more initiative for the company comprise of establishing environmentally friendly practices within the corporation.As the pressure to be environmentally friendly rises, Ordain has tackled the challenge and created a plan to aid the environment. Like Wall-Mart, going green is a movement forward with concern to Radian's social obligation and becoming environmentally friendly holds benefits for plastics companies. Areas that Radian's business strategy would be affected in the global market would be creating a PEST analysis to determine different aspects of the area they were considering expanding. A PEST analysis is an analysis of the environment's politics, their economy, and any technological trends in the area.Global marketing plans would be key elements in a global strategy. The plan would decide on the countries and even the means to concentrate their activities. Building up good loyal c ustomer support would be involved in these activities. Ordain would also have to investigate the financial aspect of global expansion. The company would have to determine that the necessary funds would be available for the expansion and also that the necessary employees would be available for training purposes in the new country. Riordan Manufacturing The company was founded by Dr. Riordan, a professor of chemistry he started Riordan plastics, Inc in 1991. Riordan Manufacturing is a global plastics, medical supplies, stents, automotive parts, appliance manufacture's parts, airplane parts, and beverage containers manufacturer. Riordan has 500 employees with a projected annual earnings of $46 million and a fortune of 1000 enterprises with revenues of $1 billion. Riordan Manufacturing has 4 worldwide locations Albany Georgia, Pontiac Michigan, Hangzhou China, and the company headquarters in San Jose.In the following paragraphs we will be describing formal and informal power structures, the effective organization structures, effects on employee behavior, the characteristics of employee behavior, potential sources, and a evaluation of Riordan Manufacturing. Formal and Informal Power Structures.Riordan Manufacturing is formed by a formal and informal power structures. Riordan, formal power structure was established in the corporation to recognized the organizational chart and legitimate power which correspond to the formal authority that controls organizational resources in the corporation. Riordan informal power is divided into individual departments, each department is led and managed by an employee who has more knowledge than others in that department.The power and political structure of Riordan Manufacturing influence their employees behavior by collaborating and involving certain levels of hierarchy requiring employees to influence their power and political structure with others in the organization to accomplish goals or desired effects and behaviors. Effective Organizational StructureAccording to â€Å"Riordan Tracking And Order System† (Copyright 2003, 2004, 2006  © by Apollo Group, Inc.). â€Å"The head office of Riordan Manufacturer's is in  San Jose, California and it has employed more than five hundred people having other companies in Georgia, Michigan, and China.† Riordan Manufacturin g goal is to instrument a development that will be used by all employees, the organizational structure is right for the operation of bureaucratic structure. This configuration will acknowledge the organization to regulate process across all levels of hierarchy. The advantage of bureaucratic structure includes a minimum duplication of personnel, equipment, and employees who have the chance to talk the same language. Effects on Employee BehaviorThe bureaucratic structure prepares simplicity and consistency in hierarchy. This forms the organizational command and sets prospects to all employees allowing them to remove any insufficiency of knowledge. A fear that most employees face is to be irritated with several levels of hierarchy especially if employees believe that they are not heard or appreciated. The characteristics that influences the corporate culture for the employee behavior in Riordan Manufacturing are integrity, ethics, and compliance. Moreover, the atmosphere that is not co ncrete to employees but with a concept that includes values or beliefs that a company cultivates over time.Corporate culture develop the company’s tasks and strategies, with long-term expectations of progresses in a company’s profit. However corporate culture also comes from a company’s top administration, older companies can develop a culture that may be different from the typically defined business concept. If the company have a strong culture may be possible to get all employees on the same page and make the company grow stronger than before the culture existed. Riordan Manufacturing, will change but also will develop strategies to manages resistance to change, the steps or areas that will be used to develop the change management right involve Capturing and leveraging the desire and optimistic emotion surrounding a change that may prevent resistance from happen.The next one is expect it, the company will Project employees and change management that way resist ance may be less expected. The company needs to address formally will be ready to prepare, manage, and Reinforce the change. Also will be important to identify the root causes, and engage the â€Å"right† resistance managers.Communication PlanIn Riordan Manufacturing, communication is a fundamental to raise the level of understanding implementation of a change. Delivering information is concerning the change successfully as a essential to use several proposals or media resources to transmit the same message and decide who will publicize Riordan Manufacturing need for change. CEO and President, Dr. Michael Riordan is the most efficient communicator.Employees need to hear about the upcoming changes from their direct supervisor. The largest problem is to develop written messages that will describe organizational values and principles, setting expectations for employees to complete strategies, meet expectations, and accomplish organizational goals. The implication should clarify the upcoming change, the process of the change, the responsibility of all employees, and the operations of this modification. Appropriate ChannelsThe following step will clarify communication channels. Riordan Manufacturing directs in United States and China, and as a result arranging face-to-face communication is moderately difficult. In addition to the development of advance technology Riordan Manufacturing can use the internet, e-mail, online meetings, and meetings to communicate the approaching modification.Potential BarriersThe preliminary communication requires a mechanism to discover potential paths of resistance to benefit employees with their surveys or assessments allowing leadership to establish how each employee obtain the message including the issues of the employee throughout the development stage. An example, the struggle to change may be provoked by the conflicting message.Employees will question the development process or challenge. That is why it's important for ma nagement team to be consistent with the way they communicate towards their employees. Alongside, it is an opportunity to control the barriers that block individuals to communicate effectively. A different barrier that is effective to communication is overload information. Once a received message has too much data or is printed in a language hard for the receiver to comprehend the barrier will be ignored. To  prevent the problem the message should be brief and to the point.Riordan Manufacturing change from face to face communication to uses the advance communication like internet, email, and online meetings. this areas may be affect because the communication face to face is more specifically and better expresses with gestures and tone, and the message can be well deliberated, instead with this recently change the communication can be misunderstood. With an email it may create confusion by the way is read. Riordan find the need from the change because is really hard to travel to chi na frequently to discusses different themes and issues that require quickly respond, also because is more easy to send an email with an answer about a minimum problem and discusses the new ideas over an online chat or meeting, Managers will compromise to take visits to china to once an while to discuss important data that requires specific attention.

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Assignment Example This is because the ATS allows foreign nationals to open human rights violation cases in the United States Federal Judiciary; whether these cases took place within or outside the North American continent, notwithstanding (Bellia Jr. and Clark, 2011). The Benefits and Tradeoffs of This Expanded, Tactical Use of the ATS The use of ATS boosts America’s image as a country that does not compromise on human rights and freedoms violation. The rest of the diplomatic world is compelled to automatically follow this example. This means that human rights and freedom are increasingly upheld and safeguarded. One of the downsides of the ATS is its penchant for flooding (the US) court systems with a barrage of cases that have very little resolve, if at all. Question 2 The Grounds on Which the Senators Protested The premise upon which the Senators protested is worthy of credence. Particularly, Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton by appending her signature to the ASEAN treaty endorsed the agreemen t, without letting it undergo the appraisal of the Senate, as should be the case. Thus, Clinton’s act was a contravention of the US Constitution, art 2, Â § II and art 6, Â § II which mandates the issuance of the Senate’s consent and advice. ... Because of this, treaties can be said to be too sacrosanct to be left to the whims of the executive. For instance, the purpose of the ASEAN treaty was to promote lasting peace and international cooperation in Southeast Asia by building, strengthening and solidifying diplomatic relations. The guidelines of the Treaty of Amity (TAC) were also binding herein and demanding of principles such as mutual respect for sovereignty, non interference, the right to political autonomy and effective cooperation. These policies are too serious to be left to the whims of the executive. Question 3 Euro-governance Euro-governance refers to the political, legal and social developments of the Europe Union which are aimed at achieving the economic objectives of the euro (Payandeh, 2010). Whether Rabkin, Slaughter and Burke-White are talking about the same phenomenon By far, it is a fact that William W. Burke-White, Anne-Marie Slaughter and Jeremy A. Rabkin are talking about the same phenomenon. Burke-Whit e, Slaughter and Rabkin are not just experts in international law, but they also speak on the same concept. For instance, Burke-White vouches for the effectiveness of international tribunals and courts, investment protection, investor-state arbitration, International Criminal Court (ICC), transnational justice, the fostering of human rights and criminal law. He also acknowledges the need for the government to address sovereign bankruptcy, international human rights, violations amnesty legislation and responses to emergencies. Conversely, Slaughter also speaks of the need to tackle worldwide terrorist and criminal networks, the International Criminal Court, the need to protect civilians in the Arab spring, global pandemics, climate change, and regulating the

Honda Marketing Strategies in USA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Honda Marketing Strategies in USA - Essay Example rowth, but a carefully plan market research got them to understand that people in US travelled long distance, and therefore started to build bikes of 250 CC and 350 CC engines. However, at the same time the 50 CC bike which was very popular in Japan, known as the Super Club, started making its foray into the market. At the beginning of everything, it did not look like that a small bike would be able to hold on its own in a market dominated by heavy engine bikes as well as choppers, which catered to a specific crowd which emphasises on staking a claim on the roads with utter dominance. However, once the Small Club was rolled out, it created its own niche in the market. It inspired a part of the crown which needed a simple bike capable enough to take them to their shops or offices without any fuss or fanfare. This was important as later on the Super Club came to be known as the normal man’s mode of transport. â€Å"At face value, the Super Cub had little appeal for the American buyer. The motorbike market in the US at the time was quite small and dominated by entrenched players such as Harley Davidson, Indian, and imports like Triumph and Moto Guzzi. There were only 1,000 full-time motorbike dealers in the entire country (compared to some 10,000 today), and most bikes were either in the mold of Harley-Davidson — large, heavy, and built for noisy cruising, or were sportbikes made for performance, exemplified by Triumph. Motorbike riders were generally seen as nefarious outsiders, clad in leather jackets and riding in packs to terrorize small towns and cause trouble at funfairs, an image played up by Hollywood — think James Dean, Marlon Brando in The Wild One, and later Easy Rider. Furthermore, Japanese products with funny names were looked upon suspiciously by American... Honda started as a motorcycling company in the 1950’s when it ventured into the US market. At that time it was a humble beginning for a company like Honda which had tough competition from other companies in the USA who were already selling motorbikes and cars in the USA. However, they took rapid strides and within a few decades, from a humble motorcycling company they went on to become the largest automobile manufacturers in the USA. This paper shall analyse the marketing strategies they deployed in order to become successful in an alien market like the USA. Honda was already a big consumer giant in Japan before it came into foray in the United States. The name was very famous in Japan and Honda took that brand value and applied it to its products in the USA. It all started with a small entry into the US market where they had no scope for growth, but a carefully plan market research got them to understand that people in US travelled long distance. The one liner they had shot them to prominence and they have remained at the top since that very time. It is due to sheer adaptation of the market were they able to demonstrate their products, which were able to meet the needs of the daily commuter in the USA.

The practices of Human Resource Management in the organization Research Paper

The practices of Human Resource Management in the organization - Research Paper Example Methods of study For this study, the HR department was explored in detail in terms of understanding its core activities, practices and its position in overall organizational setup. This was done through personal interviews conducted with HR personnel as well as managers in other departments like finance, technology, operations and facilities. These questions were aimed at understanding the goals and objectives of HR team and their relationship with organizational objectives. In a top-down approach the general information related to HR function was gathered in a manner that paved way to put forth questions to assess the effectiveness of these practices as well as the HR function. Interviews: Face-to-face interviews were conducted with managers from core departments within the organization, which included the HR, technology, operations, facilities and finance teams. These interviews were semi-structured to allow further inquiry based on the responses from managers, which was extremely helpful to obtain individual insight and experiences related to contribution and involvement of HR personnel Questionnaire: Based on the responses from the interviews, a small questionnaire was prepared to assess the effectiveness of HR practices and their impact on overall employee wellbeing and progress. The questionnaires were graded on Likert scale, in which respondents graded their experience on a scale from 1 to 5. The responses to these questions will help in eliciting objective as well as subjective information that will highlight overall performance and effectiveness of HR function. 3. Findings: Findings from both interviews and questionnaires were interpreted in terms of basic HR functions. i). Acquisition: Interview with the HR manager highlighted the role of HR in... From this research it is clear that the human resource management plays a significant role in sustaining organizational performance through acquisition, motivation, maintenance and development of human resources of the organization. These goals are accomplished through specific policies, procedures and practices framed by the HR function. In order to successfully accomplish these goals, the HR function has to be actively involved in strategic planning processes with all other departments, as well as oversee implementation of these policies and procedures. For this, it is important that HR personnel work closely with other departments/functions at the ground level in order to assess the effectiveness of HR-related strategies and identify the issues and gaps. Based on the study conducted in the IT firm explained in present context, HR department plays similar role at strategic level; however, its involvement has to be intensified at implementation level by partnering with each departme nt. The HR department’s role has to be extended from strategic planning level to implementation process in order to accomplish organizational goals with respect to human resources, such as improved employee motivation, commitment, morale and continuous learning and developmental opportunities. Though the HR is already involved in accomplishing these goals, its practices have to be modified to achieve better and long-lasting outcomes related to these goals.

Marketing Plan Master Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Marketing Plan Master - Case Study Example The electric motors based drive is suitable for low speed driving and hence is suitable for city roads while the petrol based drive is suitable for high speed rides on highways. The combustion engines charge the batteries during the ride and hence external charging is not required. Hybrid cars have been accepted by the customers because of the option of petrol based engine within the car although the cost is substantially high. However, fully electric cars (also called econocars) have not yet picked up markets because they cannot be driven at high speeds and the infrastructure supporting charging outlets is still not adequate. However, its market is expected to pickup substantially in light of latest technology innovations, tax savings, environment awareness programmes, and subsidization by government. This paper presents a marketing plan for econocar pertaining to the case study of Tomoco taking into account impacting factors like changing global dynamics in econocars, technology innovations, distribution networks, support networks (like charging outlets), grid capacity & availability, government support (subsidiaries, tax exemptions, value added services, local environmental laws, etc) and above all, change in user perceptions. The offer by Sandeep qualifies as social engineering attack on the employee of another organization to acquire confidential & commercially sensitive information of that organization which may be including their intellectual property rights (IPR). First & Foremost, this is an unethical gesture and hence no organization in this world should indulge into such activities. Secondly, if the organization (Ishimuru in this case study) files a lawsuit against the company indulging into the social engineering activity (Tomoco in this case study) as per the clauses against breach of confidentiality/trade secrets/Intellectual Property Rights as applicable in the legal system of the country, the global reputation of Tomoco would be at a serious stake whereby damages can be irreparable. Every country has own rules & regulations for protection of business secret information, trade secrets, commercially sensitive information & intellectual property rights of the companies operating within the political territory of the nation. Such information can only be disclosed against non-disclosure agreements (within the business contracts or else signed separately) that are enforceable within the jurisdiction where the agreements are being executed. Such agreements are not only signed with the suppliers or third parties but are also signed internally within the organization as a part of employment agreements with every employee and the articles of memorandum for the management & the board members. By invoking a social engineering attack on the employee of an organization to provoke him/her to divulge secrets, the

Is the current government policy and legislation towards older people Essay

Is the current government policy and legislation towards older people going to meet their health and wellbeing needs, now and in the future - Essay Example This is via colossal funding of their care institutions, hospitals and somehow intervening in the end time services, which entail spirituality. Mainly, this is evident in the care centers; both the private and the public (Jeary, 2005). Contrary to all this efforts, the state has invested to ensure sound living of their elderly, the condition of their regulations and policies have proved quite divergent to their expectations. Since the population is rapidly augmenting annually whereas, those responsible to care for the elderly fail in their responsibilities (Eriksson, Asplund & Sellstrà ¶m, 2010, p. 1322). Numerous evils and abuses against the elderly are emanating from the caregivers, that encompass neglect, segregation, both sexual and physical assaults. These have culminated to mysterious deaths resulting from the absence of administering medications, beating and neglect. These cases’ causes have proved to numerous investigations as unconquerable, since those who undertake these vices are close people behind the masks of loving relatives. Hence, has rendered UK Legislations and other reinforcements inadequate to ensure sound elderly wellbeing now and in future (Jeary, 2005). Wellbeing normally assumes three approaches that encompass psychological, bodily and social setting, but their soundness does not imply the absence of sickness and other related maladies (Anneyce, 2011). Psychosomatic approach entails mind aspects where an individual experiences peace and does not have conflicting memories. Uncontrolled memories or thoughts usually yield to mental disorders that may render one incapacitated. Since, they normally lead to stress or prolonged depression, hence prompting an individual live happiness deprived life. Peaceful mind normally emanates from the sound spirituality of an individual, which also comprises one approach of psychological

Discuss Oedipus' tragic flaw and its ramifications Research Paper

Discuss Oedipus' tragic flaw and its ramifications - Research Paper Example To escape such a tragedy, he tied the infant’s ankles and commanded a shepherd to leave it to die at Mount Cithaeron. Taking pity on the innocent soul, the shepherd instead brought him to Polybus, king of Corinth and wife Merope. They raised the child as their own and called him Oedipus. Intrigued by questions about his true identity, and with his adopted parents standing firm on the deception that he is their own, Oedipus consulted the oracle of Apollo at Delphi. Oedipus was told that he is fated to take the life of his father and make a wife of his own mother. Horrified of what awaits him in what he thought was his birth land, Oedipus left Corinth, determined never to return. On his journey to Thebes, he came upon Laius and had him killed when a squabble over pride sets in, inadvertently fulfilling part of the prophecy. At the time, Thebes was in state of trepidation on account of a man-eating Sphinx, thus unable to pay enough attention to the death of its king. Oedipus, how ever, brought the Sphinx’s reign of terror to an end by answering its riddle about the phases of human life. Consequently, Oedipus was granted the right to the throne and the hand of Jacosta, widow to Laius and mother to Oedipus, in marriage. They had four children: two sons, Eteocles and Polynices, and two daughters, Antigone and Ismene. The attempt by Oedipus to break away from the fated catastrophe proved meaningless. As a consequence of the serious mischief he inflicted upon his parents, Oedipus was held responsible for a series of unfortunate events that tormented Oedipus himself, his family, and the whole of Thebes. It was such an irreparable damage that can be put right by neither repentance nor punishment. The Plague in Thebes The magnificent reign of Oedipus in the city of Thebes was brought to a standstill when once again a pestilence that spared not a single being came about. The soil from which the people cultivated their live stocks turned barren, and the robust greenery that supplied their daily bread stopped bearing fruits. Worst of all, the women complained of infertility—unable to bequeath their husbands successors to their homes and duties. This was conveyed to Oedipus in appalling agony by a priest of Zeus. â€Å"Meanwhile, the common folk, with wreathed boughs, a blight is in our harvest in the ear, a blight upon the grazing flocks and herds, a blight on wives in travail; and withal armed with his blazing torch the God of Plague hath swooped upon our city emptying the house of Cadmus, and the murky realm of Pluto is full fed with groans and tears† (Sophocles 3). It was revealed by the blind prophet Teiresias that the plague shall not be banished from Thebes until the death of king Lauis is given justice, and the perpetrator was thrown to perish into the fortress of Hades. Oblivious to the fact, Oedipus vowed to his subjects that he would stop at nothing to take vengeance on the man responsible. Typical for a man in his position, Oedipus demonstrated resoluteness to keep his word despite pleas by his wife to do otherwise. This, unfortunately, resulted in another tribulation that broke his heart and tore his soul into pieces. When her brother Creon came back from an inquest to give light to the tragedy that befell the late king, Jocasta had her suspicions

Chuck Palahniuks Book Fight Club Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Chuck Palahniuks Book Fight Club - Essay Example If the rules were to be followed, the question of â€Å"how then?† emerges in relation to the growth of the club. It is difficult to understand this section because there is no practical way of the club growing if there was no word out there about it. The rule and the actual situation fall into a conflict. Understanding this rule follows the reasoning that the club was meant to grow in another way apart from telling people vocally about it. The outer meaning of the phrase involves verbal speaking about the activities of the club that is strongly restricted. By focusing on the eventual growth of the underground fighting club, two possibilities emerge that help in understanding. It either the rule was broken or there was a different way of the club growing targeted by the founders. This difficult part of the story airs strong support for the theme of the story. The aims of not going out and bubbling about the presence of a fight club focused on the agenda by the writer to let th e physical aspect of masculinity speak out loudly. The major theme of the story involves letting the masculinity part of individuals emerge though through actions, deemed to cause freedom, but at an expense-pain and personal comfort. According to the founders of the fight club, emancipation would be achieved by wreaking havoc and subjecting their bodies to the cause of difficulties to instill a sense of focus and discipline. Personal interpretation of this is that there is a possibility that the fight club remained in existence only after the fight commences and ends. That period is the fight club. Out of that period, there was no existence. However, if this was the case, gaining new members leaves a puzzle. It means that the rule could have been broken, further supporting the prevalent theme of rule disregard as supported by the violent acts of the members of the fight club.

Turbo Tax & IRS FreeFile and a Software Program of the Intuit Company Research Paper

Turbo Tax & IRS FreeFile and a Software Program of the Intuit Company - Research Paper Example The IRS is the provider of the FreeFile that is also a program for filing taxes online. FreeFile assists in tax preparations and e-filing for free. A prospective user would need Turbo Tax software because of many reasons. One of the reasons relates to the ability of the software to support the online filing of tax returns. Through the capability, the software can help a user to save time that would others waste when moving to places of tax returns, and sometimes following along system to get clearance. Another reason that a prospect would love to use Turbo Tax software relates to its ability to run error checks. The software is able to perform error checks, and a final review of a user’s return to ensure that tax calculations are correct. Turbo Tax software has four major versions meant for different kinds of consumers. The first version is the Federal Free Edition that performs simple tax returns, and absolutely free. The second version is the Deluxe that maximizes an individual’s tax deductions. The Deluxe version of Turbo Tax costs $34.99 and is the most popular version. The third version of Turbo Tax software is the Premier, which is good for rental and investment property (Krantz, 2015). The Premier version costs $54.99. Home and Business is the fourth version of the Turbo Tax software. The edition costs $79.99 and appropriate for sole proprietors and small business operators. One can find the Turbo Tax software versions from the link https://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/compare.jsp. A prospective user would also want to use the IRS FreeFile program because of some good features of the software. The software is capable of performing deductions and analyzing tax history of the taxpayer and provides a comprehensive report to the effect (IRS, 2015). The FreeFile is also safe and efficient, which enable t to assure security, preserve privacy and allow quick access to user’s tax records. FreeFile also has features that support  the filing of tax returns for individuals earning below $60000.  

Stereotypes and Prejudice Worksheet Essay Example for Free

Stereotypes and Prejudice Worksheet Essay Part I Select three of the identity categories below and name or describe at least 3 related stereotypes for each: †¢ Race †¢ Ethnicity †¢ Religion †¢ Gender †¢ Sexual orientation †¢ Age †¢ Disability. |Category |Stereotype 1 |Stereotype 2 |Stereotype 3 | |Ethnicity |Certain ethnicities are good at |Certain ethnicities will pursue a |Certain ethnicities live in lower | | |certain sports |certain carrer |class areas | |Gender |One gender is stronger than the |One gender cannot do certain |One gender should not do certain | | |other |things because of their gender |things because of their gender | |Race |Certain races cannot drive a |Certain races cannot dance or have|Certain races came to American | | |vehicle |rhythm |illegal |. Part II Answer each question in 50 to 100 words related to those stereotypes. Provide citations for all the sources you use. What are the positive aspects of stereotypes, if any? I think the only positive aspect of stereotypes is if a certain race, ethnicity is being put down is for it to empower the people of that group to strive more to achieve. I think someone of these groups hearing they cannot or will never do something will make them want and hopefully achieve this more. What are the negative aspects of stereotypes? The negative aspects of stereotypes is this brings down the people of these group’s self esteem and makes them believe they cannot or will never be able to do something. I think is why we see so many children grow up and become a product of their environment and where they were raised because they believe nothing more is out there for them. Part III Answer each question in 50 to 150 words related to those stereotypes. Provide citations for all the sources you use. Define stereotypes and prejudice. What is the difference between stereotyping and prejudice? Use examples to illustrate the differences. Stereotypes is a thought adopted about specific types of people or certain ways of doing things and prejudice is making a judgement of someone or something before knowing everything. I think both play the same role, but with stereotyping we already have thoughts or beliefs in our head about a certain group, and prejudice we see a certain group or anything and make an opion about it without knowing the full truth. With stereotypeing we see a certain ethnicity and we stereotype them they are a drugdealer, play basketball. With prejudice we see someone who is dirty standing somewhere we will judge and say they are homeless and going to ask for money. What is the relationship between stereotyping and prejudice? I think the relationship between stereotyping and prejudice is they are both putting down a certain group or individual person without knowing the full truth about them. I think we as children devlop this traits and as we get older and see more the world they get worse and we are quicker to pass judgement towards someone and stereotype some to make us feel like a better person or make someone else feel less of a person. What can be done to prevent prejudice from occurring? I think prejudice will continue to happen, but the biggest thing people could try to do is get the full truth or fully look at what is in front of them before just passing judgement without knowing the whole story. I think we need to forget the stereotypes certain groups of people have been given and make our own decision on people we come in contact with and see.

Systems development life cycle.

Systems development life cycle. SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE. Business Dilemma There is no potential issue as unique employee identification is important to any business that wants to provide security to its organization and its employees, thus is also convenient. The issue here is that tracking employee hours worked based on their last name is not suitable as employees might have similar last names. Therefore might be convenient for it to be based on their employee identification as the identification card will have a unique pin number for each employee. The issue here is that the employees should be given options regarding discretion for working hours since some of the employees might not have the necessary to work 8 hours due to some reason that should be made known at the beginning of employment. The main potential issue here is that there shouldnt be a standard rate and that double time and time and a half rates should be taken into consideration. Managers should be scheduled to work morning and evening shifts. In other words they should be their throughout the day to oversee the running smoothly of the business. Also, when unseen circumstances arise managers are there to offer support, help and make the necessary decisions. The issue here is that employees might have to attend to unforeseen circumstances so therefore the 8 hours of working time might be a lot for some of the employees because emergencies can occur at any given moment. Server s should be allowed to work all three shifts as it will provide them with options. There is no issue here as managers are in charge of who to hire and therefore should also be allowed to delete and change employees from the system. MAKING BUSINESS DECISION 1 1. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF USING AN EMPLOYEE TO BUILD A CUSTOM SYSTEM. ADVANTAGES An employee building the custom system will be cheaper than it being purchased. It will be easier for employees to use and understand as it is build by one of their own colleagues. There will be less time for training. (Explain) DISADVANTAGES It will take valuable business time for the employee to build the custom system. The business might have to hire a professional to look at the new system hence will be costly for the business. The new system might be prone to error which will contribute to the expense of the business as they will have to refer to professional help. ADVANTAGES COTS allow for just purchasing of the components and putting it together which will be cheap for the business instead of developing a new system. It will include a description of the software functions; hence will be documented to good commercial standards as it will give the names of the resources needed to run the software. Decreases the development time for new products. The components will be readily available, comprehensive functionality and therefore potentially frequent upgrades. DISADVANTAGES The initial cost of purchasing the COTS components might be costly for the business. The components would be limited to only certain functionalities. It might cause potential unreliability. There might also be difficulty in the integration procedures. The older employees will have competency issues because they will have to learn to adjust to the new system as education will become a primary focus. There will be resistance to change by the older employees as a new system might cause insecurity of jobs. Therefore, to ensure a smooth transition training must be offered to the older employees and also ensuring that jobs are not at risk. MAKING BUSINESS DECISION 2 From reviewing the employees testimony, it is most obvious that the payroll system is functioned manually beginning from their payroll manager John Tahoe who collect the timesheets, calculates regular , overtime and holiday hours and then sends it for approval by the manager. Finally he adds the staff members commissions. From John the payments are sent to Mary Jane the tax manager for the coffee shop. Her task is to calculate city, state and federal taxes; she has to correct the incorrect check amounts issued, employees who have gone pass their sick and vacation time must be tracked by her and lastly she has to generate checks for the salaried employees. Ted Whitetaker is the store manager for the coffee shop. He is the person who signs off on all the time sheets, he checks the staff members schedule so as to validate the times on the employees timesheets, tracks vacation and sick time, thus when employees go pass the sick and vacation time when quitting he will sign a form detailin g that they have to pay back all negative vacation or sick time. Adding on, the payroll department must be finding it very time consuming and error prone when most if not all of their tasks are done manually. Firstly, the payroll manager John Tahoe is in need of a system that automatically tracks sick and vacation time and also a system that calculates regular, overtime and holiday hours that will validate the time sheet. If a new system is to be implemented than it would have to be very capable in that it is easy to use and understand. I think it would be wise to put in place a system that calculates working hours on a timesheet that is done by employees and in that they can clock in and clock it when work is done. Hence, at the end of the day John just has to check with the system. The issue here is that the employees are honest in when they clock in and clock out. Mary Jane the tax manager needs a system that automatically determines taxes and does quarterly tax filing statements, performs audits and allows for employees to perform direct deposits. The main issue here is that even if a system can automatically calculate the taxes at the end of the day it is dependent on the input of the payroll department so as to determine the right tax amount. Thus, the payroll department will have to be very thorough in their input in that it is accurate. A question that should be asked is if there is a system that performs quarterly tax auditing automatically. Additionally the input will still have to be done manually so consistency and accuracy is vital. In the case of the direct deposits, the business can just directly deposit the employees salary straight to their bank accounts but some of the employees might prefer receiving their salary from their managers on their pay day which can become an issue for the coffee shop. Lastly, Ted Whitetaker the store manager requires a system that calculates commissions, handles sales forecast and what if analysis on staff commissions rates and also a system that could design promotions for their best customers, repeat customer and customers who have never used their coffee club cards before. The main issue here is a system handling sales forecast in the sense that it is accurate and gives attainable methods of forecasting. A question that should be asked in this scenario is if there is such a system that could design promotions for customers so as to increase sales. Ted I assume will have to do this without using a system; he may have to do some research to find ways in which he can do promotions that will attract customers such as advertising. In conclusion, the three employees list of requirements for systems they want seem reasonable in that there are systems that can help them with the work but some of their need will just have to be done manually. Furthermore even with systems that could make their jobs easier, the system itself will be dependent on the input of the employees and while introducing a new system an issue that should be considered is the cost the business will have to pay in relation to time and money. Employees in the payroll department need to be accurate and precise with the data that is input into the system so as to get the best reliable and relevant information that is needed and must get the best training possible so as to use the new payroll system if implemented. APPLY YOUR KNOWLEDGE To involve all relevant stakeholders i.e. 1 from the Management, 1 representative from the IT department and a representative from the user. It is vital to get the system implemented with input from all perspective, mostly the users. This, system specification, is the most important aspect of system implementation. Risk Management can just implement the system without getting feedback and approval from users and other representatives in the company. It is important to interact with users in all stages of implementation, design, testing and ‘go-live. ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURES BUSINESS DILEMMA The difficulty in determining the rate of return of components in the enterprise architecture is that components are sometimes not used in the business until circumstances arise when they have to be used. Especially in a small coffee shop where components are used when serving customers are said to fetch a high rate of return on investment but during an emergency then items such as a fire extinguisher can be useful and thus will have a high rate of return as it prevented destruction to the business. For example, coffee cups when purchased are used to serve customers can be said to have a return on investment for the business, thus when not in use can cause a low rate of return on investment for the business. Therefore it is difficult to determine rate of return on investments as it will depend on the structure of the business and when components are in use. Also, damaged components will bring a low rate of investment or no rate of investment at all and components that are always in use will bring a high rate of return on investment. To determine the cost vs. benefit of the proposed dishwasher, keyboard and mouse, the business will have to look at costs such as how much these three components are, will it need regular maintenance (dishwasher), whether the components are a necessity to the business or not. The benefits can be determined by how much the business will make out of this components, how long it will last the business, the rate of return on the investment of this three components, the ease of use, training is easy to dictate to employees on how to use the tree components and finally if it makes work easier and faster. MAKING BUSINESS DECISIONS 1 BENEFITS OF DEPLOYING A NEW, UNPROVEN TECHNOLOGY This will increase revenue for the coffee shop. Broadway Cafà © can have a general rule of space occupation that the customer has to buy a product. Most customers are technology savvy and they need access to internet from time to time throughout the day. It can increase productivity in that customers will be attracted to the coffee shop especially since it will offer customers the chance to access the internet from their shop via a power line. There will be advancement in communicating such as in emails, thus messages can be received instantly. CONS OF DEPLOYING A NEW AND UNPROVEN TECHNOLOGY Introducing a new system maybe costly for the business to implement, and especially in this case an unproven technology. The management team will have to perform a cost and benefit analysis and whether introducing a new technology will be an advantage or not. Regular maintenance may have to be performed which can be costly to the business. Setting up of a new technology might be time consuming for the business and thus might result in unexpected costs. Based on my findings I wouldnt implement BPL. The reason being is that it is dependent on power lines that can cause interference for other users. Also, a small coffee shop doesnt really need an internet access since it will be very costly to the business. Furthermore, BPL might not have a competitive advantage as there are other technologies that can perform better and faster than BPL. MAKING BUSINESS DECISION 2 Some of the strategies that can be used to backup a computer in case of data loss are: To make regular data security backups of data used in the business and to have it kept away safe in a remote place. Make a backup of the hard disk if a new software is being installed hence it will ensure business to get back on track in case the hard disk fails or is corrupted. All transaction and records should be well documented and kept in a safe remote place. The first third party utility that could be used is called Norton Ghost 15 Symantec New PC Backup win 7/Vista/XP. Features Protects the PCs application, settings, folders and files. It has advanced backup and recovery. Provides powerful protection such as offsite backups and Symantec. Offers incremental backups and enhanced compression that help reduce the amount of required storage, thus helps keep everything safe. It works well with most storage devices including external hard drives, networked drives and recordable and rewriteable CDs and DVDs. The price of this is in US dollars cost $29.95 converted to Fiji dollars is $53.95 excluding transportation costs to ship it from the US to Fiji. (http://www.metasearch.com/www2search.cgi?p=third+party+utilities+that+perform+backup%2Crestore+and+ghostingl=20s=o) Another third party utility is Norton Ghost 15 Backup win 7/ XP/Vista. Features It creates full system and file backups. Recovers system and data even when computer cannot be restarted. Enables convenient, secure offsite backups. Lets you decide what is backed up and when to customize backups based on how you use the computer. The cost of purchasing Norton Ghost 15 Backup is USD 25.98 (FJD $46.19). The exchange rate used for this conversion is 0.555. The cost of purchasing this software in US dollars is $25.98 and so when converted to Fiji dollars will accumulate to $46.19. (http://www.metasearch.com/www2search.cgi?p=third+party+utilities+that+perform+backup%2Crestore+and+ghostingl=20s=o) The final third party utility that can be used is the New Norton Ghost 15 Symantec, Backup Restore, and X/Vista/7. Features It has multiple storage options that offer backup to almost any media. Backups your file to network attached storage devices. It has a full system backup thats back up everything on a hard drive. Incremental and differential backups. Backups only files that have changed. In US dollars the utility would cost $25.95 and so in Fiji dollars would be $46.13. These charges are without the transportation and other costs included in getting it to Fiji. (http://www.metasearch.com/www2search.cgi?p=third+party+utilities+that+perform+backup%2Crestore+and+ghostingl=20s=o)

Risk Management of Commercial Bank in Malaysia

Risk Management of Commercial Bank in Malaysia Introduction 1.0 Introduction According to Bank Negara Malaysia, Malaysia banking system is divided into 3 main groups which are; 1) monetary institution comprising the Central Bank (Bank Negara), commercial and Islamic financial institutions; 2) non- monetary institutions namely merchant banks, credit and insurance companies, and development banks; and 3) foreign banks representative offices and offshore banks. Prior to the 1997 financial crisis, Malaysia had thirty seven commercial banks, forty finance companies and twelve merchant banks. However, after the financial crisis 1997, most of the banks has consolidation through mergers and acquisitions to strengthening of these financial institutions has result in thirty – five licensed commercial banks, thirty – one finance banks and twelve merchant banks. As to date, there are only twenty – two licensed commercial banks and fourteen merchant banks in Malaysia. (Shanthi Kandiah, 2009) (Table 1) However, among the twenty two licensed commercial banks only nine of the commercial banks are local bank and the rest of thirteen commercial banks are foreign banks. From the nine local commercial banks out of eight banks listed in Bursa Malaysia are: Malayan Banking Berhad, Hong Long Bank Berhad, Public Bank Berhad, Affin Bank Berhad (under Affin Holding Group), Alliance Bank Berhad (under Alliance Financial Group Berhad), Ambank Berhad ( under AMMB Holding Berhad), Eon Bank Berhad (under Eon Capital Berhad) and lastly CIMB Bank Berhad. (under Bumiputra- Commerce Holdings Berhad) while Rhb Bank Berhad, is currently not listed in the Bursa Malaysia. (Table 2) Table 2: List of Local Commercial Banks in Malaysia After the financial crisis 1997, significant numbers of bank had bankrupt or were merged with other financial institutions, which proven that, the failure of bank is due to their failure in managing their liquidity risk properly. In other words, during the financial crisis a lot of banks were incapable to provided sufficient amount of money to meet the current need of their investors. As thus, banks had said as to failure to managing their risk properly because do not have enough money liquidity in banks to meet the demand of their investors. From another perspective, big bank may not always be better because increase in organisation may present more problems than it. Bank have found that to survive it is more necessary to have a leading market share in a variety of businesses rather than just having a lot of assets or a huge capital. Thus, proper management of risk related to assets and capital market among bank is crucial. If the bank was able to assess the risk at an early stage, then the bank may be able to plan for appropriate action to be taken to reduce risk before it occurred. 1.1 Risk Management in Banking Sector Driven by the increasing complexity of doing business, risk management has become an important and integral part of the company’s internal control and governance in order to achieve its plans and objectives. In other words, risk management refers to the methods and processes used by organizations to manage risks (or seize opportunities) related to the achievement of their objectives. ( Azlan Amran, Abdul Manaf Rosli Bin and Bin Che Haat Mohd Hassan, 2009) Risk management in general involves identifying; assessing, responding, prioritizing then risk followed by minimization of risk and control the probability of risk. Risk management is entering into many aspects of banking business such as increased attention and concern must be given to ensure the risk under control. Ideally, risk management in the banking sector is to reduce the risk to the minimum. For example, credit approval, the officer can reduce this risk through measure the ability to pay back by customer before approved the credit. In facing the challenge of global financial environment, banking sector is required to implement integrated risk management systems. (Rajna, 1999) They are required to identify their current risk exposure such as market risk. It is a necessary risk-reducing tool to promote long-term profitability and stability of the banks and enhance the competitive advantage of banks. If a bank has right risk management systems that can effectively capture the risk exposures, there is an opportunity for them to lower their capital charges. As a result, proper risk management practice is essential for banks to maintain competitiveness over the long run. Lastly, to manage the risk in banking sector, first the banks need to identify the risk. The risk related to banking consists of credit risk, market risk; interest rate risk, foreign risk, liquidity risk and operation risk. Risk identification is the first stage of risk management. This mean that, banks need to correctly identify the risk such as market risk of the risk expose because it helps to develop basis for next steps analysis and control of risk management. (Lubka Tchankova, 2002) 1.2 Risk Management Disclosure in Banking Sector The purpose of risk management disclosure is to allow financial analysts, shareholders, creditors, clients and any interested parties to rely on minimal standards of quality and consistency in the risk management policies of financial firms. Greater promote transparency of risk management could benefit investors. Increased transparency is considered in the numerous explanations offered in the finance literature for the willingness of firms to voluntarily disclosure complete and timely information. This is said to be benefit investors as they need comprehensive risk information if they are to completely understand the bank’s risk profile. Risk is an unavoidable element of any business venture, especially for banking sector. In addition to financial risk, a company is also susceptible to business risk or changes in the overall economic climate that can adversely affect the price of its securities. Hence, it is in the stakeholders’ best interest that risk be disclosed in a timely manner. (Azlan Amran, Abdul Manaf Rosli Bin and Bin Che Haat Mohd Hassan, 2009) Disclosure of risk management is to promote a more robust financial system. Moreover, can help to promote and maintain a sound financial system by strengthening the incentives for sound risk management within financial institutions and by improving the information which financial institutions use to make credit allocation decisions to the corporate sector. (Rajna Gibson, 1999) Normally, those banks with better disclosure will tend to attract more investor to invest, or clients more willing to place their money in the bank. Besides that, the disclosure of risk management helps to reduces information asymmetry. Investors and shareholder would be able to justify the risk position of the bank through the disclosure of respective financial information. This also can help them to justify whether the manager is acting on the interests of the company. Besides that, disclosure of risk facilitates supervision and reduces monitoring costs. Public disclosures of risk in banks annual report enable the management to foresee the potential problems; therefore can plan to reduce risk in advance, thus it save the monitoring cost indirectly. (Philip, 2005) It is argued that banks that disclose greater amounts of useful risk information would benefit from a reduction in their cost of finance as the providers of funds will be in better position to judge the bank’s risk level and this will remove the need for them to incorporate a risk premium within the cost of capital. (Linsey and Shrives, 2005) 1.3 Types of Risk in Banking Sector Risk of the banking sector can be varied and widely difference across the banking institution. Generally the risk for banks business can classified into five popular categories: credit risk, interest rate risk, foreign exchange risk, liquidity risk, and operating risk. 1. Credit risk Credit risks the most important risk categories in banking. Risk that due to the borrower unable to repay back to the banks. In order word, credit risk is the bank borrower fail to meet its obligations in accordance with agreed terms and conditions. The aim of credit risk management is to maximize a bank’s risk- adjusted rate of return by maintaining credit risk exposure within acceptable boundary. (Catherine Soke Fun Ho, 2009) Bank Negara Malaysia (2009), credit risk continues to remain the largest source of risk for banking institutions in Malaysia. This is due to the fact that a banking institution’s loan portfolio is typically the largest asset and the major source of revenue. 2. Interest rate risk Interest rate risk is one of the market risks. It is the effect of changes in market interest rate levels on the profitability of the bank. Increases in interest rates may lead to higher profits, lower profits, or no change in bank profiles. While the risk due to changes in interest rates has always been a possibility, this source of risk was not considered to be serious as long as interest rates were stable. Changes in interest rates can damage the bank’s profitability by increasing its cost of funds, lowering its returns on earning assets, and reducing the value of the owners’ investment. 3. Foreign exchange risk (Forex) Risk associate with the loss in the exchange of the currency. Foreign exchange risk is the loss being incurred because of being party to a foreign currency transaction or holding a foreign currency changes. For extreme cases, it may involve blocking of convertibility. 4. Liquidity risk Liquidity, or the ability to fund increases in assets and meet obligations as they come due, is crucial to the ongoing viability of any banking organization. Therefore, managing liquidity is among the most important activities conducted by banks. Sound liquidity management can reduce the probability of serious problems. Indeed, the importance of liquidity transcends the individual bank, since a liquidity shortfall at a single institution can have system-wide repercussions. (Basel, Feb 2000) 5. Operating risk This is refers to the risk of losses or unexpected expenses associated with fraud, check kiting, and litigation. According to Bank Negara 2009, large corporate experience of the failures due to fraud and lapses in internal controls has focused greater attention on improving operational risk management in banking institutions. 1.4 Problem Statements Driven by increase competitive in business environment today, risk management is required to be disclosed in financial statements of the companies in complying with FRS 132. However, there is an issue where a lot of companies are not willing to disclose additional voluntary information in the financial statements. As they worry valuable information is available to their rivals and creates competitive disadvantages. Radiah Otman (2009), firm may not like to disclose extensive information that might have future repercussions for their bare existence due to sensitivity of such information. This is one of the problem which investors or others interested parties do not have extensive information to evaluate banks financial performance. Apart from it, he also said that interest rate disclosure was favored as compared to credit risk among the market risks categories. 1.5 Research Question The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which commercial banks are providing risk management disclosure (qualitative information) suggested under FRS 132. Thus, the specific research questions are: Research question 1: Which type of risk more likely to be disclosed by commercial banks in Malaysia? Research question 2: Do commercial banks provided additional voluntary disclosure? Research question 3: Do the commercial banks in Malaysia disclose financial risk management objectives and policies? 1.5 Objective of the Study The general objective of this study is to examine whether the commercial bank in Malaysia complying with the general risk management guideline that provide by the FRS 132. However, the objective is broken down as below; a) To examine which type of risks are more likely to disclosed by the commercial banks in Malaysia. b) To make the comparison among commercial banks to the extent of the information disclosed in the financial statement. Whether information disclosed is voluntary information or mandatory information. c) To examine whether the commercial banks in Malaysia disclosure financial risk management objectives and policies. d) To examine whether the commercial banks in Malaysia comply with Financial Reporting Standards in Malaysian. 1.6 Conclusion After the financial crisis 1997 and also Enron scandals, it is increased need for the demand of more risk management disclosure. Risk management plays an important role in the global financial sector. Banking sector is inherently involved in risks and these risks need to be managed. Inherent risks are the risk that due by economic environment. Bank is highly exposed to this risk, as so the effective risk management is crucial. It is important for banks to release risk information to the marketplace that enables stakeholders to assess its risk profile. Disclosure of risk in financial statement able to help investors have a better understanding on how firm value is affect by risk exposure, this also can help to reduce information asymmetry between banks, investors and other stakeholders. One of the major problems here is that some companies are not willing to disclose more extensive information in their annual reports as they worry that the information is quantifiable to their competitors. Besides that, when the cost of disclosure is higher than the benefit, they will choose not to disclose the risk information. Thus, this study is to undertake which type of risk is most likely to be disclosed by commercial banks in Malaysia and examine whether the information disclosed is moderately or voluntary disclosed additional information. This study also evaluates the level of compliance among banks in Malaysia, and whether the banks disclosed financial risk management objectives and policies. 2.0 Introduction Prior to British colonial in Malaysia, accounting in Malaysia more emphasis on the recognize expenditure and revenue rather than recognize income. As after the British colonial and the accounting development and structure change over time there is increasing important for the issue such as recognition, measurement, and accountability. However, the accountants prepare the accounting reports is more emphasis on the shareholder needs. This mean they tend to alter the reports to the amount of income at which their shareholder desired in order to attract more investors. Therefore, sometime the annual reports do not actually reflect the fact of the financial position of the company. As for this reason, accounting standards play important roles to ensure that the annual report of the company is complying with the standard that are required. Companies registered in Malaysia must comply with the Company Act 1965. The Act prescribes the preparation of general purpose financial reports by certain categories of companies, and this preparation is subject to regulations from several sources. The provision of information is essential for decision maker such as investors, creditors and interested parties. However, there is a need for regulations and monitoring to ensure that the information provided to such users is reliable and unbiased. As for financial institution in Malaysia the key players in the financial reporting environment consist of Companies Commission of Malaysia; Central Bank; Securities Commission, and Malaysia Accounting Standards board (MASB). 2.1.0 Companies Commission of Malaysia All companies that incorporated under Company Act 1965 are regulated by Companies Commission of Malaysia. The Act requires certain companies, such as public listed companies or private limited companies, to prepare financial statements in accordance with approved accounting standards. Among other functions, CCM monitors compliance with accounting standards and the Company Act 1965. This involves investigating companies that do not comply with accounting standards. The function CCM includes: * enhancement and promotion of the supply of business and corporate information; * acting as agent of the Government and providing services in collecting and enforcing payment of prescribed fees; * regulating matters relating to corporations, companies and business. * encouraging and promoting proper conduct amongst directors, secretaries and other officers of a corporation The Companies Commission has played an active role in the accounting profession and the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (MASB). Coordinated efforts are undertaken by the profession together with the Companies Commission and the MASB to identify issues that impact the financial and reporting environment. 2.1.1 Central Bank Bank Negara Malaysia is the central bank of Malaysia. The main objectives are to issue currency and maintain reserves in order to safeguard the value of the currency; Act as a banker and financial adviser to the Government; promote monetary stability and a sound financial structure; and influence the credit situation to the advantage of the country. Apart from that, Bank Negara Malaysia also responsible for regulates and supervise the financial system in Malaysia. 2. 1.2 Banking and Financial Institutions Act 1989 (BAFIA) Banking and Financial Institutions Act 1989 (BAFIA) is one of the legislations to regulate and supervise the financial system. The objective of the Banking Financial Institutions Act, 1989 (BAFIA) is to provide new laws for the licensing and regulation of the institutions carrying on banking, finance company, merchant banking, discount house and money-broking business, for the regulation of institutions carrying on certain other financial businesses, and for the matters incidental thereto or connected therewith. BAFIA was introduced to provide for an integrated supervision of the Malaysian financial system and also to provide the Central Bank with the power to speedily investigate and prosecute, if necessary any illegal activities in an attempt o reduce white-collar crime. 2.1.3 Securities Commission (SC) Securities commission was set up under the Securities Commission Act 1993. The function of the Securities Commission is to promote a strong and healthy securities market and to maintain the confidence of investors in line with the provisions of the Securities Commission Act and the Securities Industries Act 1983. SC also regulates the corporate sector, particularly the listed companies. Company that listed in bursa Malaysia required filing detailed annual reports with the Commission. The period of the financial report date and the issue date must not exceed six months. The annual reports must be audited. The public companies are required to maintain a high standard of financial disclosure in order to provide the public with the information that is necessary to make informed investment decisions. The SC played a significant role in the establishment of the Financial Reporting Act 1997 and continues to be involved in the Malaysia Accounting Standards Board (MASB). The function of the SC included: * supervising exchanges, clearing houses and central depositories; * regulating all matters relating to securities and future contracts, unit trust schemes, take- over and mergers of companies; * encouraging self – regulation; * approving authority for corporate bond issues; * licensing and supervising all licensed persons; * ensuring proper conduct of market institutions and licensed persons. The SC has since 1996 embarked on three phase shift towards a Disclosure Based Regulation (DBR). With effect from 2001, it has embarked on a full DBR focus with requirements of high standards of disclosure, due diligence and corporate governance. Disclosure is crucial to investors who wish to invest or who have invested in securities sp that their investment decision process can be facilitated. Due diligence is a process undertaken by companies in disclosing information, to ensure that all information disclosure in full, timely and accurate. Corporate governance is the process and structure used to direct and manage the business and the affairs of the company towards enhancing business prosperity and corporate accountability with the ultimate objective of realizing long- term shareholder value, whilst taking into account the interests of other stakeholders. 2.1.4 Malaysia Accounting Standards Board (MASB) The Financial Reporting Act 1997 establishes the Financial Reporting Foundation (FRF) and the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (MASB). The main functions of the FRF are to provide the financing arrangements for the operations of the MASB, and review the MASB performance. MASB is an independent authority to develop and issue accounting and financial reporting standards in Malaysia. The main functions of the MASB are to: * issue new accounting standards as approved accounting standards; * review, revise or adopt as approved accounting standards existing accounting standards; * issue statements of principles for financial reporting; * sponsor or undertake development of possible accounting standards; * conduct such public consultation as may be necessary in order to determine the contents of accounting concepts, principles and standards; * develop conceptual framework for the purpose of evaluating proposed accounting standards; * make such changes to the form and content of proposed accounting standards as it considers necessary. The MASB together with the Financial Reporting Foundation (FRF) make up the framework for financial reporting in Malaysia. 2.2.0 FRS132 Disclosure Requirements In Malaysia, Bank Negara Malaysia’s and Financial Reporting Standards’ requirements act as quality control measures for bank to comply in respect of their disclosure contents of their risk in the annual report. FRS 132 (IAS 32) Financial Instruments – Disclosure and Presentation shall apply for annual periods beginning on or after 1January 2006. FRS 132 should be read in the context of its objective and the Basis for Conclusions, the Framework for the Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements. In this study, FRS will take as the guideline to examine the level of compliance among banks in Malaysia to the extent of risk information disclosed. According to paragraph 56 of FRS132 Financial Instruments – Disclosure and Presentation, there is a specific requirement that an entity shall describe its financial risk management objectives and policies, including its policy for hedging each main type of forecast transaction for which hedge accounting is used. Similarly paragraph 58 of FRS132 Financial Instrument specifies that an entity shall disclose a description of hedge; nature of risk being hedged, and a description of the financial instruments designated as hedging instruments and their fair values at the balance sheet date. For each type of market risk such as interest rate risk, an entity shall disclose information about its exposure to interest rate risk, including effective interest rates and maturity dates (or contractual re-pricing). On the other hand, for credit risk an entity shall disclose the amount that best represents its maximum credit risk exposure as at balance sheet date, without taking into account of the fair value of any collateral, in the event of other parties failing to perform their obligations under financial instruments, and significant concentration of credit risk. 2.2.1 Foreign Exchange Risk Disclosure Format When hedging instruments held or issued by an entity, either individually or as a class, creates a potentially significant exposure to the foreign exchange, commodity and interest rate risks. Their terms and conditions that warrant disclosure are: the principal, stated face value, for derivative such as IRS, forwards and future contracts; date of maturity, early settlement option held by either party to the instrument, including the period in which, or date at which, the options can be exercised and the conversion or exchange ratio. 2.2.2 Interest Rate Risk Disclosure Format The carrying amount of financial instruments exposed to interest rate risk may be presented in tabular form, grouped by those that are contracted to mature or be re-priced in the following periods after the balance sheet date. It can be one year or less; in more than one year but not more than two years; in more than two years but not more than three years; in more than three years but not more than four years; in more than fours but not more than five years; and more than five years. Interest rate information may be disclosed for individual instruments, or weighted average rates or a range of rates may be presented for each class of financial instrument. 2.2.3 Credit risk Disclosure Format The disclosure of the financial assets exposed to credit risk shall include the carrying amount of the assets in the balance sheet, net of any provisions for loss. For example, in the case of an IRS carried at fair value, the maximum exposure to loss at the balance sheet date is normally the carrying amount because it represents the cost, at current market rates, of replacing the swap in the event of default. Besides that, a financial asset subject to legally enforceable right of set-off against a financial liability shall be disclosed. It is intriguing to learn that even though MASB advise companies to disclose liquidity risk but no format has been suggested to date. 2. 3.0 Definition of commercial banks In the early days, commercial banks were commonly known as exchange banks because their business was concentrated mainly in the financing of external trade. This involved primary transactions in foreign exchange, such as remitting and receiving funds to and from abroad, and trading in commercial bills, including the short- term financing of foreign trade. Commercial banks are defined as â€Å"any person who carries on bank business†, under the Banking Act, 1973. Banking business means the business of receiving money on current or deposit account, paying and collecting checks drawn by or paid by customers, and making advances to customers, and include such other business as the Central Bank, with the approval of the Finance Minister, may prescribe. However, definition under the Banking and Finance Institution Act, 1989 (BAFIA) is almost the same as the definition under Banking Act, 1973 in which a bank can be defined as â€Å"individual or organizations† whom operates the business of banking such as receiving deposits for current account, saving account, making payment and receiving customers’ checks and other financing. Today, all the operations in the banking industry are governed by BAFIA, 1989. It is developed to replace the Finance Company Act, 1969 as well as the Banking Act, 1973. The introduction of the BAFIA is intended to provide an integrated supervision of the Malaysian financial system and to modernize and streamline the laws relating to banking and banking institutions. 2.2.1 History of Commercial Banks Commercial banks worldwide are mostly owned by private sectors. They are formed as a business organization with the objective to make profits. In their early establishment in Malaysia, commercial banks have played an important role in the transaction and development in the industry of commerce. The business was mainly focused in financing the overseas business transactions such as foreign exchange (in term of sending and receiving money to and from other countries) and also financing in the short- term markets. The main focus on external transaction was due to the development of economy sector especially in the import and export. Moreover, the business operations at that time were run by the branches with the supervision of their head office in overseas. The first bank branch in Malaysia was Charted Mechantile Bank, in 1959. The bank’s head office was initially in India, and then shifted to London and lastly China. Later, when the economy has developed drastically, there were more foreign bank branches. Today, the traditional practice of the banking industry in Malaysia has progressed. An important feature in the development of banking is the growing of locally incorporated foreign and domestic banks. BAFIA came into force on October 1, 1989 the domestic bank were required to formally exchange their licenses for new ones issued under BAFIA. The foreign banks, however, were given a time period of five years (up to October, 1994) to exchange their licenses in view of the provision requiring them to incorporate locally. The growth of locally incorporated banks marked a significant change in commercial banking in the country which prior to the 1970’s was dominated by foreign banks. As at the end of 1959, there were then only 8 domestic as compared to 18 foreign banks. After 1982, foreign banks had been restricted from opening new branches in Malaysia in line with the policy to encourage the growth and development of domestic banks, particularly the expansion of the branch network into the rural areas. As at December 1996, there are a total of 37 commercial banks with a total branch network of 15 Risk Management of Commercial Bank in Malaysia Risk Management of Commercial Bank in Malaysia Introduction 1.0 Introduction According to Bank Negara Malaysia, Malaysia banking system is divided into 3 main groups which are; 1) monetary institution comprising the Central Bank (Bank Negara), commercial and Islamic financial institutions; 2) non- monetary institutions namely merchant banks, credit and insurance companies, and development banks; and 3) foreign banks representative offices and offshore banks. Prior to the 1997 financial crisis, Malaysia had thirty seven commercial banks, forty finance companies and twelve merchant banks. However, after the financial crisis 1997, most of the banks has consolidation through mergers and acquisitions to strengthening of these financial institutions has result in thirty – five licensed commercial banks, thirty – one finance banks and twelve merchant banks. As to date, there are only twenty – two licensed commercial banks and fourteen merchant banks in Malaysia. (Shanthi Kandiah, 2009) (Table 1) However, among the twenty two licensed commercial banks only nine of the commercial banks are local bank and the rest of thirteen commercial banks are foreign banks. From the nine local commercial banks out of eight banks listed in Bursa Malaysia are: Malayan Banking Berhad, Hong Long Bank Berhad, Public Bank Berhad, Affin Bank Berhad (under Affin Holding Group), Alliance Bank Berhad (under Alliance Financial Group Berhad), Ambank Berhad ( under AMMB Holding Berhad), Eon Bank Berhad (under Eon Capital Berhad) and lastly CIMB Bank Berhad. (under Bumiputra- Commerce Holdings Berhad) while Rhb Bank Berhad, is currently not listed in the Bursa Malaysia. (Table 2) Table 2: List of Local Commercial Banks in Malaysia After the financial crisis 1997, significant numbers of bank had bankrupt or were merged with other financial institutions, which proven that, the failure of bank is due to their failure in managing their liquidity risk properly. In other words, during the financial crisis a lot of banks were incapable to provided sufficient amount of money to meet the current need of their investors. As thus, banks had said as to failure to managing their risk properly because do not have enough money liquidity in banks to meet the demand of their investors. From another perspective, big bank may not always be better because increase in organisation may present more problems than it. Bank have found that to survive it is more necessary to have a leading market share in a variety of businesses rather than just having a lot of assets or a huge capital. Thus, proper management of risk related to assets and capital market among bank is crucial. If the bank was able to assess the risk at an early stage, then the bank may be able to plan for appropriate action to be taken to reduce risk before it occurred. 1.1 Risk Management in Banking Sector Driven by the increasing complexity of doing business, risk management has become an important and integral part of the company’s internal control and governance in order to achieve its plans and objectives. In other words, risk management refers to the methods and processes used by organizations to manage risks (or seize opportunities) related to the achievement of their objectives. ( Azlan Amran, Abdul Manaf Rosli Bin and Bin Che Haat Mohd Hassan, 2009) Risk management in general involves identifying; assessing, responding, prioritizing then risk followed by minimization of risk and control the probability of risk. Risk management is entering into many aspects of banking business such as increased attention and concern must be given to ensure the risk under control. Ideally, risk management in the banking sector is to reduce the risk to the minimum. For example, credit approval, the officer can reduce this risk through measure the ability to pay back by customer before approved the credit. In facing the challenge of global financial environment, banking sector is required to implement integrated risk management systems. (Rajna, 1999) They are required to identify their current risk exposure such as market risk. It is a necessary risk-reducing tool to promote long-term profitability and stability of the banks and enhance the competitive advantage of banks. If a bank has right risk management systems that can effectively capture the risk exposures, there is an opportunity for them to lower their capital charges. As a result, proper risk management practice is essential for banks to maintain competitiveness over the long run. Lastly, to manage the risk in banking sector, first the banks need to identify the risk. The risk related to banking consists of credit risk, market risk; interest rate risk, foreign risk, liquidity risk and operation risk. Risk identification is the first stage of risk management. This mean that, banks need to correctly identify the risk such as market risk of the risk expose because it helps to develop basis for next steps analysis and control of risk management. (Lubka Tchankova, 2002) 1.2 Risk Management Disclosure in Banking Sector The purpose of risk management disclosure is to allow financial analysts, shareholders, creditors, clients and any interested parties to rely on minimal standards of quality and consistency in the risk management policies of financial firms. Greater promote transparency of risk management could benefit investors. Increased transparency is considered in the numerous explanations offered in the finance literature for the willingness of firms to voluntarily disclosure complete and timely information. This is said to be benefit investors as they need comprehensive risk information if they are to completely understand the bank’s risk profile. Risk is an unavoidable element of any business venture, especially for banking sector. In addition to financial risk, a company is also susceptible to business risk or changes in the overall economic climate that can adversely affect the price of its securities. Hence, it is in the stakeholders’ best interest that risk be disclosed in a timely manner. (Azlan Amran, Abdul Manaf Rosli Bin and Bin Che Haat Mohd Hassan, 2009) Disclosure of risk management is to promote a more robust financial system. Moreover, can help to promote and maintain a sound financial system by strengthening the incentives for sound risk management within financial institutions and by improving the information which financial institutions use to make credit allocation decisions to the corporate sector. (Rajna Gibson, 1999) Normally, those banks with better disclosure will tend to attract more investor to invest, or clients more willing to place their money in the bank. Besides that, the disclosure of risk management helps to reduces information asymmetry. Investors and shareholder would be able to justify the risk position of the bank through the disclosure of respective financial information. This also can help them to justify whether the manager is acting on the interests of the company. Besides that, disclosure of risk facilitates supervision and reduces monitoring costs. Public disclosures of risk in banks annual report enable the management to foresee the potential problems; therefore can plan to reduce risk in advance, thus it save the monitoring cost indirectly. (Philip, 2005) It is argued that banks that disclose greater amounts of useful risk information would benefit from a reduction in their cost of finance as the providers of funds will be in better position to judge the bank’s risk level and this will remove the need for them to incorporate a risk premium within the cost of capital. (Linsey and Shrives, 2005) 1.3 Types of Risk in Banking Sector Risk of the banking sector can be varied and widely difference across the banking institution. Generally the risk for banks business can classified into five popular categories: credit risk, interest rate risk, foreign exchange risk, liquidity risk, and operating risk. 1. Credit risk Credit risks the most important risk categories in banking. Risk that due to the borrower unable to repay back to the banks. In order word, credit risk is the bank borrower fail to meet its obligations in accordance with agreed terms and conditions. The aim of credit risk management is to maximize a bank’s risk- adjusted rate of return by maintaining credit risk exposure within acceptable boundary. (Catherine Soke Fun Ho, 2009) Bank Negara Malaysia (2009), credit risk continues to remain the largest source of risk for banking institutions in Malaysia. This is due to the fact that a banking institution’s loan portfolio is typically the largest asset and the major source of revenue. 2. Interest rate risk Interest rate risk is one of the market risks. It is the effect of changes in market interest rate levels on the profitability of the bank. Increases in interest rates may lead to higher profits, lower profits, or no change in bank profiles. While the risk due to changes in interest rates has always been a possibility, this source of risk was not considered to be serious as long as interest rates were stable. Changes in interest rates can damage the bank’s profitability by increasing its cost of funds, lowering its returns on earning assets, and reducing the value of the owners’ investment. 3. Foreign exchange risk (Forex) Risk associate with the loss in the exchange of the currency. Foreign exchange risk is the loss being incurred because of being party to a foreign currency transaction or holding a foreign currency changes. For extreme cases, it may involve blocking of convertibility. 4. Liquidity risk Liquidity, or the ability to fund increases in assets and meet obligations as they come due, is crucial to the ongoing viability of any banking organization. Therefore, managing liquidity is among the most important activities conducted by banks. Sound liquidity management can reduce the probability of serious problems. Indeed, the importance of liquidity transcends the individual bank, since a liquidity shortfall at a single institution can have system-wide repercussions. (Basel, Feb 2000) 5. Operating risk This is refers to the risk of losses or unexpected expenses associated with fraud, check kiting, and litigation. According to Bank Negara 2009, large corporate experience of the failures due to fraud and lapses in internal controls has focused greater attention on improving operational risk management in banking institutions. 1.4 Problem Statements Driven by increase competitive in business environment today, risk management is required to be disclosed in financial statements of the companies in complying with FRS 132. However, there is an issue where a lot of companies are not willing to disclose additional voluntary information in the financial statements. As they worry valuable information is available to their rivals and creates competitive disadvantages. Radiah Otman (2009), firm may not like to disclose extensive information that might have future repercussions for their bare existence due to sensitivity of such information. This is one of the problem which investors or others interested parties do not have extensive information to evaluate banks financial performance. Apart from it, he also said that interest rate disclosure was favored as compared to credit risk among the market risks categories. 1.5 Research Question The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which commercial banks are providing risk management disclosure (qualitative information) suggested under FRS 132. Thus, the specific research questions are: Research question 1: Which type of risk more likely to be disclosed by commercial banks in Malaysia? Research question 2: Do commercial banks provided additional voluntary disclosure? Research question 3: Do the commercial banks in Malaysia disclose financial risk management objectives and policies? 1.5 Objective of the Study The general objective of this study is to examine whether the commercial bank in Malaysia complying with the general risk management guideline that provide by the FRS 132. However, the objective is broken down as below; a) To examine which type of risks are more likely to disclosed by the commercial banks in Malaysia. b) To make the comparison among commercial banks to the extent of the information disclosed in the financial statement. Whether information disclosed is voluntary information or mandatory information. c) To examine whether the commercial banks in Malaysia disclosure financial risk management objectives and policies. d) To examine whether the commercial banks in Malaysia comply with Financial Reporting Standards in Malaysian. 1.6 Conclusion After the financial crisis 1997 and also Enron scandals, it is increased need for the demand of more risk management disclosure. Risk management plays an important role in the global financial sector. Banking sector is inherently involved in risks and these risks need to be managed. Inherent risks are the risk that due by economic environment. Bank is highly exposed to this risk, as so the effective risk management is crucial. It is important for banks to release risk information to the marketplace that enables stakeholders to assess its risk profile. Disclosure of risk in financial statement able to help investors have a better understanding on how firm value is affect by risk exposure, this also can help to reduce information asymmetry between banks, investors and other stakeholders. One of the major problems here is that some companies are not willing to disclose more extensive information in their annual reports as they worry that the information is quantifiable to their competitors. Besides that, when the cost of disclosure is higher than the benefit, they will choose not to disclose the risk information. Thus, this study is to undertake which type of risk is most likely to be disclosed by commercial banks in Malaysia and examine whether the information disclosed is moderately or voluntary disclosed additional information. This study also evaluates the level of compliance among banks in Malaysia, and whether the banks disclosed financial risk management objectives and policies. 2.0 Introduction Prior to British colonial in Malaysia, accounting in Malaysia more emphasis on the recognize expenditure and revenue rather than recognize income. As after the British colonial and the accounting development and structure change over time there is increasing important for the issue such as recognition, measurement, and accountability. However, the accountants prepare the accounting reports is more emphasis on the shareholder needs. This mean they tend to alter the reports to the amount of income at which their shareholder desired in order to attract more investors. Therefore, sometime the annual reports do not actually reflect the fact of the financial position of the company. As for this reason, accounting standards play important roles to ensure that the annual report of the company is complying with the standard that are required. Companies registered in Malaysia must comply with the Company Act 1965. The Act prescribes the preparation of general purpose financial reports by certain categories of companies, and this preparation is subject to regulations from several sources. The provision of information is essential for decision maker such as investors, creditors and interested parties. However, there is a need for regulations and monitoring to ensure that the information provided to such users is reliable and unbiased. As for financial institution in Malaysia the key players in the financial reporting environment consist of Companies Commission of Malaysia; Central Bank; Securities Commission, and Malaysia Accounting Standards board (MASB). 2.1.0 Companies Commission of Malaysia All companies that incorporated under Company Act 1965 are regulated by Companies Commission of Malaysia. The Act requires certain companies, such as public listed companies or private limited companies, to prepare financial statements in accordance with approved accounting standards. Among other functions, CCM monitors compliance with accounting standards and the Company Act 1965. This involves investigating companies that do not comply with accounting standards. The function CCM includes: * enhancement and promotion of the supply of business and corporate information; * acting as agent of the Government and providing services in collecting and enforcing payment of prescribed fees; * regulating matters relating to corporations, companies and business. * encouraging and promoting proper conduct amongst directors, secretaries and other officers of a corporation The Companies Commission has played an active role in the accounting profession and the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (MASB). Coordinated efforts are undertaken by the profession together with the Companies Commission and the MASB to identify issues that impact the financial and reporting environment. 2.1.1 Central Bank Bank Negara Malaysia is the central bank of Malaysia. The main objectives are to issue currency and maintain reserves in order to safeguard the value of the currency; Act as a banker and financial adviser to the Government; promote monetary stability and a sound financial structure; and influence the credit situation to the advantage of the country. Apart from that, Bank Negara Malaysia also responsible for regulates and supervise the financial system in Malaysia. 2. 1.2 Banking and Financial Institutions Act 1989 (BAFIA) Banking and Financial Institutions Act 1989 (BAFIA) is one of the legislations to regulate and supervise the financial system. The objective of the Banking Financial Institutions Act, 1989 (BAFIA) is to provide new laws for the licensing and regulation of the institutions carrying on banking, finance company, merchant banking, discount house and money-broking business, for the regulation of institutions carrying on certain other financial businesses, and for the matters incidental thereto or connected therewith. BAFIA was introduced to provide for an integrated supervision of the Malaysian financial system and also to provide the Central Bank with the power to speedily investigate and prosecute, if necessary any illegal activities in an attempt o reduce white-collar crime. 2.1.3 Securities Commission (SC) Securities commission was set up under the Securities Commission Act 1993. The function of the Securities Commission is to promote a strong and healthy securities market and to maintain the confidence of investors in line with the provisions of the Securities Commission Act and the Securities Industries Act 1983. SC also regulates the corporate sector, particularly the listed companies. Company that listed in bursa Malaysia required filing detailed annual reports with the Commission. The period of the financial report date and the issue date must not exceed six months. The annual reports must be audited. The public companies are required to maintain a high standard of financial disclosure in order to provide the public with the information that is necessary to make informed investment decisions. The SC played a significant role in the establishment of the Financial Reporting Act 1997 and continues to be involved in the Malaysia Accounting Standards Board (MASB). The function of the SC included: * supervising exchanges, clearing houses and central depositories; * regulating all matters relating to securities and future contracts, unit trust schemes, take- over and mergers of companies; * encouraging self – regulation; * approving authority for corporate bond issues; * licensing and supervising all licensed persons; * ensuring proper conduct of market institutions and licensed persons. The SC has since 1996 embarked on three phase shift towards a Disclosure Based Regulation (DBR). With effect from 2001, it has embarked on a full DBR focus with requirements of high standards of disclosure, due diligence and corporate governance. Disclosure is crucial to investors who wish to invest or who have invested in securities sp that their investment decision process can be facilitated. Due diligence is a process undertaken by companies in disclosing information, to ensure that all information disclosure in full, timely and accurate. Corporate governance is the process and structure used to direct and manage the business and the affairs of the company towards enhancing business prosperity and corporate accountability with the ultimate objective of realizing long- term shareholder value, whilst taking into account the interests of other stakeholders. 2.1.4 Malaysia Accounting Standards Board (MASB) The Financial Reporting Act 1997 establishes the Financial Reporting Foundation (FRF) and the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (MASB). The main functions of the FRF are to provide the financing arrangements for the operations of the MASB, and review the MASB performance. MASB is an independent authority to develop and issue accounting and financial reporting standards in Malaysia. The main functions of the MASB are to: * issue new accounting standards as approved accounting standards; * review, revise or adopt as approved accounting standards existing accounting standards; * issue statements of principles for financial reporting; * sponsor or undertake development of possible accounting standards; * conduct such public consultation as may be necessary in order to determine the contents of accounting concepts, principles and standards; * develop conceptual framework for the purpose of evaluating proposed accounting standards; * make such changes to the form and content of proposed accounting standards as it considers necessary. The MASB together with the Financial Reporting Foundation (FRF) make up the framework for financial reporting in Malaysia. 2.2.0 FRS132 Disclosure Requirements In Malaysia, Bank Negara Malaysia’s and Financial Reporting Standards’ requirements act as quality control measures for bank to comply in respect of their disclosure contents of their risk in the annual report. FRS 132 (IAS 32) Financial Instruments – Disclosure and Presentation shall apply for annual periods beginning on or after 1January 2006. FRS 132 should be read in the context of its objective and the Basis for Conclusions, the Framework for the Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements. In this study, FRS will take as the guideline to examine the level of compliance among banks in Malaysia to the extent of risk information disclosed. According to paragraph 56 of FRS132 Financial Instruments – Disclosure and Presentation, there is a specific requirement that an entity shall describe its financial risk management objectives and policies, including its policy for hedging each main type of forecast transaction for which hedge accounting is used. Similarly paragraph 58 of FRS132 Financial Instrument specifies that an entity shall disclose a description of hedge; nature of risk being hedged, and a description of the financial instruments designated as hedging instruments and their fair values at the balance sheet date. For each type of market risk such as interest rate risk, an entity shall disclose information about its exposure to interest rate risk, including effective interest rates and maturity dates (or contractual re-pricing). On the other hand, for credit risk an entity shall disclose the amount that best represents its maximum credit risk exposure as at balance sheet date, without taking into account of the fair value of any collateral, in the event of other parties failing to perform their obligations under financial instruments, and significant concentration of credit risk. 2.2.1 Foreign Exchange Risk Disclosure Format When hedging instruments held or issued by an entity, either individually or as a class, creates a potentially significant exposure to the foreign exchange, commodity and interest rate risks. Their terms and conditions that warrant disclosure are: the principal, stated face value, for derivative such as IRS, forwards and future contracts; date of maturity, early settlement option held by either party to the instrument, including the period in which, or date at which, the options can be exercised and the conversion or exchange ratio. 2.2.2 Interest Rate Risk Disclosure Format The carrying amount of financial instruments exposed to interest rate risk may be presented in tabular form, grouped by those that are contracted to mature or be re-priced in the following periods after the balance sheet date. It can be one year or less; in more than one year but not more than two years; in more than two years but not more than three years; in more than three years but not more than four years; in more than fours but not more than five years; and more than five years. Interest rate information may be disclosed for individual instruments, or weighted average rates or a range of rates may be presented for each class of financial instrument. 2.2.3 Credit risk Disclosure Format The disclosure of the financial assets exposed to credit risk shall include the carrying amount of the assets in the balance sheet, net of any provisions for loss. For example, in the case of an IRS carried at fair value, the maximum exposure to loss at the balance sheet date is normally the carrying amount because it represents the cost, at current market rates, of replacing the swap in the event of default. Besides that, a financial asset subject to legally enforceable right of set-off against a financial liability shall be disclosed. It is intriguing to learn that even though MASB advise companies to disclose liquidity risk but no format has been suggested to date. 2. 3.0 Definition of commercial banks In the early days, commercial banks were commonly known as exchange banks because their business was concentrated mainly in the financing of external trade. This involved primary transactions in foreign exchange, such as remitting and receiving funds to and from abroad, and trading in commercial bills, including the short- term financing of foreign trade. Commercial banks are defined as â€Å"any person who carries on bank business†, under the Banking Act, 1973. Banking business means the business of receiving money on current or deposit account, paying and collecting checks drawn by or paid by customers, and making advances to customers, and include such other business as the Central Bank, with the approval of the Finance Minister, may prescribe. However, definition under the Banking and Finance Institution Act, 1989 (BAFIA) is almost the same as the definition under Banking Act, 1973 in which a bank can be defined as â€Å"individual or organizations† whom operates the business of banking such as receiving deposits for current account, saving account, making payment and receiving customers’ checks and other financing. Today, all the operations in the banking industry are governed by BAFIA, 1989. It is developed to replace the Finance Company Act, 1969 as well as the Banking Act, 1973. The introduction of the BAFIA is intended to provide an integrated supervision of the Malaysian financial system and to modernize and streamline the laws relating to banking and banking institutions. 2.2.1 History of Commercial Banks Commercial banks worldwide are mostly owned by private sectors. They are formed as a business organization with the objective to make profits. In their early establishment in Malaysia, commercial banks have played an important role in the transaction and development in the industry of commerce. The business was mainly focused in financing the overseas business transactions such as foreign exchange (in term of sending and receiving money to and from other countries) and also financing in the short- term markets. The main focus on external transaction was due to the development of economy sector especially in the import and export. Moreover, the business operations at that time were run by the branches with the supervision of their head office in overseas. The first bank branch in Malaysia was Charted Mechantile Bank, in 1959. The bank’s head office was initially in India, and then shifted to London and lastly China. Later, when the economy has developed drastically, there were more foreign bank branches. Today, the traditional practice of the banking industry in Malaysia has progressed. An important feature in the development of banking is the growing of locally incorporated foreign and domestic banks. BAFIA came into force on October 1, 1989 the domestic bank were required to formally exchange their licenses for new ones issued under BAFIA. The foreign banks, however, were given a time period of five years (up to October, 1994) to exchange their licenses in view of the provision requiring them to incorporate locally. The growth of locally incorporated banks marked a significant change in commercial banking in the country which prior to the 1970’s was dominated by foreign banks. As at the end of 1959, there were then only 8 domestic as compared to 18 foreign banks. After 1982, foreign banks had been restricted from opening new branches in Malaysia in line with the policy to encourage the growth and development of domestic banks, particularly the expansion of the branch network into the rural areas. As at December 1996, there are a total of 37 commercial banks with a total branch network of 15