Friday, January 31, 2020

Employee Reward Strategy for Heidelberg Insurance Services Assignment

Employee Reward Strategy for Heidelberg Insurance Services - Assignment Example In order to reduce the problems of lack of commitment, Poor quality performance and Lack of effective control, it is hereby recommended that the amount of times based salary in their monthly take home should be considerably reduced and a new system of commission based salary should be introduced. Commission should be directly proportionate to the volume of sales achieved by individual sales consultant. Also, the formula of higher the sales, the higher the percentage of commission should apply. Complete abandonment of fixed based salary is not recommended because it will reduce job security that may lead to high turnover. Also, if due to any reason i.e. illness, a sales consultant is not able to work for full number of days in a month; his/her commission income will sharply reduce. Thus, this fixed based salary will supplement that consultant's income in that particular month. Ultimately it will lead to enhanced commitment towards HIS. In an addition, to ensure effective checks and balances on the activities of sales consultants, amount of commission income should be made inversely proportionate to the number of complaints received against each of them. A Points System of Rewards i.e. ... Customer's feedback should also have strong impact on a sales consultant's pay package and quarterly/yearly bonus. To achieve this, customer satisfaction survey should be conducted after careful selection of sample. It will help in two ways. First of all it will make the customer feel that his/her feedback regarding the sales consultant's service to him is important to the company and thus it will develop a sense of attachment between him/her and the company. Secondly, it will help exercise effective control over the sales consultant. He/she will take great care at the time of making commitments - a problem that the company is facing and paying for by bad publicity by some unsatisfied customers. It is also highly recommended that the team of sales consultants should not be hired by one sales director only; they should be divided into 4 teams and each team headed by one team leader directly reporting to the sales director. It will be easy for team leaders and the sales director also to handle small groups of people that will help develop committed teams competing with each other in terms of sales and quality of output. Clerical Division Existing Payment System An organization's success depends not only on the performance of its sales team and / or of the senior management, the minor tasks performed by clerical staff are also important though relatively lesser than that of others. At Heidelberg, existing reward strategy does not reflects any thing that may motivate clerical staff to stay committed to the organization and to help achieve management's aim of reducing cost. Recommended Reward Strategy Since the job does not require a very high level of commitment, neither does

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Isabel allende :: essays research papers

About the Author It was fifteen years ago that, Isabel Allende took the literary world by storm with the publication of The House of the Spirits, a novel which chronicled four generations of a Chilean family against the backdrop of Chile's brutal history. The Times of London heralded Allende as having "the rare ability to blend fantasy and legend with political fact and a well-plotted narrative to produce an enchanted world unlike anything else in contemporary fiction." The New York Times called the book "a unique achievement, both personal witness and possible allegory of the past, present and future of Latin America." Allende followed her impressive debut with Of Love and Shadows, Eva Luna, The Stories of Eva Luna, and The Infinite Plan, all bestsellers around the world. Critical accolades have greeted the publication of each of Allende's books, which have commonly been cited for their compassion, imagination, humor and originality. The House of the Spirits was made into a feature film with an all-star cast headed by Jeremy Irons, Meryl Streep, and Glenn Close. Of Love and Shadows, starring Antonio Banderas, was released a year later. Isabel Allende was born in Lima, Peru, in 1942 and raised in Chile, Bolivia, Europe, and the Middle East, as her peripatetic family followed her stepfather's diplomatic career. She worked as a journalist in Chile until the 1973 military coup. Allende fled her homeland, settling in Venezuela with her husband, son and daughter. "I felt, as many Chileans did, that my life had been cut into pieces, and that I had to start over again," she recalls. Isolated from her family, and in particular from her beloved grandfather who was close to death, Allende began to write a long letter in which she reassured him that the would always be kept alive in her memories. That letter grew into The House of the Spirits. PAULA, Allende's first non-fiction book is a deeply moving memoir inspired by the tragic fatal illness of her 28 year-old daughter. It, too, began as a letter from mother to daughter that becomes a meditation on a mother's life and a daughter's death.

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Catchment Area Analysis for 24 Hour Fitness in Cochin

CATCHMENT AREA ANALYSIS FOR 24 HOUR FITNESS IN COCHIN, KERALA SYNOPSIS OF CATCHMENT AREA STUDY SL NOTABLE OF CONTENTSPAGE NO 1Catchment area PTA, STA, TTA2 2Vytila and vicinity7 3Property demand12 4Infrastructural growth12 5Findings14 6Strategy for 24 hour fitness14 7Reference15 CATCHMENT AREA PRIMARY TRADE AREA LOCATIONDRIVING DISTANCE Elamkulam2 mins Vytilla2mins TERTIARY TRADE AREA LOCATIONDRIVING DISTANCE Gigi Nagar15 mins Panapilly Nagar16 mins SECONDARY TRADE AREA LOCATIONDRIVING DISTANCE KSRTC BUS STAND7 mins Kadavanthara8 mins 24 Hour Fitness is an international fitness brand.The trade area is divided as primary, secondary and teritiary on the basis of time taken by drive to reach the destination. 1-5 mins drive is considered for primary, 6-10 mins for secondary and 11-15 mins for teritiary trade area. This is based on the fact that, time required to reach a fitness centre is highly deterministic. TRADE AREA ANALYSIS: PTA – PRIMARY TRADE AREA STA – SECONDARY TRA DE AREA TTA – TARTIARY TRADE AREA Primary Catchment The Primary Catchment is within 0-5 minutes’ drive to 24 Hour Fitness. The areas are: †¢Vyttila †¢ElamkulamTherefore the primary catchment of 24 Hour Fitness is strategically situated amidst the densely populated Vyttila and Elamkulam areas. Secondary Catchment The Secondary Catchment is within 5-10 minutes’ drive. The areas are: †¢Kadavanthra †¢Ponnurunni Therefore the secondary catchment of 24 Hour Fitness is the densely populated Kadavanthara which is a residential area. Tertiary Catchment The Tertiary Catchment is within 10-20 minutes of drive time. The areas are: †¢Giri Nagar †¢Panampilly Nagar †¢Chalikkavattom Therefore the tertiary catchment of 24 Hour Fitness is the thickly populatedGiri Nagar, Panampilly Nagar and Chalikkavattom which is a core residential area. The primary, secondary and teritiary trade areas cover the important and potential residential areas of Coc hin. The target consumers of 24 hour fitness can easily access the brand with this location. Road Ways The Sahodaran Ayyapan road from west to Vytila is common for all the target consumers from Kadavanthara, Panampally, Kaloor. This is the primary roadway for 24 Hour fitness. This location completely restricts the flow of customers to the Gold Gym Vytila, which is a competition. The Edapally Vytila road brings in customers from north.These are the primary roadways which is sccesible for the target customers. It is giving a direct competition to Gold Gym, Vytila, which is comparatively low priced and infrastructuraly poor compared to 24 Hour Fitness. Vytila and vicinity Vyttila is an intersection as well as the name of a region in the city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. It is one of the largest as well as the busiest intersections in Kerala. This node intersects the main north-south artery of the state of Kerala, namely, the National Highway 47, with three city roads of Koc hi viz, the S. A.Road (east-west), the Vyttila-Petta Road, and the Thammanam Road. Vyttila hosts the Kochi Mobility Hub, which converges different ways of surface transport (namely, local as well as long distance buses, rail, Metro Railand inland water transport) to the city onto a single node. Institutions Vyttila is home to hospitals like the Welcare Hospital and the Mother & Child Hospital. The State Bank of India, State Bank of Travancore, Punjab National Bank, Corporation Bank, Vijaya Bank,Bank of Baroda, Federal Bank, South Indian Bank all have branches in this area. Toc H Public School, St. Rita's H.S Ponnurunni, C. K. C. L. P. S are schools located in Vyttila. There are several supermarkets (prominent among them include V-Mart and the Margin Free Market chain of mini-super markets) in this area in addition to several mom & pop stores and pharmacies. Eateries like K. R Bakes, Aryaas, Best Bakers, delight Bakers and traditional ‘Thattukadas' are also decent hangouts for people across age groups in the junction. Schools Vyttila hosts the following schools ?Toc H Public School ?C. K. C Girls High School, Ponnurunni ?St. Rita's Boy's High School, Ponnurunni Hospitals ?Welcare Hospital Mother & Child Hospital ?Ranjini Eye Hospital Shopping and entertainment The Kundannoor-Edapally streatch of the National Highway 47 passing through Vyttila, is home for the largest malls in the state of Kerala. The Largest shopping mall in the state – Gold Souk is located in Vyttila on NH Bypass. The mall has 4 Screen Multiplex Cinemas, Spacious Hypermarkets, Food courts, Restaurants and branded retail outlets. There are several supermarkets (prominent among them include V-Mart and the Margin Free Market chain of mini-super markets) in this area in addition to several mom & pop stores and pharmacies.Eateries like K. R Bakes, Aryaas, Best Bakers, delight Bakers and traditional ‘Thattukadas' are also decent hangouts for people across age groups in the junctio n. The Oberon Mall, one of biggest malls in Kochi with its cinemax theatres, is also situated along the way from Vyttila to Edappally. Real Estate, Builders and Apartments: †¢Confident Group †¢Mather Group †¢Good Day properties †¢Mansions †¢Good earth †¢Aurora †¢Siddhi †¢Dubex River garden †¢Real India †¢VKL group †¢Sri Ram Krishna Builders †¢Skyline Orion Villa †¢Santhi Shreyas †¢Jewel Homes †¢Water Lilly Premium apartments Financial Institutions Axis Bank †¢Icici Bank †¢Bank of Baroda †¢South Indian Bank †¢State Bank of India †¢Thammanam Service Co-operative Bank Restaurants †¢Pizza Hut †¢Hotel Aryas †¢Smoke House †¢Muruga Hotel †¢Qualis Hotel †¢Hotel Anugraha †¢Albarad Restaurant †¢Nyle Plaza †¢Janahridayam †¢Hotel Mermaid Property Demand The proposed site is between the Vytila Junction and Elamkulam Bridge. The property cost at thi s site averages to 10-12 lakhs per cent. This is one of the most demanded properties in Cochin. This is because of the high residential potential and the emergence of Vytila as the second business centre of Cochin.There has been a drastic increase in the land prices at Vytila over years due to this factor. Infrastructural Growth With the advent of the Vytila mobility hub Vytila is also expecting a major infrastructural change. The Cochin metro is proposed to be passing through Vytila. Recent talks between policy makers indicate that the metro may have a metro stop at Vytila. With operations of Cochin Metro service more people will have direct access to the GYM, within minutes, thus increasing the trade area of the fitness centre. This aspect is also considered while selecting the current location. FINDINGSThe proposed site for 24 Hour Fitness in Cochin has advantages as well as disadvantages. Though the property costs are high, the site attracts the major target customers if located at the proposed site. The site between Elamkulam Bridge and Vytila Junction covers major residential areas covering middle and high class men and women at Vytila, Kaloor, Panampally Nagar, Kadavanthara etc. The site is centre to many apartments where target customers live in. The site directly gives competition to Gold Gym blocking their accessibility through the west road entering Vytila. There have been huge developments in infrastructure.The Cochin metro can bring in customers from far city within minutes to the site as the metro passes directly over the place. Strategy for 24 Hour Fitness The International Fitness brand can definitely enter the Cochin market with their fitness message. There has been an increase in the fitness concerns with the people in Cochin. The proximity to the fitness centre is a major concern for all the members of the brand. Taking this factor into account and to attract maximum number of target customers, 24 Hour Fitness can adopt following strategies. †¢High accessibility †¢Good parking facilities †¢Loyalty schemes Separate training hours for non-working women †¢Separate Training hours for working men and women There cannot be any spill over effect for 24 hour fitness with this site. This is because the place is void of any corporate offices from where employees may prefer to go to the fitness centre prior work. This move is based on the fact that this spill over will not account for a high attraction of customers. 24 Hour Fitness can even facilitate transport facilities to achieve high attraction. Sources and Reference †¢Goole Maps †¢ICICI PROPERTY REPORT †¢NEWSPAPER ARTICLE – TIMES PROPERTY †¢24 HOUR FITNESS OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

The Russian Financial Crisis of 1998 - 2163 Words

Introduction A financial crisis can be characterized by the rapid decrease in the value of financial institutions or assets. It is also common for investors to panic and withdraw money from their savings or sell off investments in anticipation of the depreciation in their value. This can be clearly seen in the Russian Financial Crisis of 1998. In the midst of making the transition from communism to capitalism, the Russian economy experienced more trouble than it had anticipated. This became not only a fiscal issue but also became very social and political. The people of Russia experienced exceptional hardships. This paper will illustrate the major shocks to the Russian foreign exchange reserves. These shocks include the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 and the decline in demand and price for Russia’s top exports. The role played by foreign investors in the crisis and what effects these players had on the devaluation of the ruble will be analyzed. The Russian Financial Crisis of 1998 caused the devaluation of the ruble and ultimately forced the Russian Central Bank to default on its own debt. The government’s attempts at saving the country from crisis were in vain and lead to the call for resignation of President Boris Yeltsin. Background After 1991, Russia decided to make the move from communism to capitalism. This was projected to bring prosperity in Russia, the likes of which had never been seen. This move by President Boris Yeltsin meant that he renounced his affiliationShow MoreRelatedRussian Financial Crisis (1998)4161 Words   |  17 PagesTopic 3: Russian financial crisis (1998) 1.0 Introduction Affected by the Southeast Asian financial crisis, Russia suffered from the financial crisis in May 1998 followed the crisis in October 1997. The crisis initially reflected on currency market and security market. 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