Outline and discuss the evolution of CSR( Corporate Social Essay

Outline and discuss the evolution of CSR( Corporate Social Responsibility), including its history, role in the financial crisis and prospects for the future. Support your answer with examples - Essay Example 141). However, there are some people who prefer to remain silent. Despite this variation, the final objective of a decent and humane society has been acknowledged as one in which the corporate sector sustains the environment and conserves resources (Robins, 2008, p. 337). Moreover, CSR has the capacity to contribute to the environmental and social sustainability of business (Manske and Frey, 2006, p. 11). With regard to businesses that apply emerging technologies, the forestalling and management of the wider social impacts of these technologies assume importance. A number of enabling technological solutions have been facilitated by nanoscale science and technology (NST). These solutions could result in unprecedented innovations in several sectors of the economy, such as healthcare, electronics and sustainable energy (Groves et al., 2011, p. 525). As a consequence of this potentiality, NST has raised concerns regarding its ethical, legal and social influences (Frewer et al., 2011, p. 271). There are several issues related to nanotechnologies, and attempts to address these problems have been limited. For instance, there are important knowledge gaps regarding the probable effects of nanomaterials upon the environment and health. Moreover, nanomaterials derive their importance from several traits. One of these is their enhanced reactivity. Some of these characteristics can produce negative consequences on accidental release and exposure to these substances (Groves et al., 2011, p. 525). The early definitions of CSR had focused upon what constituted the social responsibility of a company, and the reasons for rendering them socially responsible. These definitions had also regarded CSR to be the same as the philanthropic and voluntary acts of business organisations that had been aimed at addressing the drawbacks in society and at benefiting the disadvantaged sections thereof (Mishra and Suar, 2010, p.

Establishing theme Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Establishing theme - Essay Example as’ literary works, many things with the reference to the Star Wars universe (toys, clothes and other items of everyday use) have been produced and successfully marketed. The films themselves deserve particular interest because of the strength and actuality of the themes they cover, and the movie of the present paper – the fourth episode, â€Å"Star Wars: A New Hope† – deal with the one of the most often discussed topic – the destiny of an individual. The film uses techniques (lighting) and design elements (costuming, set design) which contribute to this topic establishment, which will be explained below. Lighting. The use of lighting technique is a strong point of the film, especially in regards to the theme of the destiny of a human being. The scenes of the film which involve the film protagonist – Luke Skywalker (for example, a scene when he buys droids for his caregivers’ farm in a desert: the sun is shining bright, and the sky is cloudless – no obstacles for the light) – employ a sufficient amount of the light of both natural and artificial origin, which determines his destiny as positive and, what is important, realized by himself as such. The best example of the lighting employment is the light sabers of the Jedi – in the trilogies, blue saber is a feature of a positive character (Jedi knight), whereas the negative ones, the Siths, operate red power beams. The light of a light saber is an indicator of a character and a reflection of his fate – the Jedi fulfill the mission of the good and complete it, even if they are killed in a combat , they are present with their close persons and guide them in a correct direction, whereas the Siths strive only for their own satisfaction and want absolute power which, in the end, leads them to failure. (Lucas, 1977). It is also necessary to mention that the visualization of the lighting effects were on a relatively high level for the times of the film, and â€Å"†¦brought audiences into more immediate

The attractiveness of investing in islamic mutual funds Research Proposal

The attractiveness of investing in islamic mutual funds - Research Proposal Example The British government acclaims that United Kingdom is the principal hub for Islamic economics out of the Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) region. Countries such as Malaysia have distinct clear policy intentions for growth. In retrospect, studies have confirmed that Britain is the global pioneer for Islamic business education. Islamic pecuniary services are obtainable in Britain by approximately two dozen commercial banks comprising of Barclays, HSBC, as well as RBS. HSBC’s Islamic business department Amanah, which is predominantly the market leader, realised an almanac asset evolution of over 50% in 2007 and 2008 period. Later down the line, the bank had grown its Islamic investment return to almost ten times this amount by the year 2013. This growth is owed to the fact that as Shari’a rule forbids many high-risk doings. Islamic fiscal services have overtime been less influenced by the credit catastrophes than their orthodox counterparts, which swells this appeal. Wester n nations like the US or Switzerland are also endorsing their Islamic fiscal services to appeal to investors. As a multibillion-dollar business within Islamic economics and Islamic share, Islamic mutual funds stand as a gold mine to both Muslims and non-Muslims in the global economic sphere. Over seven hundred Islamic joint funds are presently offered, which concentrate on a diversity of different resources for instance equities, asset finance, as well as real property. Despite the fact that this section of the investment market holds so much potential little information on why it is attractive to investors have been done. In this paper, a sample of Saudi Arabian investors and Islamic mutual funds executives was made to make sense of the phenomenon Despite the fact that Islamic investment has been viewed as a growing and a potentially gold mine venture, the reason why venture is related to the industry’s restricted nature by a couple

Postivie and Negative Effects of Televised Sports Essay

Postivie and Negative Effects of Televised Sports - Essay Example Further it has the negative effect because of the tobacco and alcohol industries promote their products through the sports channel which is viewed by large number of adolescents which may cause to start smoking and alcohol consumption at an early age. In this essay these topics are discussed in detail. Telecast of hockey or any other game generates an early awareness and interest in the sport and creates a fan base. Such broadcasting provides a learning feature for viewers. These televised sports event also endorse player profiles enabling admirers to pursue their favorite athlete’s career growths. Spectators who are fascinated and knowledgeable are admirers who are present at games and encourage an excited environment that inspires a team to play well. Televised games generate awareness and interest in the sport where spectators who may not watch a game otherwise. For example the televised Men’s hockey finals in the year 2002 created a great amount of interest and enthusiasm in Canada as there was a record braking television watching spectators of 8.6 million – US Men’s Ice Hockey final on CBC. This game was so extensively viewed and created high awareness to hockey at the global level. This curiosity in hockey offers admirers with a sense of satisfaction for the Canadian game. Over and above these young viewers will build up a craze for the sport as they gain familiarity and understanding of the game hockey. This endorses a positive game atmosphere and develops team inspiration (Mega essay com. 2007) The history of U.S. television is related to the sports. Certainly, Television took off the ground because of sports, recollect pioneering television sports director Harry Coyle. He further adds that at present, sports require television to survive, however it was just the other way round when it first started. The sales of

Illinois Program Plan on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Essay Example for Free

Illinois Program Plan on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Essay The government of Illinois is aware of the drug and alcohol addiction on its almost 2 million residents. Abuse of alcohol and drugs may lead to addiction which is hard to control. â€Å"The human suffering and social and economic loss caused by the illness of alcoholism, addiction to controlled substances, the use of cannabis, and the abuse and misuse of alcohol and other drugs are matters of grave concern to the people of the State of Illinois† (2003). The government of Illinois invests on their person that is why they have the great effort to provide the best services as possible to its people. Alcohol and drug addiction if not prevented might cause your life in danger. Government efforts to support families in strengthening their relationship to each other would become a good avoidance. So as the Illinois government created one of its largest agencies such as the Department of Human Services (DHS). The DHS supports Illinoisans to become self-sufficient to live the life to the fullest. Being self-sufficient means Under DHS there are several programs like Alcoholism and Addiction, cash services for the people who are financially in need, child care, customer services, disability and rehabilitation, health and medical, housing, assistance for the victims of violence and abuse, parenting and youth services. â€Å"The Division of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse (DASA) under the Department of Human Services consist of operational Offices/Bureaus designed to reflect their mission and planning goals and objectives. Primary responsibilities are to develop, maintain, monitor and evaluate a statewide treatment delivery system designed to provide screening, assessment, customer-treatment matching, referral, intervention, treatment and continuing care services for indigents alcohol and drug abuse and dependency problems† (Illinois Department of Human Services, 1999). There are different services offered under DASA such as Case Management which is the provision, coordination, or arrangement of additional services. Another is the Community Intervention is provided within the community and focus on the community and its residents. The HIV Testing and Counseling is to identify and provide early intervention for persons who are at risk of becoming infected or who have become infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Intensive Outpatient Services are clinical services that include individual, group and family counseling and patient education. The DASA Early Intervention is pre-treatment services for individuals whose problems appear to be related to substance abuse but do not meet any diagnostic criteria. Residential Rehabilitation provides clinical and treatment rehabilitation services 24 hours a day. And Detoxification provides immediate and short-term clinical support for persons in the withdrawal process. The intention of toxicology services is to analysis urine, blood, or saliva to determine the presence of alcohol and / or other drugs in clients who receive treatment or intervention services. (Illinois Department of Human Services, 1997) According to the Illinois Substance Abuse Plan (2003) The functions of DASA is to design a comprehensive services to carry out in the whole state to prevent drug abuse and design an accessible treatment and rehabilitation needed by the individuals positive on its usage (p. ). The strategy on all state agencies must be coordinated to make one strategy applicable to their residents as a response to their mutual goals as provider of prevention, treatment and support. DASA acts as the state’s premier provider of rehabilitation and treatment of drug dependents in order to monitor any institutions/establishments and to prevent unreliable providers. These providers are private individuals or institutions rendering alcohol and drug treatment and rehabilitation. They should be accredited by DASA and abide by the rules and regulations. The organization of each institution (provider) must have a good management system that rewards their staffs or employees for rendering good service. DASA encourage, develop, and implement practices that help provider institutions to develop competencies within their workforce to collaborate with researchers, influence research designs, and support internal utilization of quality research within the organization. At this cause, each employee will encourage to do good outputs in their work. In the long run, provider institutions will become stable and efficient. These policies on providers make them more standardize and reliable institution for treatment and rehabilitation. Providers also make the treatment and rehabilitation accessible in all area around the state of Illinois. Individual providers should undergo training in DASA to become competent in the workforce. DASA also have standard training program for providers to increase their knowledge and skills. The people addicted to drugs and alcohol may experience discrimination and isolation to the community. The state government encourages respect for their rights as a person who is just in need of understanding and support. These government efforts reflected on their different services. The agency aims to treat the person addicted to alcohol or drugs not to separate or punish them from the deeds that they had. The program plan provided a system responsive to the needs of its recipients and prioritizes the elimination of the gaps between the needs and available resources. Resources must be well allocated to enhance services and secure its future use. The agency use 5 year program plan from 2003-2007 to comply with the National Treatment Plan of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse Services Administration, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT). They developed the plan entitled the Bridging the Illinois Prevention, Intervention, and Treatment Gap for Alcoholism and Other Drug Addiction Services Plan. The department formed different work groups supported by different members of the Subcommittee such as the Reducing Stigma and Changing Attitudes, Reducing the Gap in Services, Workforce Development, Connecting Services and Research, Accountability. Work groups are intended to evaluate and address issues in their particular area that will be used to improve objectives and goals for the program. Work groups are not just intended to evaluate the outcome of the existing plan but to develop the next implementation plan of the department. The state government wanted inform the people on the availability of different programs and seeks public understanding. Informing the people about their situation is the best preventive measure; the program used questionnaires and tools for evaluation and implementation of the plan. There is an appendix attached contained questionnaires for identifying if one person is light, moderate or heavy drinkers. These tools help the people to assess themselves in terms of the usage of alcohol and realize how much money they wasted for alcohols. The plan also introduced â€Å"Spending Calculators† for the individual to realize how much money they spend for alcohol use. â€Å"Create active linkages with a variety of agencies, organizations, communities and consumers around Illinois to focus on relevant knowledge development† (Illinois Substance Abuse Plan, 2003, p. ). These evaluation tools are definitely used by the agency for research purposes. Research will tell the agency if the services are still effective and efficient. If not they take developmental plans to improve services. Research will tell the agency how many people affected or addicted with alcohol or any substance. Whatever causes of alcohol or substance addiction may lead to family problems, ga ngs, lack of education and many alarming issues concerning the development of one person. It is a crucial situation to any parents if their child is positive to alcohol and drug addiction. If one of these appeared then the agency must strengthen their program on that particular aspect because all of these aspects influence the behaviour and character of the individual and it is interconnected to one another. It is also important for the agency to know what are the needs of the people addicted to alcohol and substance because the program for treatment and rehabilitation will depend on the needs of its recipients. The present findings will determine if the program plan is effective or not. If it is not then the agency will use the research findings and outcomes to develop the next program plan not only for the alcohol and drug abuse program but as well as on the other programs. Outcome evaluations is very important because the agency wanted not only to produce program plan but this will guide them in providing good and appropriate services for the people. Technology nowadays is present in our society and it is rapidly advancing. Technology became part of every person’s lives; it became our necessity and way of life. People become dependent on technology because this will not waste their time, effort and money. Almost all people have mobile phones, computers at home with internet access. This technological advantage will greatly help the agency in implementing their program. This is the easiest, fastest and non-expensive way to inform the people of the different services and most importantly to get evaluation outcomes needed for development. I must say that the agency uses the easiest, fastest and less expensive means to get evaluation outcomes. This is more comfortable for the agency because they will no longer have to do the door to door method and also for the respondents not to become disturb and if necessary they will participate anytime they want to. But this would become useless if the agency will just post evaluation tools in their website. They must find other way where to post these tools. Like for example posting it on different popular websites visited by a lot of people. Or they may even simultaneously require people to answer their evaluation tools right after they voted during state elections. The agency would enable many internet users to visit the website if it is accessible and user-friendly. Design or make the webpage more accessible to any kind of people whether adults, youth, children or even to those people that has physical disabilities. Create a good navigation in designing websites because this will surely become more usable and accessible. Technologies are essential in today’s society but we must still monitor the accuracy and efficiency of it. Maintaining the website is not that expensive if the agency has an in-charge group in doing maintenance. Research would become accurate if the tools used are efficient so it doesn’t matter how advance it was the most important is that the evaluation tools will answer the program objectives.

Managing individual differences

Managing individual differences Introduction: Individual differ from each other is universal fact. Both inherited and external factor are responsible in our development. It is important task for every managers and leaders to understand individual differences and also to integrate to individual and the organization, to provide a better working environment that gives job satisfaction to their employees as well as help them to achieve organizational goals. The report emphasizes on hoe individuals differ from each other in terms of values, personality and attitudes by using different academic theories such as Schwartz value theory, the big five personality theory, MBTI etc. It also reflects on diversity at workforce and its importance to create productive environment. It concludes that managers should need to balance between needs and expectations to achieve success. Literature review: Individual differences is a study of human psychology which mainly concentrates on differences or similarities among individual on different psychological aspects such as their values, personality, attitude, intelligence and interest, perception, ethnic origin. Some people have believed that their personality is heavily influenced by their hereditary characteristics and it will never change, others think the reverse. (Mullins, 2011) Organizational behaviour: According to Huczynski and Buchanan (2011) â€Å"organizational behavior has argumentative or controversial relationship with management practice.† It is the study of individual and group involves understanding, prediction and control of human behavior which helps to achieve or improve organizational performance and effectiveness (Mullins, 2011). Individual differences influencing workplace behavior Values: According to Schwartz (1992), values are based on personal and social factors, it is set of beliefs and goals that serve as guiding principles in one’s life. Values are important to individual to tend to have an effect on the types of decision they make, how they perceive their environment and their actual behaviors. This is very difficult role of managers to understand values of their co workers, a customer, their superiors or other organizations. Understanding values is critical in align organizational behavior and managing people. There are ten types of universal values and some are the values are mutually exclusive. [Source: Adapted from Clegg et.al, 2011] For example: Personality: It is the study of psychological qualities that have an influence on individuals stable aspects of behavior and internal states of mind that help explain a person’s behavior tendencies. (Clegg et.al, 2011) Independence, conscientiousness, agreeableness and self control these are the examples of personality characteristics. To understand personality and individuals behavior in organization psychologist have employed different techniques and ways of categorize the personality qualities. The big five personality traits Researchers have identified 171 traits on which individual can be ranked and then list was prepared to reduce number of traits by identifying the similarities and combining them. After the study of 171 traits only five major traits was found to be value for use in organizational situations. If managers want to achieve organizational goals then they have to concentrate on these five personality dimensions. The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI): This tool is designed by Isabel Briggs Myers and Katherine Briggs measures their preferences on four pairs of trait which was earlier proposed by Carl Jung in nineteenth century. This is most widely used instrument in the world. Participants are classified on four axes to determine one of 16 possible personality types such as, ENTJ Extraversion-Introversion – related to feeling energetic and comfortable. Extraversions are more energetic in group while introversion are more energetic and productive in alone. Sensing and intuiting – related to collecting information for solving problem. Thinking and feeling – based on evaluation alternatives for decision making Judging and perceiving – related to orientation of a person to the outside of the world. Attitudes According to (Arnold.et al, 2005) attitude is a tendency to think, believe or perform in a particular way toward some object. Attitudes have three components namely, feel- affective component, think – cognitive component and behave – behavioral component. In every organization each employee hold different type of attitudes than others and it helps them to get adjust to their work environment by providing interpreting things or happiness in the work. Knowledge, expressive, instrumental and ego- defensive these are the main functions of attitudes in the workplace. Many organizations conduct attitude survey, Likert techniques and questionnaires to understand values and attitudinal climate of the organization and also to analyze the views and opinions of staff members on a particular issue or on the organization itself. So, the managers make changes which will be beneficial to the organization and individual as well. Surveys can encourage to employees to get involved, management also considers employees opinions, and also provide effective communication which helps managers to achieve success. Job satisfaction: It is a positive attitude of employees has towards their job resulting from an evaluation of characteristics. It is closely related to motivation and performance. With the help of Job Descriptive Index (JDI) and Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) managers can measured workers job satisfaction towards job and organization. Diversity in workplace: Diversity is concerned with valuing individual differences. Work place diversity means variety of differences that individual have in organization. It consists of visible and non-visible equality and differences such as, age, gender, race, personality, education background, personality and disability equality and more. The success of organization depends on individual difference and diversity which gives importance to team spirit. In the last few years been given lot of attention to managing diversity because of social attitudes changing as per the situation, all employees get equal chance to perform, develop high level skills and also for demographical changes in the organization. (Mullins, 2011) Equal opportunities to managing diversity: All workers in the organisation should get equal opportunities to perform better and manager may not treat differently one employees than other because of their religion, age, educational qualification, work experience, race, knowledge and skills and should be treat them differently on the their target achievement, better performance, appraisal. Conclusion: Individuals play important role in every organization. Above discussion provides food for thought to understand and respect individual differences and diversity to bring best in people who will help organization by increasing productivity and by providing a competitive edge. Successful managers need to achieve balance between needs and expectations to reach ladder of success. References: Huczynski A and David B (2013), Organizational behaviour, 8th edition, Pearson publication, Harrow. Clegg S, Pitsis T and Komberger M (2011), Managing and organizations: Introduction to theory into practice, 3rd Ed. SAGE publication, London. Mullins L (2011), Management and organizational behaviour, 8th edition, Pearson education, Newyork. Mazur B (2010), Cultural diversity in organizational theory and practice. Journal of Intercultural Management, Vol.2, Pg.no.5-15 Page | 1

Business and marketing strategies for Citibank

Business and marketing strategies for Citibank Introduction Citibank engages in consumer, corporate banking and financial services and it is part of the Conglomerate giant Citigroup. The bank was established in 1812 and was known as City Bank of New York and after that, it was named First National City Bank of New York. The company was later changed to Citigroup and Citibank became an arm of the banking and financial services Unit of the company (Wikipedia, 2010). As at June 2009, Citigroup is the fourth largest bank in the United States through domestic deposit and the top three banks are Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, and Bank of America (Data monitor report, 2009). This made Citibank an international financial bank with consumer, corporate and investment banking and also rendering insurance services. Citibank operates in over 100 countries globally and it is one of the most successful banks in the world. The economic crisis of 1990 caused by the Gulf war and other financial crises in many Asia countries affected the banks performance (Timme rs, P. (2009). This made the bank to change it corporate, business and marketing strategies in order to ensure sustainability of the bank and also to beat its competitors. It also engaged in the introduction of e-commerce and e-business strategies to introduce new products into the markets and it also expanded its operations to other areas such as wealth management, stock broking and financial trading services 1.2 The new strategies of Citibank The bank extended its banking operations to other areas such as wealth management, assets management, insurance, financial trading etc (data monitor,2009) The bank initiated better organisational vision and mission statements to a broader, goal oriented gaols and objectives in order to beat the competition from other big financial players and rivals such as Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, HSBC, Barclays Bank etc Adoption of new e- business and e-commerce marketing strategies through new marketing development systems such as online internet services Based on Porter (1980) generic strategies Citibank adopted the differentiation strategy by building its international business strategies through implementation of new technological and communication systems such as Information technology systems, tools and equipment in order to enhance its business operations, The formation of techniques and structures that will make the bank to be able to compete in e-business environment. 1.3 The outline of the strategy formulation technique available for Citibank in order to compete in e-business environment Due to the growing competitive financial environment, and the need to respond to the new technological changes for faster business operations, Citibanks new vision is to become the worlds leading e-business enabler. Its core main e-business strategy is to connect with customers through the internet (web), transform the Citibanks capabilities to deliver integrated solutions and extend by reaching new markets, new customers and new products. However, Citi bank has strategy formulation techniques for competing in the e-business environment and these will be discussed below. Creation of Citibanks E-business Vision The first step of Citibank strategy formulation was the initiation of the E-business Idea and creation of an e-business vision and mission statements which forms the outline of achieving its business objectives (Ali Farhoomand, 2008). This e-business strategy was reiterated by Caroline Wong, head of e-business Group (cash trade), Hong Kong stating the banks commitment to enter the e-business in order to bring transformational reforms that will increase clients satisfaction. Citibanks vision is to become the leading enabler of e-business through empowerment of local, regional and global customers and business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) (Tawfik Jelassi et al, 2008). EXTEND Reach new markets, new customers and new products CONNECT Web-enable its core services to connect with its customers TRANSFORM Draw the full range of Citibanks capabilities to deliver integrated solutions Figure 1: Citibanks E-business strategy This vision and the business strategy serves as a fundamental framework for the Citibanks E-business structure thus giving directions, goals, aims and objectives. The mission includes the management of the overall costs of its Information (Ali Farhoomand, 2008). Technology (IT) investments, optimal usage of the existing and new technologies, and standardisation of its application and development processes. All these are driven towards increasing operational efficiencies and lower the costs of operational while achieving on time delivery to customers. All these goals, aims, objectives created a fundamental framework in which Citibank was operating to achieve a sustainable E-business in the competitive markets so as to gain market leadership in the banking and financial markets operations. -The Formation of the Internet group In 1999, Citibank launched a CitiDirect Online Banking which was the e first Citibanks multi-product in a multi-geographic Internet banking system. Citibank e-business unit was formed in year 2000 with the managements group decision to aggressively develop Internet-based products. The e-business solution was continuously developed and researched through 2001 and 2002 and Jose Bermudez , the executive vice president and head of global cash and trade business who consolidated the Citibanks business structure and by holding meetings with all regions, developing and combining goals in all areas and consolidated bureaucracies across the regions of the banks operations (Timmers, P. 2009). This initiative by Jose Bermudez created a cooperate commitment to achieving and sustaining the Citibanks e-business strategy. During this period, the then CEO, John Reed was thoroughly concerned about meeting the demand for internet banking and he started the E-Citi initiative for exploring the Internet opportunities (Tawfik Jelassi et al, 2008. -Strategies implementation for its e-business environment Jose Bermudez led the e-business unit that was responsible e for developing internet software for the corporate clients setting up B2B (Business -to-Business) electronic commerce exchanges while the new high level committees coordinated and the strategies through benchmarking of other banks (Tawfik Jelassi et al, 2008. The e-business environment was conceived as a solution business for customers to create new and complex online banking products to meet the customers need. It built internet platform and E-structure services such as clearing, trading, and collections which allowed customers to acquire information rapidly than the traditional paper base processes. This was evident when the Global transaction services created the Citibanks markets and banking systems in order to integrate Cash , Trade and Treasury services and Global Securities Services. Its core objectives was to assist corporate customers to gain greater control over financial positions locally and internationally while increasing business efficiencies and reducing costs. Citibank created a global online investment that was secured, and web-based which allowed customers to access a variety of short-term investments using the award-winning , web based electronic banking platform. An example was the replacement of the CitiDirect Online banking with Treasury vision which created an easier management of short-term investment portfolios by the managers. Creation of culture and values of multidisciplinary teams One of the strategy formulation techniques of Citibank was the creation of multi-dimensional structure of teams that is totally focused on the E-business initiatives and they broke the old bureaucratic culture that existed. Timmers, P. (2009) stated that some other managers were hired from outside the ban and they had the following dimensions: Following through on commitment through forming collaborative infrastructures and they worked by coordinating themselves so as to fulfil the objectives of the e-commerce goals Shared understanding and knowledge- The multi-dimensional teams work through sharing of knowledge and resources in applying best practises in the implementation of e-commerce strategies Creation of forums as channels for effective communication Citibank Alliance strategies Prior to 2000, all forms of e-business strategies implemented by Citibank had failed because the huge investments in areas of software development, systems development and front end service could not meet up with the dynamic technological changes then. From 2000, the bank then focused on creating strategic alliances with the use of their partners competitive strengths. The bank formed partnerships with companies that had strong technologies, systems and infrastructures with good access to the markets .The companies that Citibank partnered with are the major technology leaders such as oracle, Commerce One Inc, SAP AG, Wisdom Technologies and Bolero.Net. the major breakthrough of the partnership was the Citibanks alliance with four IT technological companies to form Financial Settlement Matrix.com, which connected buyers and sellers in e-market places with payment processing, credit and other services through conduct of businesses with banks and other financial service companies Acquisitions of Information Technology and Electronics Company Another strategy which Citibank adopted was the acquisition of some It and electronics company in order to enter and breakthrough the existing e-commerce marketplaces (Tawfik Jelassi et al, 2008). Citibank acquired Lava Trading, which was a leader of electronic execution and sell-side management. This was to enhance Citibanks existing infrastructures and platforms and it was able to integrate a robust electronic trading systems in its services complemented with the technologies of the acquisitions (Data monitor report, 2009). -Commitment to engage in continuous technology development The objective and promise to engage in continuous technology development was a good strategy formulation which sustained the Citibanks E-business environment (Data monitor report, 2009). Since the new commitment and success recorded in 2000, Citibank has been active in engaging in the continuous development of the IT and e-business sector so as to gain maximum customer satisfaction and gain market leadership through the optimisation of Information technological systems and structures (Timmers, P. 2009). Citibank offered an array of integrated investment options through multiple channels including automatic orders, branch services, and online services. Creation of sound business model and practises The creation of good business model and strategies which its operations are based on is the strength of its ability to compete in the e-business environment. The connect which promoted the use of internet as Web-enable its core services to connect with its customers is an indication of the growth of the e-business environment. The other excellent objective by Citibank is transform the bank through the use of the banks integrated capabilities while reaching out to new and emerging markets. SECTION 2: The appraisal of the Citibank current existing strategies in relation to e-business and information systems and their relevance in meeting the corporate objectives. Based on Michael Porters competitive generic strategy, Citibank adopted a differentiation strategy for its banking service by using the e-business strategies of effective internet banking and relevant banking functionalities that give customers full access to their accounts, trading, and management (Data monitor report, 2009). These strategies are in line with its vision and mission to become the leading provider of e-financial services by becoming a trusted, consistent and premier e-business enabler for all its customers globally. Citibank differentiates its e-business product from its competitors through application of e-business strategies and improving their customer services functions (Timmers, P. 2009). Citibank offered internet services, telephone banking, and customer relations managers gave individual attention to customers and service experts. Citibank committed to its e-business strategy-Connect, Transform and Extend-was to web enable its core services, develop integrated solutions and reach new markets. The use of consolidated e-business organisational structure One of the core strategies of Citibanks current success in relation to its e-business and information systems in the banking operation and services was the use of consolidated e-business structure that was formed in March, 2000 called the internet operation group that was responsible for the internet activities between e-Citi and all other business units. After this in April, 2000, Citibank established the e-consumer and e-business segments that was initiated and designed infuse the Internet into all customer and corporate banking services and operations. The following month, May, 2000, Citibank included e-Capital markets and e-Assets Management (Data monitor report, 2009). The e-business units were developing the software required to set up clients with the electronic business accounts while utilising business, resources and Information Technology (IT) people as well. The lessons learned from previous failures when Citibank indulged in managing all aspects of e-business themselves made them to focus on partnering with strong IT companies in order to realise their goals. b) Partnerships and alliance with other companies Citibank formed strategic partnerships with reputable information technology and e-solutions provider companies such as Oracle, Commerce One Inc., SAP AG, Wisdom Technologies and Bolero.net in order to improve and consolidate its e-business strategies. These partnerships have helped Citibanks e-business to be stronger and very competitive by providing integrated cash management services, fund services, securities services and internet banking services. c) Citibanks implementation of sophisticated and effective e-banking business tools, infrastructures and e-systems Citibank introduced some good e-business systems that enhance its banking operations through the development of solutions to address the three core process areas such as accounts process management, accounts payable process management and liquidity management (Data monitor report, 2009). The banks cash management products includes web enable payments, receivable solutions, vendor financing, commercial card solutions and liquidity products which have helped the customers reduce financing costs and achieve better returns on investment capital. The world link payment services payment have been introduced for over 20 years and it has improved payments systems of cash, cross-border Automated Clearing House (ACH), cheques and electronic transfers all protected by sophisticated encryption technologies, access restrictions and authentication procedures. This provided more confidence for the customers in terms of security of the banking transactions made. Also, QuickRemit service provided a r obust framework for global distribution process to transfer money both-in-branch and for web-based (Timmers, P. 2009). The customers payment receiving has been boosted by web-based through automated recurring payment initiation and this provided while the fast telephone banking systems enhanced the customers services and allowed payment initiation possible. The introduction of the Advanced Information Technology (IT) helped to guarantee security and integrity of data and transactions and Citibank commercial cards granted many web-based management tools that streamlined payments, reporting, spend analysis and global data acquisition and other vital day-to-day activities. This made it possible to have access to many banking products and could transact business from all parts of the world (Timmers, P. 2009). The customers benefited immensely from good e-business products, delivery and services and these products were clearly different from the ones other banks offered and this made Citibank to gain more competitive advantages over its other competitors in the domestic and global markets. Citibanks online services is global, secure and web-based system which gave more benefits to the customers also offered an array of integrated investment and this was applicable in other parts of the world such as Asia countries. The online web-based electronic banking platform, CitiDirect Online banking was replaced by Treasury Vision that provided a more superior cash management system for global investment network. d) The development of new services Citibank developed new e-technological products to meet the corporate objectives and to fulfil the Citibanks business strategies and to gain competitive advantages in the global financial markets, CitiBank established the Global technology Group whose role includes leading information technology projects and culture into the firm. It is important to evaluate the e-strategies used in all its banking and corporate services Improvement of Cash Management through e-services Citibanks main focus is to assists customers to have effective movement of their money throughout the world while also meeting their expectations and requirements (Ali Farhoomand, 2008). The cash management e- solutions includes web-enabled payments and receivable solutions, vendor financing, commercial card solution. The implementation of WorldLink Payment solutions and liquidity products reduces financing costs and achieve greater returns on assets (ROA). World Link services enable cash payments to be made in more than 135 countries through the cross-border Automated Clearing House (ACH), cheques and electronic funds transfer. The use of new QuikRemit Service offers a more flexible software platform (Ali Farhoomand, 2008). e) Citibank e-strategies involves the use of information technologies to provide more secured online banking services in all its global banking operations which gave the customers more confidence about the web-based services (Ali Farhoomand, 2008). Citibank has an initiative known as security architecture which provides security systems even for next generations of web based solutions. Other projects are the new touch screens automated teller machines (ATM), cash acceptance machines as well as quick deposit machines which gives receipts when deposits are made and this reduced queues in the banks (Ali Farhoomand, 2008) and this made the Citibank services better and quicker and has improved the quality of services Citibank offer. f) Ali Farhoomand (2008) stated that Citibank uses the cross-functional teams in the development and implementation of new services and this involves staff from different sections and department combine to maximise the transfer of information and technical skills. The staffs are encouraged and motivated to join special task forces around new IT projects that will transform the companys operations to lend their skills and expertise (Timmers, P. 2009). The end-users are also involved in the early in the development process to ensure proper configurations of equipment. This has improved quality, development time and costs. Strategies of Citibank in Political Environment for its operations Most of Citibanks operations have been globalise due to its massive operations in more than 150 countries around the world (Citigroup report, 2009). The bank has been able to adjust to various political environments due to its ability to adapt to different policies and banking systems that are set up by those countries (Data monitor, 2008). The continuous investment in new technologies has also made it possible for it to gain competitive advantages over other competitors in the local and international markets. Citibank has been successful in the Middle East in places such as Dubai and other United Arab Emirates countries. Citibank is also highly successful in most countries of Asia, Europe, and USA and in the United Kingdom (Timmers, P. 2009). Strategies for social environmental factors- Implementation of National cultures in many countries The formation of many multi-disciplinary and functional teams for different E-business strategies implementation has caused the implementation of national cultures in many countries of their operations (Ali Farhoomand, 2008). This made Citibank to implement team working in all departments and groups for the IT strategies in order to gain competitive advantages. This also made Citibank to be able to form local alliances with other banks in order to quickly to the national cultures of such country of operations. The elements of national cultures include adaptability, consistency, team working, cooperation, tolerance etc . There is growing emphasis on the Internet in business and consumer applications led to increasing demand for their products to be integrated with more general information technology solutions of Citibank. This has given Citibank more focus and stability and great vision to explore new and emerging markets Figure 1: The elements of national culture implementation Source: http://www.denisonconsulting.com/dc/Portals/0/Docs/Paper_Asia.pdf (Accessed online on 22/06/2010) SECTION 3 The analysis of the current situation of Citibank and the assessment of their specific strategic options available to the bank to enhance its future e-business structure Citibank is highly committed to continuous improvement in technological developments and it is also customer driven so as to fulfil its mission. The use of Information technology improves its banking and trading operations and enhances the work of over 268,000 employees located in over 100 countries and their focus was to embed their services into the everyday lives of the local population (Citigroup report, 2009). Therefore, in addition to enhancing the commitment to its employees and customers globally, Citibank has strong brand recognition and that it why it is driven towards new technologies to gain competitive advantages in existing, new and emerging markets (Data monitor,2008). The analysis of the current situation and the strategic options available to Citibank in order to maintain its global leadership in its e-business services are listed below Consolidating the formation of Alliances The current alliances practises with major Information and communication technology players especially with reputable firms such as Oracle, Commerce One, Inc., SAP AG, Wisdom Technologies and Bolero.net has helped the company transform its company to an e-business model. This made Citibank form the Financial Settlement Matrix.com which is a company dedicated to connecting buyers and sellers in e-market places with payment services, credit services through multiple and financial services (Citigroup report,2009). This caused growths in other banking operations of the company and made the company to develop greatly and Citibank has used the opportunity to align itself with the partners so as to maintain high competitive advantages in the markets (Timmers, P. 2009). Citibank must consolidate its alliances so as to keep gaining the strategic advantages needed in the marketplaces by engaging in stronger relationships with the Information Technology and communication companies and total customer focus must be the strategic intent of all parties of the alliances. This makes Citibank to work towards balancing the strategic needs of the E-business with the security of the online banking/ e-banking services and to also improve the accessibility of information that is required to leverage the robust e-banking and e-business that is available within the banking group (Citigroup report,2009) . Therefore, it is important for Citibank to improve its business models of value stream, revenue stream and logistics stream through consolidation of the alliances. This will also make Citibank to meet the current and future challenges of the e-business and to improve the internal logistics are aligned towards continuous improvement of Information and communication t echnology (ICT). The previous investments in ICT have led to an increase in revenue and increase in customer base. Customer focused products The continuous introduction of new banking products such as smart banking cards, telephone banking services, online accounts accessibility and other new products has made the bank to gain competitive and strategic advantages over other banks. The bank is wholly committed to new products introduction and this can be possible through continuous improvements in IT and e-business. Improvement of Citibanks legal framework Since, the beginning of 2007, most of the banking corporations had begun using the new legal model framework for assessing the SWIFTNet. . This utilises the use of the SCORE model for laying down rule for messages (Ali farhoomand, 2008). Therefore, the introduction of the SCORE model will enable the corporate bank to reduce risks and therefore there is need to improve and build this model so as to gain strategic advantages over other banks and other competitors. Therefore risk management and legal compliance were introduced as priorities in year 2008 for all the banks and Citibank adjusted its banking operations so as to reduce all the operational risks across its banking operations. The banks now introduce and develop integrated information systems for consolidating the existing structures to reduce the risks and to avoid the breach of any data transfer. Transformation of Citibanks e-Business strategy New improvements in the banking and trading operations are necessary so as to maintain the vision of Citibank. Operations such as Transactions processing such as cash management, trade finances, and derivatives must be maintained through the adoption of new strategies which are very important for the corporate customers and other customers Improvement in new competitive infrastructures to develop and sustain new products Citibank enhances its new product development through Information and communication Technology by investing in millions of dollars for new infrastructures(Ali Farhoomand, 2008) and also for new products development of different ranges and to improve its customer service functions (Tawfik Jelassi et al, 2008) . The use of e-payment by Citibank customers has improved its banking operations and the bank must sustain this by adopting latest technologies while engaging in costs reduction services that will reduce all operational costs and maintain high profitability within the firm. Better Internal management processes It is very important for Citibank to introduce and implement better internal management processes in order to remain competitive and sustain global leadership in the area of e-business operations in the banking industry (Ali Farhoomand, 2008). The internal management that must be implemented should include continuous development programme for employees, better and faster internal information sharing through e-mails, use of video conferencing foe meetings across the regions in order to save costs and time (Ali Farhoomand, 2008). There should also be better work-group information flow and communication must be enhanced so as to prevent resistance in the formulation and implementation of new policies, ideas and new systems that could enhance the growth of the company through e-business applications. This will make the internal management very strong and competent in the use of any latest technologies due to their continuous development and training which would have acquaint them with al l new technologies The other strategies that could enhance the operations of Citibank current and future strategies include the use of M-commerce (Mobile commerce) and it can be applied in following ways: -Financial services Mobile banking should be improved and promoted by Citibank and this includes the use of hand held devices to access accounts, monitor accounts and pay bills. Trading and Brokerage services (where stock quotes can be easily displayed and trading conducted from the same hand held devices). This will create faster banking and trading services and it has improved Citibanks operations -Telecommunications- The use of telephone banking has been successful in the e-business applications of Citibank through the one-touch telephone banking that was introduced. However, new telecommunication systems such as the hand-help mobile phones should be digitalised and be able to connect to the banking telephone customer services in order to get access to accounts and other banking products but however, this should come with good security systems Improvement of information services- Information delivery to customers should be made through e-mails to save time and costs. It should also be done in prints journals, for old customers who cannot operate computers and promotions about new products should be advertised online and in television also so as to reach a wider audience of customers globally. The implementation of social corporate responsibility (CSR) for Citibank Due to the continuous growth of Citibank especially in the existing, new and corporate markets, it is important that the bank be engaged in corporate social responsibility (CSR) as it has always practised in many countries such as assisting in building social infrastructures in many countries such as Malaysia, China, Singapore, India, and United Arab Emirates (UAE), Japan etc. In other areas of corporate social responsibility (CSR), Citibank has a long standing commitment to make the communities where they operate better places to live and work. Citibank has employed good initiatives geared towards improving the lives of members of the communities and countries where they operate. The Citibank s CSR raises the quality of life , families and institutions and thus strengthening the communities. Citibank promotes educations, youth education and social entrepreneurship and employee volunteerism Adherence to political environments in all areas of establishments For Citibank to keep up with its competitiveness, it must adhere to the financial laws and regulations in different political environments. Most developing countries wants the banks to invest in their countries in order to provide employments for their citizens and they also want the banks and other Multinational companies (MNCs) to apply their corporate social responsibility so that their communities can benefits from the investors gain Comparison of other financial institutions e-strategies Case study: Barclays Bank Plc Barclays Bank is one of the third largest financial institutions in the United Kingdom and the seventh global bank with high capitalisation, customer base, and good geographical positioning in the world. The implementation of e-business technologies has advanced the bank to become the top five global banks with strategies implementations of web based applications. In 2004, Barclays bank was the first bank in the united Kingdom to launch an online banking system where customers can have access to their accounts, manage the accounts while also paying and receiving money. Since 2004, it has applied continuous improvement and new development in its Informati