Juvenile Delinquents Analysis Essay Example For Students

Adolescent Delinquents Analysis Essay On March 7, 2000, Californians casted a ballot for Proposition 21 The Juvenile Justice Initiative. . The quantity of violations submitted by adolescents has risen significantly, and it will keep on rising except if some move is made. In this way, adolescent guilty parties ought to be rebuffed all the more seriously to deflect different young people from perpetrating wrongdoings and for the wellbeing everything being equal. I am supportive of the prerequisite that adolescent guilty parties, age 14 or more seasoned, be attempted as grown-ups for genuine violations, for example, murder or fierce sex offenses. Adolescents that submit these genuine offenses ought to be attempted and condemned as a grown-up, instead of simply being given a slap on the wrist. Having increasingly extreme disciplines for adolescent guilty parties that carry out savage violations would in all likelihood decline adolescent offenses. Progressively serious discipline for adolescents would rise to less wrongdoing, since adolescents would then reconsider under the steady gaze of overstepping the law on the off chance that they know that an extreme discipline anticipates them. While it isn't proper for these people to be put in indistinguishable offices from grown-up guilty parties, they ought to get a similar level of discipline, however in an office with peers their own age who have submitted comparative offenses. The adolescent equity framework isn't sufficient in taking care of genuine violations submitted by minors. It doesn't guarantee that these youthful adolescent guilty parties will end their long periods of wrongdoing. Much of the time, sentences gave are just slaps on the wrist. With this in thought, it tends to be understood that a stricter equity framework can inevitably discourage young people from carrying out vicious wrongdoings. Previously, most of cases brought to adolescent court were wrongdoings. Today, the violations are turning out to be increasingly more genuine than before. More lawful offenses are submitted by adolescents today, than misdeeds. Progressively exacting punishments should be set for genuine violations submitted by adolescents. Adolescents who execute vicious wrongdoings or lawful offenses ought to be condemned as a grown-up. While a few offenses are as yet genuine wrongdoings, the ones who perpetrate them don't require as cruel a treatment as the ones who carry out vicious violations or crimes. Numerous individuals accept that under the direction of social specialists or post trial supervisors that youthful guilty parties experience a kind of restoration. Along these lines, rather than putting fierce adolescent guilty parties into offices where they ought to be treated as detainees, the adolescent equity framework places them into offices where they get direction in order to rehabilitate them. In any case, this adolescent direction office as a rule incorporates agreeable courtesies, for example, TV, recreational games and sports, better food, and clinical consideration than what one would have at home. This doesn't set a genuine model for a guilty parties peers. Their friends come to understand that the discipline isn't at such awful. In this manner, these youthful guilty parties will carry out similar wrongdoings since they are not scared of the outcomes. On the off chance that adolescent guilty parties are rebuffed a similar degree as grown-up wrongdoers, it would potenti ally strike dread into the hearts of others. Thus, numerous adolescents may cease from carrying out wrongdoings. Numerous individuals accept that when adolescents are detained, the improvement of their criminal qualities is just empowered. At the point when put in a grown-up condition at a youthful age, many accept that the grown-up jail framework will go about as a school of wrongdoing for adolescents. I don't accept that they will master anything in jail that they havent effectively learned outwardly. I additionally accept that different offices ought to be made, in which to put minors separated from grown-ups to carry out punishments for the violations they have submitted. Similarly as grown-up guilty parties have a preliminary and get a sentence, adolescent wrongdoers who perpetrate fierce violations ought to likewise be attempted and rebuffed for their wrongdoings. It isn't adequate for adolescent guilty parties to get free with only a prerequisite to go to a class and pay a fi ne, which is fundamentally a slap on the wrist. Grown-ups who carry out similar sorts of brutal wrongdoings are arraigned and required to serve jail time. A different court ought to be made inside the adolescent equity framework when a minor submits murder or a vicious sex offense. Cases in which the guilty parties are minors, ought not be sent to the

Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, King of the Franks :: Medieval Europe European History

Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, King of the Franks Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, King of the Franks (742-814), was a solid pioneer who bound together Western Europe through military force and the gift of the Church. His faith in the requirement for training among the Frankish individuals was to realize strict, political, and instructive changes that would change the history of Europe. Charlemagne was conceived in 742 at Aachen, the child of Pepin(or Pippin) the Short and grandson of Charles Martel. His granddad, Charles, had started the procedure of bringing together western Europe, in the conviction that all individuals ought to be Christian. Charlemagne's dad, Pepin, proceeded with this procedure all through his standard and given his convictions to Charlemagne. Each of the three, notwithstanding the political unification, accepted that the congregation ought to be changed and redesigned under the Pope, which helped their ascent to control as the Carolingian Dynasty. (Holmes 74) Upon Pepin's demise in 768, Charlemagne and his sibling, Carloman, each acquired half of the Frankish realm. Pepin, in the Merovingian custom of the time, split his realm between his two children. After three years Carloman kicked the bucket and Charlemagne assumed responsibility for the whole realm. He acquired extraordinary riches and a incredible armed force, worked by his dad and granddad. Charlemagne utilized the military furthermore, his own handy wanting to dramatically increase the size of the Frankish Realm. (Halsall 15) The universe of Charlemagne was a rapscallion one, with many warring clans or realms. A significant number of these clans were vanquished by Charlemagne, among them the Aquitanians, the Lombards, the Saxons, the Bretons, the Bavarians, the Huns, and the Danes. The longest of these fights was against the Saxons, enduring thirty-three years. Charlemagne really vanquished them commonly, yet because of their fickleness also, their affinity to come back to their agnostic way of life, the Saxons lost numerous lives in the drawn out fights with the Franks. With every triumph the Frankish realm developed, and with development came extra force and obligation regarding Charlemagne. In all aspects of Europe that was taken over by Charlemagne, he expelled the pioneers in the event that they would not change over to Christianity and delegated new ones, normally somebody with high situation in the Church. Those individuals who would not change over or be purified through water in the congregation were killed. (Holmes 75) The Church assumed a crucial job in the realm of Charlemagne. It gave a sense of solidness to Charlemagne's standard, and he thus gave security in the Church. The individuals vanquished by Charlemagne, in the wake of being changed over to Christianity, were instructed through the Bible a brought together code of good and bad. It was vital for the Church to assume a job in this training of the individuals,

2015 Admitted Freshman Post - UGA Undergraduate Admissions

2015 Admitted Freshman Post - UGA Undergraduate Admissions 2015 Admitted Freshman Post We plan to make the final wave of freshman decisions available by no earlier than 7:30 PM EST today, March 20th. For those of you who have been admitted to UGA, here is a post for you and a chance to comment. Please remember that this is not a blog where you should post statistics or throw fellow students under the bus. These types of comments will be deleted. Congratulations to all of the freshman who were admitted and we look forward to you becoming part of the Bulldog Nation. The next steps for a new student can be seen in the flyer in your admission packet, so please go ahead and review what you need to do next. In addition, there will be a great deal of information you can access off of your myStatus page. When you have the time, please review this, as there is key information in the Next Step materials. Please remember a small number of students will be admitted to start in January 2016. You will findspecificinformation on your myStatus and in your admissions packet. Remember that the Housing and myID pages may need a few business days before your information will be available. Please be patient with these sites. You have until May 1 to submit a commitment deposit in order to hold a spot in our freshman class. We hope the next stage of the admission process is a little less nerve wracking than the decision process. As you celebrate, make sure to be considerate of others in your school who may not have been admitted. Good luck in the next stage of the college admissions process. Go Dawgs!

Paper on Bronfenbrenners Theory (on Journal Article) - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 514 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2017/09/11 Category Advertising Essay Did you like this example? The Bronfenbrenner’s Theory is defined as describing the nested social and cultural contexts that shape development. Every person develops within a mircosystem, inside a mesosystem, embedded in a exosystem, all of which are part of the macrosystem of the culture (according to the textbook). I found a journal article in Journal of Instructional Psychology explaining the Ecological Model and the importance of teachers to understand the different relationships that impact development. The journal article describes the Bronfenbrenner’s model and how it works in a school. The Mircosystem is the innermost level and refers to the immediate interactions and influences of a person’s surroundings. In the classroom it means that mentors, administrators, and peers play active role in both interaction and influence of a child. It also includes family which is another main source of relationship in the mircosystem. Children can pick up behaviors from these sources but can also distribute their own behavior onto others. The relationships are bidirectional and reciprocal. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Paper on Bronfenbrenners Theory (on Journal Article)" essay for you Create order The Mesosystem is all interactions and influences within the mircosystem. It is support within a larger environment. An example of this would be teacher meetings with parents which could influence the parents and then the parents could influence the child. The Exosystem is the social settings that do not involve the candidate (child) but affect their experiences in immediate settings either formal or informal in a social network. The article pointed out how work can be significance in affecting one’s personal relationship with family. A example could be a parent who works long hours may have less time to be involved in their child’s education. It can come from other factors such as teacher/administration relationships, school board, community resources for health, employment, recreation, or religion. The Macrosystem is the outermost level of the mircosystem and refers to the values, laws, and customs of a particular cultural. It is the larger society. The priority that the Macrosytem gives will affect the support given. The article states that Bronfenbrenner emphasized that change at the Marcosystem is important because it affects all other environmental levels, revising established values and programs in ways more favorable to development and the well being of the candidate. The article said interaction at any level of the Mircosystem can enhance development. The article was similar to what we learned in the textbook reading. It explained the stages in the same way but put more emphasis from a educational standpoint. I learned that at any interaction at any level can enhance development and the Macrosystem affects all other environmental levels. I agree with the article that each environmental level plays role and the interaction is needed in order to develop. I feel Brofenbrenner’s model is correct on how much social context and influences plays part in how we develop. Article info: AUTHOR:Laura D. Tissington TITLE:A Bronfenbrenner Ecological Perspective on the Transition to Teaching for Alternative Certification SOURCE:Journal of Instructional Psychology 35 no1 106-10 Mr 2008 https://vnweb. hwwilsonweb. com. ezproxy. roanestate. edu/hww/results/external_link_maincontentframe. jhtml? _DARGS=/hww/results/results_common. jhtml. 43

Bermuda Triangle About the Devils Triangle

For over forty years, the Bermuda Triangle has been popularly known for supposedly paranormal disappearances of boats and aircraft. This imaginary triangle, also known as Devils Triangle, has its three points at Miami, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda. Actually, despite several factors which should contribute to higher rates of accidents in the region, the Bermuda Triangle has been found to be no more statistically dangerous than other areas of the open ocean. Legend of the Bermuda Triangle The popular legend of the Bermuda Triangle began with a 1964 article in the magazine Argosy that described and named the Triangle. Further articles and reports in such magazines as National Geographic and Playboy merely repeated the legend without additional research. Many of the disappearances discussed in these articles and others did not even occur in the area of the Triangle. The 1945 disappearance of five military airplanes and a rescue plane was the primary focus of the legend. In December of that year, Flight 19 set out on a training mission from Florida with a leader who wasnt feeling well, an underexperienced crew, a lack of navigation equipment, a limited supply of fuel, and rough seas below. Though the loss of Flight 19 may have initially seemed mysterious, the cause of its failure is well documented today. Actual Hazards in the Area of the Bermuda Triangle There are a few real hazards in the area of the Bermuda Triangle that contribute to the accidents that occur in the wide swath of sea. The first is the lack of magnetic declination near 80Â ° west (just off the coast of Miami). This agonic line is one of two points on the earths surface where compasses point directly to the North Pole, versus to the Magnetic North Pole elsewhere on the planet. The change in declination can make compass navigation difficult. Inexperienced pleasure boaters and aviators are common in the area of the triangle and the U.S. Coast Guard receives many distress calls from stranded seamen. They travel too far from the coast and often have an insufficient supply of fuel or knowledge of the swiftly moving Gulf Stream current. Overall, the mystery surrounding the Bermuda Triangle is not much of a mystery at all but has simply been the result of an overemphasis on the accidents which have occurred in the area.

Microsoft Bank Branch of the Future Free Essays

string(42) " to wow customers without confusing them\." A Microsoft Banking and Capital Markets White Paper The bank branch of the future 2 The bank branch of the future Contents Redefining the role of branches 4 Case study: Nascent Digital — understanding customer needs 8 Article: The Fiserv perspective — information convergence, interaction specialization and the importance of integrated channels 10 Recognition — selling to a market of one 12 Case study: CRM at Wintrust Financial and Fiserv 14 Case study: Customer-centric at the core — First Citizens National Bank and Harland Financial Solutions 15 Engagement — creating memorable touch points 16 Case study: Digital signage at Reflect Systems and Best Buy 18 Customer use scenarios: Microsoft Surface at Barclays Bank and Royal Bank of Canada 21 Case study: Streamlining communications at Fidelity 22 Origination — developing new business opportunities 23 Case study: Predictive analytics at U. S. Bancorp with Portrait Software 25 Profile: Secure paperless banking with digital signature from Topaz and AssureSign 26 Case study: Incentives at Bank of the West and Varicent 27 Service — taking customers to the next level 28 Case study: Next-generation self-service at BBVA with NCR 30 Case study: Espirito Santo creates a better banking experience with CRM and a 360 degree, integrated view of the customer 31 Innovation — developing new products and services with customers 32 Case study: Social computing at NewsGator and CME Federal Credit Union 34 Bringing it all together — technologies of channel integration 35 Article: Creating a consistent customer experience through channel synchronization 36 Having a vision for the future 39 Profile: Helping customers succeed with ARGO 40 Realizing the branch of the future 41 Microsoft partners appearing in this paper 42 Microsoft in Financial Services Financial services is a major industry for Microsoft ® Corporat ion. We will write a custom essay sample on Microsoft Bank Branch of the Future or any similar topic only for you Order Now Our commitment to the industry comprises client-dedicated accounts teams, and technology and industry specialists. Our solution areas embrace almost every facet of the industry, including client experience, governance, risk and compliance, payments, and operating capabilities. The U. S. Financial Services industry group led by Ben Narey is responsible for developing financial services solutions combining Microsoft capabilities with those of our partners, for our U. S. -based banking clients. This is one in a series of thought leadership papers designed to share insight into leading industry issues and help our clients realize their vision of the future. www. microsoft. com/financialservices The bank branch of the future 3 A message to our customers and partners After a significant period of expansion, banks are finding current market conditions tough to say the least. Putting customers first is the right response, and the branch is the place to do that. But the role of branches is changing dramatically. Transactions are moving to the Internet, so customers may have fewer reasons to visit branches. In addition, new technologies, such as social networking and personal financial management (PFM) tools, are transforming the relationship with customers, forcing banks to develop new ways to create the right customer experience while empowering customers and giving them more control. If branch visits are less frequent, they must become more valuable and more interesting. The days of existing and potential customers walking into branches and not being recognized or effectively engaged are over. A new era of personalized financial services is forcing banks to sell to a market of one. This means understanding customer needs and addressing them appropriately. This also means moving from a reactive sales model to a proactive one, where customer needs can be anticipated in advance. Thanks to changes in technology, customer expectations of the experience they should receive when they visit the branch are rising all the time. But just filling branches with new technology isn’t the answer. There needs to be a plan in place and one developed with customers in mind. The customer should be at the center of the branch operation. The branch of the future is an engaging, interactive and fun environment. It should also be a lower cost one. There is opportunity for a dramatic improvement in branch performance. This means streamlining processes, eliminating paper, and improving front and back-office integration. Branch staff are being asked to play a different role. Branch personnel need constant training to do this. The technology of the branch of the future exists to empower tellers, financial advisors and service representatives to serve customers more effectively, moving from a reactive to a proactive engagement model. Microsoft Corporation has a strong commitment to the branch of the future. Directly and through our partners, we work with financial institutions around the world to develop their own path to improved performance. Many of those solutions are outlined in this white paper. We hope you find this a useful contribution to your future plans and the longer term direction of our industry. Yours truly, Ben Narey Director, U. S. Financial Services Colleen Healy General Manager, U. S. Financial Services 4 The bank branch of the future Redefining the role of branches T A dizzying period of change echnology is changing at a blurring rate. It is at once more social, connected, mobile and continuous. We are seeing game-changing advances in many areas from user interfaces to Internet TV. It’s not just transactions that are moving to the Internet but conversations and relationships as well. In this new world, banks are engaging with customers in very different ways. For some banks, branches are emerging as the new, technology-enabled centerpiece in the relationship with customers — a place where channels and technology converge to create a new era of personalized banking in the branch of the future. Banks face other challenges. Revenues are stalling, margins are under pressure and costs remain high. For many, technology remains fragmented. As banks invest more in customer technologies, they must also reduce costs and improve margins, achieve more with less, and at the same time comply with new regulation. In this constantly shifting story, there are many moving parts, and they must all come together to wow customers without confusing them. You read "Microsoft Bank Branch of the Future" in category "Essay examples" The branch of the future is an exercise in innovation that must be competitive, game-changing and ultimately profitable. It must be part of a broader strategic focus that considers all channels, not just the branch itself. It will involve not just a vision, but an ecosystem of partners that can deliver it. Microsoft ® expands its reach by working closely with partners to deliver many of our capabilities, and many of them are included here. In this paper, we lay out a process that a bank could follow in developing its branch of the future story. As steps in that story we include case studies and solutions that we believe are leading edge. We realize that every bank’s journey will be different because each bank will need to develop its own unique approach to the branch of the future. Branches are emerging as a place where channels and technology converge to create a new era of personalized banking. The new alternative channel? Many banks consider the branch to be their primary customer relationship channel. But do customers feel the same way? Today roughly 90 percent of daily transactions take place electronically. Checks may be phased out in most developed economies in the next few years. Branch traffic is on the decline. Are branches the new alternative channel? Does that mean branches are finished? Not necessarily. Bank customers still seem to have a strong affinity to branches even though they may visit them less. But it does mean the role of the branch must change and be less dependent on transactions. What should this new role be? To answer that question we must have a better understanding of what customers really want. The bank branch of the future 5 And that boils down to at least three things. Firstly, they want more control over their finances. One of the consequences of the financial crisis is a feeling of greater insecurity and a decline in trust in financial institutions. Thanks to the growth in technology and the disclosures surrounding the financial crisis, bank customers often know more about their banks than banks do about their customers. Secondly, consumers want more choices and are less willing to put all their financial eggs in one basket. They are more willing to change banking relationships and are less loyal to their existing providers. Thirdly, they want a better experience. Banks often measure their performance with customers based on service satisfaction, but service is only part of the equation. The ability to access banking services at any time from any location, transparency in fees and simpler contracts, and access to quality, impartial advice all sum up to a new value exchange between banks and customers that may define the next phase of banking. Technology is playing a huge part in transforming the banking experience. Smartphones and slates (tablets) are giving consumers greater mobility. Cloud computing gives all of us easier access to more computing power. Game-changing developments in the technology of communications and natural user interfaces enable new ways for banks and their customers to engage with each other. So what is the transformation in the role of the branch that needs to take place? Snacks, lunches and fine dining experiences Perhaps the experience of other industries might provide us with some clues. Financial services provider Fiserv has equated interaction through banking channels to â€Å"snacking,† â€Å"lunching† and â€Å"fine dining† (see article on page 10). As our lives become busier, long, lingering meals become more rare. Snacking has become a way of life, often at our desks rather than at restaurants. So restaurants must work harder for our business. But there are many restaurants to choose from. How do they compete for our attention? Every good restaurant needs its own brand. Often fine food is not enough. It may need a theme or an image. It might be the country of the cuisine. It might be a constantly changing menu. It might be the ability to have snacks, lunch and fine dining in the same location. From the services, to the cutlery and the plates to the interior to the food itself, all these elements may combine to create a unique customer experience. In the case of banking, customers have a choice of channels and therefore experiences. But if most of the channels are mainly about transactions or â€Å"snacking,† then they are likely to prefer fast food to fine dining. For the branch to be attractive, it has to have something else on the menu. Game-changing developments in the technology of communications enable new ways for banks and their customers to engage with each other. 6 The bank branch of the future The branch — where all channels can converge Today bank channels are like those in the first diagram in Figure 1: independent channels that are mainly about â€Å"snacking. † In this model, it is easy to see how the branch becomes less important as â€Å"snacking† channels grow. But some customers may prefer to research online and get advice in the branch. Their financial journey may involve a combination of visits to different channels at different times, perhaps even for the same service — beginning a journey in one channel and completing it in another. In this way, channels reinforce each other rather than compete with each other for customers’ attention. The new model of bank channels is more like the second diagram in Figure 1. Channels are no longer siloed but mutually reinforcing. Instead of playing a diminishing role, the branch can begin to play a more influential one. But the branch is the one channel where all channels can converge. Like the airline or the restaurant that offers a choice of customer experiences, snacking, lunching and fine dining can all take place in the same location. As a result the branch becomes an easier place to conduct all our banking business rather than the least attractive of all. FIGURE 1 Transforming the role of branches BANKING TODAY BANKING TOMORROW MOBILE MOBILE BROWSER CHANNEL USAGE CHANNEL USAGE BROWSER CALL CENTER CALL CENTER BRANCH BRANCH INDEPENDENT CHANNELS WITH FRAGMENTED IMPACT INTEGRATED CHANNELS AND GROWING INFLUENCE The bank branch of the future 7 Dimensions of branch transformation Microsoft ® believes there are at least five dimensions of branch transformation that can lead to a significant increase in customer experience and financial performance. Branch design — balancing networking with privacy, access and convenience Talent — more focus on advice and expertise and less on transactions Channels — integrated and mutually supportive Innovation — customer driven, building on experiences and solutions Brand — unique and customer driven In each of these dimensions, technology has a major role to play. But the real challenge is to empower each dimension so that they operate together to enhance the customer experience, improve revenues and reduce costs. A fragmented approach will simply increase costs, confuse customers and reduce financial performance. Effective branch transformation demands an enterprise-wide blueprint. A project to build nextgeneration ATMs needs to take into consideration the opportunity to empower and integrate other channels. A project to introduce digital signage should consider not only the customer experience, but the ability to improve staff performance as well. The introduction of digital signatures and automated account opening should consider the implications for document management and records keeping. We are not just transforming branches but creating a completely new retail banking business and operating model to deliver a higher standard of customer experience. A continuous process of performance improvement Branch activities should involve a continuous process of performance improvement based on an in-depth understanding of customer needs with the goal of deepening customer relationships. Recognition — selling to a market of one Engagement — creating memorable touch points Origination — developing new business opportunities INNOVATION FIGURE 2 A continuous process of performance improvement RECOGNITION ENGAGEMENT CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT gt; Service — taking customers to the next level Innovation — developing new products and services with customers Ideally, almost all these activities should be capable of taking place at any part of the branch, whether at an ATM, in a teller line, at a teller booth, or in discussions with a servic e advisor or a banker. But if executed effectively, one step will lead to another, creating a positive loop of continued performance improvement. (See Figure 2. ) SERVICE ORIGINATION 8 The bank branch of the future CASE STUDY Nascent Digital — understanding customer needs It’s easy to spend money on technology. But it is more important to understand what customers really want from their branch before embarking on an ambitious program of investment. The whole point of investing in branches is to improve the relationship with customers. So why not begin by understanding what customers really want? Nascent Digital (www. nascentdigital. com) is one of the market leaders in the field of combining market research with the design and development of technology. As a result, Nascent is able to create rich and relevant connections with customers from business applications to educational and entertaining experiences. Having previously deployed experiences on multiple mobile and touchscreen platforms such as iOS, Nascent has eased into working with the cutting-edge Windows Phone 7 and Slate devices. Nascent Labs’ mobile platform enables it to quickly develop game-changing Windows Phone and Slate applications connected to Facebook, Twitter and other social networks. It has also played a major role in the development of Microsoft Surface technology. Bank customers seek digital experiences that are unique and engaging. To that end, Nascent’s unique design-led approach employs research, in-depth experience design and early rapid prototyping. These methods enable insights into how to realize the best possible digital customer experience. Nascent has partnered with Microsoft ® to envision the possibilities for Slate computing in the branch of the future. The design process and resulting prototype yielded insights into multiple new possibilities for customer interaction, relationship building, and ustomer-associate collaboration on everything from day-to-day banking to financial planning and advisory. Building on Windows Phone 7 Metro design language, Nascent was able t o create a single digital interface that unifies the customer mobile experience with a collaborative sales experience in the branch. By understanding customer needs upfront, banks can ensure their technology investments truly provide customers with the experience they desire. The bank branch of the future 9 Nascent begins by compiling and distilling existing research to form a basis for further inquiry. Industry best practices, existing published research and open access data are evaluated to focus their primary research. Focus groups and discussions led by expert coordinators are directed to reveal a deeper insight into the ideal digital experience for the user base. Once the research phase is complete, the experience design process begins to output a series of visual representations that can be easily transformed into a rapid prototype. Early prototyping enables innovation by bringing vivid experiences to life quickly for early user testing. (See Figure 3. ) By understanding customer needs upfront, banks can ensure their technology investments truly provide customers with the experience they desire, and thus are successful in empowering their branches with new technology. By reconciling customer needs with the bank’s own strategic direction the bank is more likely to develop a business model that works. It may take more time to get it right first time, but in the long run it is a quicker and much more effective path to innovation. FIGURE 3 The Microsoft Nascent discovery process UNDERSTANDING THE CUSTOMER CONCEPT DESIGN VISUAL DESIGN CONCEPT TESTING Secondary market research Primary market research Industry best practices Brainstorming Wireframes Context design Information architecture Applied cognition Concepts Brand expectations Game-changing experiences Matched audiences Usability testing Final design blueprint 10 The bank branch of the future ARTICLE The Fiserv perspective — information convergence, interaction specialization and the importance of integrated channels The way financial institutions deliver services across banking channels is being profoundly impacted by two significant shifts. First, there is a demand for â€Å"information convergence† across channels. Consumers expect information about transactions completed via one channel to be readily accessible via another, and expect to be able to initiate a transaction in one channel and complete it in another. Second, there is a significant degree of â€Å"interaction specialization† taking place within each channel. This interaction specialization is driven by the unique properties of each channel, which determine the primary activities conducted through the channel. Consumers have different habits and preferences about which channels they use to accomplish different financial tasks. For day-to-day needs, consumers generally prefer self-service via digital channels — mobile and online – respectively, the fastest growing channels. Fiserv characterizes interaction via the mobile channel as â€Å"snacking. † From a financial services perspective snacking encompasses frequent interactions that take less than 60 seconds. This includes tasks such as checking balances, receiving alerts and paying bills. One Fiserv financial institution client sees an average of 26 logins to mobile banking per user, per month — proof of their desire to consume financial services information in quick, frequent servings via the mobile channel. The bank branch of the future 11 The snacking analogy can be extended to the online channel and to the branch as well. The online channel serves up the financial equivalent of a square meal. Consumers go online when more browsing and a slightly deeper level of engagement is required. This includes tasks such as comparing products, managing budgets and setting up preferences. These types of activities usually occur on a weekly or monthly basis. The branch is for fine dining, those special occasions where more personal service and in-depth interaction is required. This includes advisory services and overall relationship management, encompassing critical decisions that require consultation and typically occur infrequently. As a leading global provider of digital channel solutions for financial institutions, Fiserv perceives that the shifts toward information convergence and interaction specialization will create challenges for financial institutions. Delivering consistent information across channels will require back-end integration and real-time functionalities that are often not in place today. This will be further compounded by device proliferation, the rise of tablet computing and the blurring of lines between social media as an interaction platform and a transaction platform. In addition, interaction specialization will require that financial institutions tailor services for specific channels. This will most impact services delivered via the mobile device, as financial institutions will be expected to support â€Å"mobileonly† services such as remote deposit capture for checks, location-based offers and contactless payments via near-field communications (NFC) technologies. Beyond self-service, the mobile device is also likely to become a banking platform for different types of interactions. In this context, financial institutions are under attack from nontraditional players — such as mobile operators and consumer brands like Apple — that would like to gain access to both customer information and transaction revenue. Financial institutions have much to consider when it comes to effectively serving consumers. An integrated channel strategy that incorporates the unique attributes of mobile solutions as part of an overall approach is a winning strategy. Consumers expect information about transactions completed via one channel to be readily accessible via another, and to initiate a transaction in one channel and complete it in another. 12 The bank branch of the future Recognition — selling to a market of one T 84404893YHQAM235-4747343 ougher markets demand deeper, more profitable customer relationships. The need for banks to treat each customer as unique is more important. New technologies such as digital marketing and predictive analytics are making it easier to sell to a market of one. Personal recognition When customers come into the branch it helps to recognize who they are and make that information available to key members of the branch. An RFID tag can be part of that process. Embedded in a debit or credit card, it can identify customers as soon as they enter a branch. Through access to a customer relationship management system (CRM), bank staff can have complete access to relationship details to understand the next step in the customer story. But potential customers also visit branches, sometimes just by chance. These are opportunities that need to be captured. Applications that allow branch staff to identify customers from personal IDs such as driver’s licenses or Green Cards, identify their credit history and then immediately direct them to a service opportunity, can replace paper-based processes that could take days, weeks or even months to complete, if at all. But technology is changing the concept of â€Å"branch† from a physical to a virtual concept. Valerie King Through access to a CRM system, bank staff can have complete access to relationship details to understand the next step in the customer story. Digital marketing Digital marketing is not just a technology, it is also a channel. In fact, it is many channels and embraces every aspect of digital media including TV, the Internet, mobile phones and social media, and even older technologies such as radio. Whenever we click on a Web site, we create digital breadcrumbs that leave behind clues about our interests and preferences. They provide important intelligence about our real needs that marketing departments can respond to. Recognizing a customer through his or her digital identity gives a bank the opportunity for new customer touch points, more targeted campaigns and services more closely aligned to customer needs. Thanks to this approach one financial institution in the U. K. generates more revenue through inbound marketing than through any other channel. Social networking Social media generates conversations about brands and customer experiences that banks can follow. Airline companies in particular have been successful in using social networks as a customer service tool, allowing them to respond proactively to individual issues and concerns. The bank branch of the future 13 Some social networking sites — Foursquare, Gowalla, Loopt and Facebook Places — allow members to share their locations with other members. This can provide promotional opportunities for businesses. For example, each time someone checks in to a Hard Rock Cafe in the United States using Facebook Places, Hard Rock International donates a dollar to WhyHunger, a charity fighting global poverty and hunger. The offer lasted through December 2010 — an innovative way of gaining customers and promoting Hard Rock’s commitment to philanthropy. Social networking is not just about customers. It’s about staff as well. Enterprise social networking is a vital collaboration tool that enables bank talent to share knowledge and expertise across the bank. By its very nature, a branch is a decentralized part of the bank, but for many customers it is their most important interface with the bank. Keeping branch staff up-to-date with the latest products, services and regulations and making them feel an essential part of a much bigger organization is essential for their morale and their ability to serve customers effectively. Social CRM To be successful, branches must be part of communities — and communities can be both physical and virtual. Branches have been successful at integrating into physical communities, but less successful in penetrating virtual ones. Microsoft’s CRM system comes with a social networking accelerator that allows branch offers to follow the customer chatter about service needs, reactions to products and feelings about the bank generally. Having a panoramic view of customers clearly creates a competitive advantage. Microsoft Dynamics CRM, together with Microsoft partner Customer Effective, creates an advanced CRM solution leveraging Customer Effective’s expertise in implementation and data integration. Why do so many CRM systems fail to meet expectations? Because they are often stand-alone implementations and are not an integrated part of a complete customer relationship management solution linking customers, services, channels and systems to create a higher level of customer experience. To be successful, branches must be part of communities — and communities can be both physical and virtual. 14 The bank branch of the future CASE STUDY CRM at Wintrust Financial and Fiserv Wintrust Financial, a Chicago-based financial holding company with more than $14 billion in assets, is implementing EnActâ„ ¢, its relationship sales management solution for financial institutions. EnAct is built on Microsoft Dynamics CRM, so it is delivered as an extension of Outlook and integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Office applications, making it intuitive and easy to use. Using the EnAct solution from Fiserv, Wintrust Financial’s bankers will now have a holistic view of client relationships with access to sales productivity tools to execute local outreach programs, track relationship management and prospecting activities, and monitor opportunity pipelines. EnAct leverages Microsoft Dynamics CRM and is designed to serve the distinct needs of banks’ primary lines of business — Retail, Commercial and Wealth — enabling Wintrust Financial to deploy a single, banking-ready CRM solution enterprise-wide. In implementing EnAct, Wintrust aims to better support collaboration across its organization, enabling referrals between divisions and facilitating team-based management of high-value relationships that span multiple business lines. â€Å"We empower our community banks to manage their clients and their markets locally, but we also want to leverage our combined scale and use the most advanced tools to serve our customers and grow our business,† said Tom Ormseth, senior vice president, Wintrust Financial. As part of our expansion program, we identified the need for an enterprise customer relationship management solution and we chose EnAct because it provides us with specialized banking functionality on a versatile tec hnology platform. We felt Fiserv was the right partner for us because they understood our business and had the experience and know-how to help us succeed. † Wintrust Financial recognized that lack of user adoption is a common pitfall of CRM projects, so deep integration with Outlook was considered an important benefit of EnAct. Outlook is integral to bankers’ workday at Wintrust; it’s where they manage their time, contacts, tasks and email communication with clients and colleagues. EnAct is built on Microsoft Dynamics CRM, so it is delivered as an extension of Outlook and integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Office applications, making it intuitive and easy to use and encouraging end-user adoption. â€Å"By expanding its relationship with Fiserv, Wintrust joins a growing family of banks that are using EnAct to help execute their growth strategies,† said David Dervish, managing principal, Customer Value Enhancement, Fiserv. Wintrust Financial began its initial rollout of EnAct to a pilot group of more than 200 commercial bankers in December 2010 and is continuing implementation to a total of 1,400 users across 15 community banks as well as its various wealth management and specialized financial services divisions. To complement EnAct, Wintrust Financial also licensed Aperioâ„ ¢ Campaign Management and Aperio Customer Analytics. These solutions will help Wintrust analyze customer needs, identify opportunities and better manage centralized marketing campaigns that support local business development initiatives. The bank branch of the future 15 CASE STUDY Customer-centric at the core — First Citizens National Bank and Harland Financial Solutions After 15 years of fighting for market share in its Mason City, Iowa, home market, First Citizens National Bank (FCNB) was at a crossroads. â€Å"We grew by mining market share from the larger players,† explains Gregg Maakestad, FCNB’s SVP and CIO. To maintain our head-to-head competitive status we needed to challenge and exceed their capabilities. † But by 2009 FCNB’s item processing and marketing customer information file (MCIF) solutions had become inadequate. Rather than install point-solutions, FCNB, a subsidiary o f First Citizens Financial Corp. ($1. 1 billion in total assets), determined that a core systems modernization would provide capabilities beyond just meeting current needs, Maakestad relates. A long-time user of the Phoenix System from Lake Mary, Fla. -based Harland Financial Solutions, FCNB nonetheless conducted due diligence in early 2009. â€Å"With every contract cycle we look at all options,† notes Maakestad. Because Harland is an open-systems vendor that shares all its database tables, we learned the strategic value of leveraging database tables,† he adds. â€Å"Therefore, we evaluate vendors’ willingness to share tables as a significant selection criterion. † In fact, using the tables has become a critical best practice at FCNB. â€Å"We use the tables to supplement vendor-supplied reporting and modeling,† Maakestad explains. â€Å"For example, when Reg E [governing electronic fund transfers] was updated, †¦ we calculated the impact on our organization’s revenue immediately. And we’re doing the same now for the Durbin Amendment [regarding debit card fees]. † According to Maakestad, Harland’s latest platform, the Microsoft . NET-enabled PhoenixEFE Core, was the best solution for FCNB, leading to a late-2009 migration. â€Å"Beyond our existing hardware, PhoenixEFE only required setting up two production [IBM] XM servers and two for disaster recovery,† Maakestad reports. â€Å"There were no showstoppers in the new core system — just some minor items [that Harland is improving]. † During 2010 FCNB added Harland’s ActiveView Item Processing solution and the vendor’s business intelligence tool, Touche Analyzer. And early this year the bank also integrated Touche Messenger, which draws intelligence from Analyzer for targeted multichannel marketing communications. The results have been impressive. PhoenixEFE has been key to achieving our current efficiency ratio of 47. 5 percent,† says Maakestad. †In addition, our item processing is simpler and our read rates have improved 15 percent. Also, the Touche solutions will be vital to moving our services per household fr om the current 3. 493 to our 2011 goal of 3. 516. † The new platform also enabled FCNB to replace multiple daily ATM and debit card batch processes with near-real-time transactions. And, over the next couple of years, the modern core will allow the bank to add more online and mobile products to its existing offerings. â€Å"As new opportunities mature, we’ll jump into them with both feet,† Maakestad says. In short, our new core platform has made us more customer-centric and more efficient, positioning us for future growth. † CUSTOMER 16 The bank branch of the future Engagement — creating memorable touch points C Microsoft Surface offers an eyecatching way of bringing people together to connect, learn and decide. It changes the way people collaborate. apturing customers’ attention inside or outside the branch is easier with memorable touch points. Distinctive interactive walls, compelling messaging and outstanding presentations all contribute t o a better customer experience. Cool toys, personalized advice and cross-channel integration are all essential tools for capturing the customer’s attention. But they all have to work together and be targeted at customers who are likely to respond to them. Surface technology Exploring financial options with an advisor or with your partner? Or just browsing? Microsoft Surface offers an eye-catching way of shopping for services, bringing people together to connect, learn and decide. It changes the way people collaborate and connect. Microsoft Surface sees and responds to touch — supporting more than 50 simultaneous inputs. This experience comes to life in the new 40-inch Surface that can be used as a table, on the wall, or embedded in other fixtures or furniture. What-if scenarios are a lot more fun when you are working with Surface. But Surface can be more than just an eye-catcher. It can be a complete distribution channel in its own right, allowing customers another opportunity for self-service banking — snacking in the branch or browsing the menu while waiting for a table for some private dining advice. Interactive walls While customers wait in teller lines, wait for a financial advisor or just wander through branches, interactive walls can provide engaging interactions and compelling messaging for the financial shopper. Browsing for a car loan or a mortgage? Explore your options on an interactive wall. By touching it you can get the latest rates, explore financing options and do your homework before making a financial decision. Digital signage Wondering what the markets are doing? Curious about news and events in the community? Intrigued by a message from the chairman? Digital signage is a term used to describe the display of up-to-the-minute information on electronic devices such as plasma screens, LCD panels and projectors. Suppose it’s raining outside and there are more customers inside the branch and you want to change your electronic messaging to talk about new products and services. Managing the metadata in your digital signage system gives you that flexibility. The bank branch of the future 17 What if branches are serving Spanish-speaking customers in one location and English-speaking in another? Digital signage tools provide the flexibility to communicate different messaging to different markets. Digital signage can be used wherever there is a need to communicate to individuals or large groups of people. Wherever there is static signage, there is potential to replace it with digital signage. (See Figure 4. ) Founded in 1991, Omnivex originally supplied software to financial trading floors to post buy/sell positions on large LED wallboards and drive financial tickers. Trading floors were quick to adopt large plasma displays to monitor television news reports. Omnivex recognized that these displays could also be used to help traders clearly spot market trends and developed applications to display data graphically. Building on its foundation of a data-driven system, the company moved into the broader digital signage market, where its software could be used to display real-time information to facilitate decision-making by delivering targeted content to specific audiences. Financial institutions quickly adopted this medium within the retail banking industry, and we now see digital signage installations appearing more and more frequently in bank branches to communicate with customers and employees. Due to its data-driven approach, Omnivex digital signage software can deliver the right message to the right audience at the right time, helping to increase the effectiveness of communications. In branches, new products and services, promotional campaigns, market data, corporate communications and training materials can be delivered instantly, easily and memorably. In addition, digital signage can improve the customer experience by reducing perceived wait times, while entertaining and informing customers. Today, Omnivex software is used by many financial institutions around the world to power their digital signage networks. FIGURE 4 Microsoft partner Omnivex and digital signage 18 The bank branch of the future CASE STUDY Digital signage at Reflect Systems and Best Buy Banks have often been influenced by the success of retailers. Microsoft partner Reflect Systems is a leading, national full-service provider of in-store digital media solutions including digital signage, interactive applications and assisted shopping features, mobile messaging, and in-store music. Reflect worked with Best Buy and its partners to deploy a solution that fit its vision for enabling networked digital media in all its stores, while adhering to business policies and preferred technology standards. Best Buy needed to improve the shopper experience with relevant and timely media content, showcase products and services with brand partners, and capture revenue opportunities available by leveraging the platform as a new digital media network that connects with loyal Best Buy shoppers. After methodical lab testing and pilot programs, Reflect employed ReflectView, its industry-proven scalable software solution, to meet the challenge of managing and distributing large amounts of digital media across Best Buy’s complex network of more than 1,100 locations across the United States. Through its flexible content management, programming, distribution and monitoring features, ReflectView allowed Best Buy to control the specific message played in each store — at any given time, in any specific region — from a centralized system requiring minimal operational management. Today, Best Buy has increased its in-store digital media footprint to include television and computer displays in the electronics department, checkout aisles and music via in-store audio systems. Best Buy has a fast-paced business environment that requires a dynamic approach to supporting new in-store initiatives. Reflect continuously strives to provide a platform approach for in-store media, and maintains a partner-focused solution set that provides choice, performance and measured results. Through its flexible content management, programming, distribution and monitoring features, ReflectView allowed Best Buy to control the specific message played in each store from a centralized system requiring minimal operational management. The bank branch of the future 19 FIGURE 5 Financial benchmarking with Bundle Next-generation banking Next-generation ATMs, line busting, interactive walls and smartphone channels all converge together in a unique customer experience that targets customers from Gen Y to baby boomers. A common user interface is key to a compelling customer experience that recognizes the branch as a focal point in building enduring customer relationships. The technology of Kinect can provide in-branch entertainment as well as more engaging customer interactions replacing transactions with conversations. Personal financial management tools Technology has made it easier for customers to do research and resolve issues online. Branches are a perfect place for that research to take place. If the customer is already in a branch and wants to do some research or use automated tools to perform financial calculations, budgeting and planning, resources should be available for independent and banker-assisted research and planning. Options to consider include the following: A dedicated bank of PCs for independent research Interactive walls to explore financial options Surface technology to explore different products and solutions Bundle is an example of a personal financial management tool eveloped by Citi, Morningstar and Microsoft, which allows consumers to compare how others spend their money. (See Figure 5. ) FIGURE 6 At Banco do Brasil, a customer explores financial options through an interactive wall. 20 The bank branch of the future Private, face-to-face advice Have tablets replaced de sktops or have they just empowered them? By deploying both, branches have more options for face-to-face advice. It can vary from line busting to a confidential meeting with a private banking client. Technology may be needed to support those discussions, accept deposits, sign documents or review financial plans. Tablet technology can play an important role, and there are many providers to choose from. Companies like Motion Computing, HP and ExoPC offer slate models in addition to the iPad. Motion Computing, in particular, specializes in manufacturing tablets designed for the needs of individual industries. (See Figure 7. ) FIGURE 7 Customized industry devices from Motion Computing Windows slates combine the ability to consume information and present it to clients with the full production capabilities of a PC. They are also secure and interoperable with other technologies. Incorporating your tablet solution into a complete branch experience demands the ability to interact with other devices, applications and systems. Bankers and financial advisors don’t just meet clients in the bank. They may also visit them in the home. The concept of a mobile sales force attached to the branch is not a new one. But for such a team to be effective it will need to be empowered by technology. Mobile technology can be used for customer presentations, the review of different products and services and the completion of documentation. (See Figure 8. ) FIGURE 8 A selection of Windows slates (in order of appearance, the Asus E121, Motion’s CL900, the HP 500, the ExoPC and the Fujitsu-STYLISTIC Q550 Slate PC) The bank branch of the future 21 Customer use scenarios: Microsoft Surface at Barclays Bank and Royal Bank of Canada Barclays has opened a new flagship branch at Piccadilly Circus in London. The bank describes the project as â€Å"the first ‘brand concept’ branch in the UK,† covering 8,000 square feet of retail space over three floors. With the opening of the branch, Barclays became the first bank in Europe to pilot Microsoft Surface. Infusion was engaged to create a Surface program that allows users to â€Å"grab† digital content with their hands and navigate information about Barclays’ Premier banking offering with simple gestures and touches. Royal Bank of Canada has partnered with Microsoft to provide customers with an interactive banking experience through Surface. The implementation of Surface creates a fun and interactive way for RBC to inform its customers about their financial services. RBC found that giving customers a way to learn about their financial goals through interactive applications, such as Infusion’s application for Surface, is a great way to ease customers into initiating conversations about complicated financial topics. Client communications When was the last time any of us wrote or received a letter? The way we communicate is undergoing profound transformation. Whether we communicate through laptops, slates or smartphones, electronic communication is becoming pervasive. In this new chapter of communications there are risks and rewards implying profound changes in the way we develop, share and exchange information, even the way we work and play. The rewards are clear — richer and more frequent client conversations, better research, more informed insight, more accurate presentations. But the risks can be great as well. The information we create can be instantly shared through flash drives and across the Internet. Clients, markets and regulators are holding us more accountable for what we say and how we say it. The one-off presentations produced in local offices that differ across the firm should become a distant memory particularly since even small differences in client communications can have regulatory implications, dilute brands and confuse clients and markets. The world is changing at a dizzying rate. Client communications must be timely to add value, but with current technology it can also be too costly and time consuming to develop frequently. A 100-page pitch book for a key client meeting may require data and content from many sites, sources and databases, much of it captured manually. What if the process could be automated, branding managed centrally and compliance built into the process in advance? Microsoft’s partner Xinnovation has the solution — the ability to produce automated presentations within minutes that are compliant with regulations and firmwide brand management standards. Whether we communicate through laptops, slates or smartphones, electronic communication is becoming pervasive. 22 The bank branch of the future CASE STUDY Streamlining client communications at Fidelity Xinnovation streamlined Fidelity’s 22-day data intensive, increasingly complex investment review process into just a few simple hours. Quite impressive when you consider these specialized, targeted presentations can run up to 100 pages chock full of dynamic charts and graphs, which draw from backend data systems. (See Figure 9. ) Fidelity turned to Xinnovation and its Web-based, Microsoft ®-standard XiDocs document automation platform. XiDocs includes easy-to-use features that enable rapid development of solutions. XiDocs features include content management, configurable assembly and publishing of highly customized Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and PDF documents, data-driven Excel charts and graphs, enterprise content, and workflow — all living natively inside Microsoft Office SharePoint Server. It gets better — Fidelity and Xinnovation implemented a direct XML connection with Fidelity’s print and fulfill vendor to maximize workflow capabilities. And if that is not enough smart for one day, Xinnovation’s technology enables Fidelity to provide its reports through its client portal and extend a â€Å"greener† process. FIGURE 9 Automated document generation with Xinnovation The bank branch of the future 23 Origination — developing new business opportunities O ne of the toughest challenges banks face today is origination. This is particularly true in a low-growth environment. So it is important that banks have a clear understanding of where their opportunities lie. Most banks have a marketplace that can be split into three parts: Customer enthusiasts — customers who are enthusiastic about their relationship with the bank and want to expand it Customers on the fence — customers who are indifferent to their relationship with the bank but could be swayed one way or another Dissatisfied customers — customers who are about to leave and are waiting for the right opportunity to move on. Against this mix there are further segmentation opportunities. The challenge is to find the right marketing and distribution mix for each customer segment. For example, Bank of America identified the mass affluent as a â€Å"must-win† strategic market. The bank worked with Merrill Lynch to target services to a specific part of its target — the mass affluent — which it defined as customers with investable balances of about $200,000 or more, but not superwealthy. The bank reasoned this group of customers were occasional investors rather than active traders and so offered them 10 free trades a year to boost their loyalty and deepen their relationship. Where does the branch fit in to this mix? Should it be the preserve of a few customers, or is there a way for it to play a role across all sectors of the market? One way of approaching this is to think of the branch as a networking opportunity, emphasizing its social rather than its transaction role. Targeting families, small businesses, emerging entrepreneurs or local clubs and associations reinforces the role of the branch as a focal point for the community. Financial seminars targeted at local entrepreneurs, pension advice for boomers, and financial services for college students are examples of programs that bring traffic to the branch and reinforce its role as a critical part of the local economy. With branch traffic up, the next step is to make it easier to open accounts, browse new services or get financial advice. Increasing self-service facilities — not just ATMs, but interactive walls and Surface devices as well — within the branch is one way of achieving this. But technology doesn’t have to exclude the human element. Enabling bank staff to assist customers through video links on next-generation ATMs and other self-service channels reinforces the relationship between banker and customer rather than excluding it. 24 The bank branch of the future Some of the tools to consider include the following: Targeting customers through predictive analytics — Reaching out to customers can be costly for several reasons. Along with more traditional campaign costs, companies often fail to take into consideration any negative impacts that a campaign may have in terms of driving customers away or driving customers to consider alternative offers. Predictive analytics plays a critical role in minimizing negative campaign responses and ensuring that campaigns are targeted and effective. This also includes maximizing opportunities for cross sell and retention in the key instances when customers are engaging via inbound channels. Gathering a single view of your customers across all touch points is a critical step in understanding your customers’ needs, and delivering the best possible customer experience to drive customer value in the long term. Whether customers are online, talking to a call center or in the branch, it is important to have a clear picture of who those customers are, and what particular offer, be it cross sell or retention, is best to present them at that moment. One insurance company found that by optimizing customer nteractions in this manner it was able to sell more through inbound channels than through all other channels combined. Managing customers’ time when they are in the branch — By enabling branch staff to reduce queuing at teller counters they can also engage with customers and explore other service opportunities. A ha ndheld computer device can accelerate deposits, account inquiries, transfers and other simple transactions. Line busting can turn unproductive wait times into business opportunities. Scheduling and calendaring linked to digital signage solutions can manage appointments with branch staff and expectations with customers who might otherwise be unclear when they would be seen. gt; Making it easier to access new services through paperless banking — If a customer wants to open a new account or obtain a new line of credit but has to wait for the paperwork to be completed, that just adds time and cost to the onboarding process and delays revenue realization. It can also frustrate customers and cause them to look elsewhere to meet their needs. Years of paper-based processes may need to be revisited to improve customer experience, improve margins and increase security. Marketing through self-service transactions — Originations should be possible within the branch through any ch annel, whether through a bank of PCs, through next- generation ATMs, or call centers accessed from within the branch. Surface devices and interactive walls can be both a source of information and origination channels. Self-service channels are mainly for existing customers, but it should be just as easy for new customers to become activated through them as well. Banker-assisted originations — Often completed through paper documents, the origination process can involve several stages, and many documents — account opening forms, signature cards, loan agreements — but if converted Gathering a single view of your customers across all touch points is a critical step in understanding your customers’ needs, and delivering the best possible customer experience to drive value in the long term. The bank branch of the future 25 into electronic form can be completed quickly and easily but still securely while the customer remains in the branch. This shortens the origination process considerably. The problem is how to accomplish this in a secure way. The growth in eSignature technology and supporting regulation (the ESIGN Act and UETA) makes this a much easier option for many banks. Tellers as relationship managers — Probably the one personal contact the bank customer has the most frequent engagement with is the bank teller. Yet this is the one interaction we want to get over with as quickly as possible. A friendly interaction with a teller can play an important part in origination. But for that to happen the role of tellers within the branch must change and they must be managed very differently as a resource. The first challenge is to manage traffic within the branch to reduce the pressure of a short and pressured interaction. Secondly, tellers’ productivity has to be improved by giving them access to technology that enables them to process transactions more easily. Finally, tellers should know who their customers are, reinforcing the importance of the personal connection. Branch recognition technologies and access to CRM systems can help tellers play a pivotal role in strengthening customer relationships. CASE STUDY Predictive analytics at U. S. Bancorp with Portrait Software Pitney Bowes Business Insight (PBBI) is a Microsoft Gold partner that leads the pack in the field of predictive analytics. The Consumer Direct division of U. S. Bank, a subsidiary of U. S. Bancorp, found that its traditional marketing campaigns were not delivering the returns they once were, and was failing to target customers with the most relevant message. After two successful trials, U. S. Bank implemented PBBI’s Portrait Uplift solution and has since achieved significant gains — a 300 percent lift — in incremental revenue together with reduced costs through lower mailing volumes. U. S. Bank is just one of several customers in different industries that have found PBBI’s Portrait suite of analytics solutions to be of immense value. Selling to a market of one is a challenge across all industries, financial services in particular. U. S. Bank has achieved significant gains in incremental revenue together with reduced costs through lower mailing volumes. 26 The bank branch of the future PROFILE Secure paperless banking with digital signature from Topaz and AssureSign We are all familiar with digital signature in the retail environment, even in insurance. A number of leading banks have begun to adopt the process, but in financial services the technology of digital signature is still in its infancy. Whether we are opening a bank or brokerage account or applying for a loan there is usually a lot of paper involved. But paper takes time to process, must be stored and can easily be lost. Plus we need a more reliable way to ensure documents have been signed and stored as securely as possible. Is it time for a fresh approach? Many businesses around the world are saving money by replacing paper processes with electronic signature and document solutions. In the U. S. the ESIGN Act gives electronic signatures the same legal significance as paper signatures, provided the customer consents to the process. Various forms of eSignature exist from a simple click to sign to robust bi ometric signatures written on electronic signature pads that record the precise shape and sequence of the signature, its strokes and direction of loops, and detailed timing of each part of the signature used in the signing process. Another form of electronic signature that does not incorporate biometrics — the digital signature — uses asymmetric cryptography to ensure documents can be protected once they are signed and any changes related back to the original signer. The technology of eSignature and digital signatures is now available across multiple devices and can be deployed locally or at an enterprise level. Mainly deployed in the public sector and in the retail, healthcare and insurance industries, this technology has already been adopted by a number of leading banks to improve the speed and security of banking document processes. Such efficiencies are leading the charge in enabling bank branches to become paperless. AssureSign (www. assuresign. com) and Topaz Systems (www. topazsystems. com) are leaders in the field of electronic signature and document management. FIGURE 10 Topaz eSignature software technology can be deployed across the Web and directly with its biometric electronic signature pads. Biometric signature AssureSign is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) or on-premise electronic signature solution that allows signers to execute documents via web portal interactions, captures the â€Å"act of signing,† email invitation or in-branch scenarios. AssureSign easily integrates with existing not an image of a signature banking and financial services applications to provide a paperless document execution process. AssureSign can also work alongside Topaz solutions to bridge the gap between in-house and external web-based signing requirements in a FIGURE 11 A biometric signature using AssureSign single platform. AssureSign solutions offer a variety of front-end signer authentication options as well as Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESign Act) and Uniform Electronic Transactions ACT (UETA) compliant signing processes. Topaz Systems offers a broad array of electronic signature pads for use in teller- and nonteller-related transactions, along with bundled software, authentication and server tools, and plug-ins. Topaz solutions provide the capability for corporations to deploy their technology across any Web-based service and on any device, whether tailor-made or generic. Topaz signature pads are available in color and monochrome versions, wireless versions for use in drive-up teller environments, and pads that capture simultaneous electronic and paper signatures up to full legal clipboard size. (See Figures 10 and 11. ) The bank branch of the future 27 CASE STUDY Incentives at Bank of the West and Varicent If branch staff are to play a different role in the branch of the future, the question that arises is whether they should be compensated differently. To meet this challenge, Bank of the West chose Varicent SPM to manage incentive compensation and sales performance throughout the organization. Varicent’s SPM solution was chosen by Bank of the West because of its ability to provide a single system for all compensation plan management that easily integrates with all other existing systems within the bank. Varicent is an industry leader in providing incentive compensation (ICM) and sales performance management (SPM) solutions. Bank of the West, based in San Francisco, offers a full range of business, corporate, personal, trust and international banking services and operates more than 700 branch locations and commercial banking offices in 19 Western and Midwestern states. â€Å"Varicent’s solution will provide us with the unique ability to more effectively analyze important compensation and sales performance metrics. We will also use Varicent to improve the accuracy of our forecasts and to create effective sales incentive models that can drive the right behavior and maximize our future performance,† said Donald Duggan, senior executive vice president and CIO at Bank of the West. Varicent’s approach offers a lower total cost of ownership than alternative solutions and in-depth sales analytics to help understand performance, allowing for accurate forecasting and modeling of future plans. Streamlined administrative processes include the managing an How to cite Microsoft Bank Branch of the Future, Essay examples

Asias globlization Essay Example For Students

Asias globlization Essay In business today there are many companies and countries conducting global business. The Japanese, Chinese and the South Koreans are all very aggressive in this growing trend among countries and corporations. Whats interesting is the present state of our political relations with the Chinese and our direct investment in them. Its no secret that if we went to war with China over some unforeseen problem that it would be quite a challenge, so weve taken an alternate route. Keep them close and invest. China received just over 45 billion in 1997 but Foreign Direct Investment and has not shown signs of slowing down. Jiang Zemin (Chinas commander and chief) in a recent press conference with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum reassured the pacific rim CEOs he would continue to open his markets to foreign investments. This way of thinking began in 1978 when the Chinese leadership began to move the economy from a restricted market to more of a capitalist market. The results at the fore front of this movement were small, only about 2.7 billion between 1985 and 1990 and then exploded in 1997 to a record of 45 billion. (international business-186) Mainland Chinese corporations are acquiring overseas assets with the pace picking up. Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. said it would pay $60 million for a 10% stake in the revived Daewoo Auto, now led by General Motors Corp. China Petroleum Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) bought a 75% stake in an oil field in North Africa for $394 million. Huayi Group of Shanghai is paying $20 million for the battery-making assets of Moltech Power Systems, a bankrupt company in Gainesville, Fla. Granted, Chinas investment overseas is tiny compared with the vast amounts of money flowing into the country but its just the begining. Chinese companies will spend at least $2.4 billion abroad this year, but thats just a fraction of the $50 billion in foreign investment China is projecting for 2002. The modest numbers, though, hide grand ambitions. One strategy of Chinese companies is to buy into new markets. For example, television maker TCL International Holdings Ltd. paid $8 million for Germanys bankrupt Schneider Electronics. Their sales and distribution channels are very good, says Connie Lau, deputy director of investor relations at TCL. This is a key step for TCL to enter the European market. Chinas expansion follows a pattern set by Japanese companies in the 1970s and 80s and by Koreans in the 1990s. But those companies grew behind protective tariff barriers and then expanded overseas because domestic markets offered limited growth. With China joining the World Trade Organization, mainland companies are going abroad to acquire technologies and skills they need to survive in the increasingly competitive market at home. Last year, Holley Group, a Hangzhou maker of electricity meters, gained a foothold in Chinas booming wireless business when it bought the mobile-phone design and software operations of Philips Semiconductor. TV-component maker Beijing Orient Electronics Group Co. wants to buy Hyundai Display Technology Inc., which makes liquid crystal displays, to boost domestic sales. Chinas biggest overseas investments by far have been in natural resources, with surging demand in China forcing Beijing to invest in oil and mining outside its borders. In June, Baosteel paid $30 million for a 46% stake in an Australian iron ore mining joint venture with Rio Tinto PLCs Hamersley Iron unit. And Chinese smelter Jiangxi Copper Co. is looking at deals in the Philippines and Chile. If we want to become stronger, we have to look overseas, says Jiangxi spokesman Huang Dongfeng. Despite their ambition, Chinese companies have yet to prove their global mettle. Indeed, some say Chinese corporations overpaid for assets in their early oil and gas deals. My impression is that the Chinese companies buying abroad are getting taken, much like the Japanese with real estate in the 80s, says a Hong Kong investment banker. C NOOCs Qiu agrees that some companieshis own not includedhave paid too much. Buying things isnt success by itself, he says. We have to learn to play world club; you cant just play domestic league. 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The Fame Monster by Lady GaGa free essay sample

Lady GaGa very quietly released her debut album â€Å"The Fame† as 2008 came to a close. Promotion was minimal and hardly anyone noticed or cared. Then somebody got a hold of â€Å"Just Dance.† Almost overnight, GaGa became an electro/dance-pop sensation and her slick, electronic beats, gourmet lyrics and stellar vocals made â€Å"The Fame† the album of the year for the American public. But people wondered, would GaGa’s superficial obsession with fame be strong enough, deep enough to carry her to the status of a true artist in the eyes of the public and the critics? Or would she forever be confined to the rank of dance-pop darling? The answer, of course, was no. Good thing the Lady has more than just a seemingly endless supply of addictive hooks up her sleeve. At the end of 2009, the enigmatic blonde re-released â€Å"The Fame† along with eight brand-new tracks, aptly titling it â€Å"The Fame Monster. We will write a custom essay sample on The Fame Monster by Lady GaGa or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page † Her beats are still pulsing and addictive, her lyrics still poetically metaphorical and her vocals still flawless, but this time, there are no shiny dance tracks glorifying fame, money or fashion. Instead, each one represents a personal â€Å"monster† of GaGa’s, be it her fear of men, addiction, death, love, sex†¦you name it. This time around, she gives her fans a glimpse of Stephani, not just her alter ego. So what’s she like without her â€Å"Poker Face?† Surprisingly†¦deep. The album opens with what is quite possibly GaGa’s strongest track ever, if not her absolute best. â€Å"Bad Romance’s† chorus positively throbs with power, and GaGa sings, snarls chants of her longing for the love of an imperfect man with astonishing strength, delivering a vocal performance so impressive that it feels almost out-of-place on such an overtly pop track. But its certainly a welcome abnormality. At first listen, â€Å"Bad Romance† sounds like yet another ode to the fact that yes, girls do like bad boys, whether or not they should. Then it becomes clear that GaGa is singing about true love. Not sugary summer flings or the cheap variety found in a dance club, but the love that says â€Å"I love you so much thatI want all of you, not just the good stuff or the â€Å"safe† parts, but your flaws and your weaknesses, your scars and your secrets, everything that makes you human. Everything that makes you†¦you.† Clearly, GaGa understands what love really is. And she’s right to be afraid of it. The album’s next track seems to pale in comparison to its thundering predecessor, but in reality, it’s a nice piece of Latin-influenced electro-pop that can stand quite well on its own, thank you very much. While certainly lighter than â€Å"Bad Romance,† â€Å"Alejandro† does have power, just not quite as much. In it, GaGa bids her former Latin lovers (Alejandro, Roberto, Fernando etc.) a cheeky goodbye via one helluva catchy chorus. This is a song that will stay on â€Å"repeat† on countless iPods, however, the overall depth and quality of the entire song is somewhat overshadowed by said chorus, coming up short by just a hair. â€Å"Monster† has it all. A compelling storyline, all the depth â€Å"Alejandro† lacked and more, an infectious hook, and lyrics that sound â€Å"good enough to eat.† This impressive track tells of an encounter between GaGa and an unnamed â€Å"monster† boy she meets in a club who eventually ends up in her bed. Though GaGa does not hold up â€Å"Monster† as a cautionary tale telling female listeners to beware smooth-talking young men and the emotional consequences of one-night-stands, it could certainly be interpreted that way. After all, this monster boy pursues her, flatters her, gropes her, dances with her, insists on taking her home, French kisses her, beds her†¦and eats her heart. But though the intended meaning is ambiguous, two things are for sure; this is GaGa at her best and â€Å"That boy is a monster/m-m-m-monster† isn’t going to get out of your head anytime soon. GaGa follows â€Å"Monster† with a smashing power ballad that blows everything else completely out of the water. Though it does feel a tad out of place, the Freddie Mercury-esque â€Å"Speechless† contains GaGa’s absolute best lyrics and her most stunning vocal performance to date. It’s impossible to accurately describe the raw beauty of this song, so I won’t even try. I will say this, though, before you listen, look up why and for whom she wrote it. It will only serve to enhance the experience. â€Å"Dance In The Dark† serves as an ode to women oppressed, berated and abused by the men in their life. Backed by skipping, pounding synthesizers, GaGa snarls, moans, gasps into the mic and stretches her voice to tell their story, even including a shout-out to famous women who met tragic ends (Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Princess Diana, etc.) It is both dark and maddeningly addictive†¦hence the title. Not the best on the album by any means, but nevertheless, a solid, albeit chilling, track. GaGa’s songs got their start in dance clubs, so it is necessary for her to include at least one track recorded especially for them. Although the fact that it features Beyonce may raise a few eyebrows, especially after the disaster that was â€Å"Video Phone,† surprisingly, this compilation works. â€Å"Telephone† is pure club fun and its sole subject is the girls’ plea for their boys to stop calling because they are busy dancing and can’t talk. It has zero depth, zero substance and its only merit is a hook so addictive you won’t be able to turn it off. â€Å"So Happy I Could Die† is the track that makes you scratch your head and go â€Å"Huh?† It tells of GaGa’s physical insecurities and her fear of addiction, both to herself (that is, her Lady GaGa persona) and to substances, but initially, it seems very much to be singing the praises of red wine†¦but it isn’t. Listen carefully and with an open mind and you’ll get it. Maybe. GaGa closes the album with another song that makes you work to understand it. With an almost tribal beat and animalistic chant-vocals, GaGa tells her lover, â€Å"Take a bite of my bad girl meat†¦/I’m gonna love you with my hands tied/Show me your teeth/,† making â€Å"Teeth† sound like nothing more than an ode to sex. But she also says â€Å"I need direction/†¦Tell me something that’ll save me†¦/Tell me something that’ll change me†¦/Just need a little guidance† Is it possible that this is GaGa’s way of saying that maybe she’s not such a â€Å"tough bitch† after all? That she really might need a savior?† I’ll say it’s a definite possibility. It isn’t often that something comes out of Kanye West’s mouth that is worth repeating for good reasons, but recently, he seemed to have a brief moment of brilliance (or perhaps sobriety) when he declared that Lady GaGa was the new Queen of Pop. Maybe that statement is premature, but if â€Å"The Fame Monster† is any indication, I’d say she’s well on her way to claiming the throne, assuming, of course, she hasn’t already. The Fame Monster by Lady Gaga free essay sample Stephanie Joanne Angelina Germanotta has officially outdone herself; The Album The Fame Monster is unique and individual. It expresses her true self in which i believe all music should do. Solely written by herself this album rejoices in her own individuality and is an inspiration. This all sounds very Cliche but listening to the raw lyrics you can feel her feelings and understand her thoughts. The mixture of emotional songs Speechless and So Happy I Could Die and the collection of Heavy Beat songs Bad Romance and Alejandro create a insanely beautiful mix. I personally love the way she speaks of topics other song writers wont speak of and in ways that make it acceptable. For example one of my personal favourites So Happy I Could Die is about her confusion in her own sexuality (when i say this i mean whether she is straight, homosexual or bisexual not whether she is a hermaphrodite) and the way she reassures herself in her feelings. We will write a custom essay sample on The Fame Monster by Lady Gaga or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This is what i mean when i say that she is an inspiration, she isnt afraid of being proud of what she is; how could she not be an great example for how to be your own woman and how to be individual? I could write forever about her, for instance did you know she called her self Lady Gaga after the hit song by Queen, Radio Ga Ga? Anyway my obvious conclusion is that she is a Smash Hit and an inspirational woman. I believe she was born to inspire and to express her own views and feelings and if she stopped and quit tomorrow she would still go down an international icon and legend.

Geography and Overview of the Caribbean Nation of Haiti

Geography and Overview of the Caribbean Nation of Haiti Population: 9,035,536 (July 2009 estimate)Capital: Port au PrinceArea: 10,714 square miles (27,750 sq km)Bordering Country: The Dominican RepublicCoastline: 1,100 miles (1,771 km)Highest Point: Chaine de la Selle at 8,792 feet (2,680 m) The Republic of Haiti, is the second-oldest republic in the Western Hemisphere just after the United States. It is a small country located in the Caribbean Sea between Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Haiti has years of political and economic instability however and it is one of the poorest nations in the world. Most recently Haiti was struck by a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake which damaged its infrastructure and killed thousands of its people. History of Haiti The first European habitation of Haiti was with the Spanish when they used the island of Hispaniola (of which Haiti is a part) during their exploration of the Western Hemisphere. French explorers were also present at this time and conflicts between the Spanish and French developed. In 1697, Spain gave France the western third of Hispaniola. Eventually, the French established the settlement of Saint Domingue which became one of the wealthiest colonies in the French Empire by the 18th century. During the French Empire, slavery was common in Haiti as African slaves were brought to the colony to work on sugarcane and coffee plantations. In 1791 though, the population of slaves revolted and took over control of the northern part of the colony, which resulted in a war against the French. By 1804 however, local forces beat the French, established their independence and named the area Haiti. After its independence, Haiti broke into two separate political regimes but they were unified in 1820. In 1822, Haiti took over Santo Domingo which was the eastern portion of Hispaniola but in 1844, Santo Domingo separated from Haiti and became the Dominican Republic. During this time and up until 1915, Haiti underwent 22 changes in its government and experienced political and economic chaos. In 1915, the United States military entered Haiti and remained until 1934 when it again reclaimed its independent rule. Shortly after regaining its independence, Haiti was ruled by a dictatorship but from 1986 to 1991, it was ruled by various temporary governments. In 1987, its constitution was ratified to include an elected president as head of state but also a prime minister, cabinet and supreme court. Local government was also included in the constitution via the election of local mayors. Jean-Bertrand Aristide was the first president to be elected in Haiti and he took office on February 7, 1991. He was overthrown that September however in a government take-over which caused many Haitians to flee the country. From October 1991 to September 1994 Haiti had a government dominated by a military regime and many Haitian citizens were killed during this time. In 1994 in an attempt to restore peace to Haiti, the United Nations Security Council authorized its member states to work toward removing the military leadership and restore Haitis constitutional rights. The U.S. then became the major power in removing Haitis military government and formed a multinational force (MNF). In September 1994, U.S. troops were prepared to enter Haiti but Haitian General Raoul Cedras agreed to allow the MNF to take over, end military rule and restore Haitis constitutional government. In October of the same year, President Aristide and other elected officials in exile returned. Since the 1990s, Haiti has undergone various political changes and has been relatively unstable both politically and economically. Violence has also ensued in most of the country. In addition to its political and economic problems, Haiti has most recently been impacted by natural disasters when a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck near Port au Prince  on January 12, 2010. The death toll in the earthquake was in the thousands and much of the countrys infrastructure was damaged as its parliament, schools and hospitals collapsed. Government of Haiti Today Haiti is a republic with two legislative bodies. The first is the Senate which comprises the National Assembly while the second is the Chamber of Deputies. Haitis executive branch is made up of chief of state whose position is filled by the president and a head of government which is filled by the prime minister. The judicial branch is made up of Haitis Supreme Court. Economy of Haiti Of the countries in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti is the poorest as 80% of its population lives below poverty level. Most of its people contribute to the agricultural sector and work in subsistence farming. Many of these farms, however, are vulnerable to damage from natural disasters which has been made worse by the countrys widespread deforestation. Larger scale agricultural products include coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum, and wood. Although the industry is small, sugar refining, textiles, and some assembly are common in Haiti. Geography and Climate of Haiti Haiti is a small country located on the western part of the island of Hispaniola and is west of the Dominican Republic. It is slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Maryland and is two-thirds mountainous. The rest of the country features valleys, plateaus, and plains. Haitis climate is mainly tropical but it is also semiarid in the east where its mountain areas block the trade winds. It should also be noted that Haiti is in the middle of the hurricane region of the Caribbean and is subject to severe storms from June to October. Haiti is also prone to flooding, earthquakes, and droughts. More Facts about Haiti Haiti is the least developed country in the Americas Haitis official language is French but French Creole is also spoken Source Central Intelligence Agency. (2010, March 18). CIA - the Worldfactbook Haiti. Retrieved from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ha.html Infoplease. (n.d.). Haiti: History, Geography Government, and Culture - Infoplease.com. Retrieved from: infoplease.com/ipa/A0107612.html United States Department of State. (2009, September). Haiti (09/09). Retrieved from: state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1982.htm