Recession is defined as the slowdown of economic activity over a period of time. Technically, the recession is identified the GDP declines for two consecutive quarters. The GDP decline is caused by a slowdown in production, falling housing prices and sales and a drop in the investments. The slowdown results in increasing unemployment which in turn causes a slowdown in retail sales. When the market has no demand, the manufacturing faces a setback and the graph declines further.
The current recession is the result of cupidity of people in the US sub-prime mortgage market. The banks lend loan by analyzing the credibility of the borrower. The people who cannot justify their credibility are given loans by the credible borrowers from the bank at a higher interest rate. This is called sub-prime lending. The prime lending refers to the loan borrowed from the bank.
How did the sub-prime lending ignite the recession? The sub-prime loans were converted into financial securities and sold to big investors who paid the loan amount to banks. This amount was used by banks to finance more home loans because the sub-prime loans were sold out at low interest rates which made them vulnerable to buying. Since more and more loans were sold out, the cost of real estate started crashing. Also, since the borrowers did not have a credibility listing, the payments started getting defaulted thus increasing the equated monthly instalment (EMI) interest rates. A vicious cycle of buying n defaulting was created. Since, the EMIs could not be paid the securities started transforming into losses thus, the beginning of the economic meltdown. To cover these losses, the investors started selling their investments in foreign markets. Since the amount of selling in the markets was much higher than the amount of buying, the financial markets in different countries started tumbling. Thus, the world faced the heat of the US sub-prime crisis.
Every problem has a solution. The economies are still fighting with this recession and have been successful to a great extent in suppressing it but the after effects remain in the market. Thus, it is always better to anticipate and plan accordingly. The recession could have been avoided if the covetousness could have been suppressed. Today, mindful people need to save money so that when the economies suffer a breakdown there could still exist a controlled flow of money in the market. The governing bodies need to deploy policies more strictly. The tax cuts also need to be revised. The money in securities is equally unsafe and the risk is even higher for higher values of securities but provides tax exemptions to some extent. In the urge to keep more money in own pockets, people tend to invest in securities. The government must revise its taxing policies to secure money with the citizens and prevent their exposure to risks.
Ignorance is not bliss anymore. Anticipation, planning and undertaking calculated risks are the needs of the hour.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Recession and role of new technocrats
Recession is defined as the slowdown of economic activity over a period of time. Technically, the recession is identified the GDP declines for two consecutive quarters. The GDP decline is caused by a slowdown in production, falling housing prices and sales and a drop in the investments. The slowdown results in increasing unemployment which in turn causes a slowdown in retail sales. When the market has no demand, the manufacturing faces a setback and the graph declines further.
The current recession is the result of cupidity of people in the US sub-prime mortgage market. The banks lend loan by analysing the credibility of the borrower. The people who cannot justify their credibility are given loans by the credible borrowers from the bank at a higher interest rate. This is called sub-prime lending. The prime lending refers to the loan borrowed from the bank.
How did the sub-prime lending ignite the recession? The sub-prime loans were converted into financial securities and sold to big investors who paid the loan amount to banks. This amount was used by banks to finance more home loans because the sub-prime loans were sold out at low interest rates which made them vulnerable to buying. Since more and more loans were sold out, the cost of real estate started crashing. Also, since the borrowers did not have a credibility listing, the payments started getting defaulted thus increasing the equated monthly instalment (EMI) interest rates. A vicious cycle of buying n defaulting was created. Since, the EMIs could not be paid the securities started transforming into losses thus, the beginning of the economic meltdown. To cover these losses, the investors started selling their investments in foreign markets. Since the amount of selling in the markets was much higher than the amount of buying, the financial markets in different countries started tumbling. Thus, the world faced the heat of the US subprime crisis.
Every problem has a solution. The economies are still fighting with this recession and have been successful to a great extent in suppressing it but the after effects remain in the market. Thus, it is always better to anticipate and plan accordingly. The recession could have been avoided if the covetousness could have been suppressed. Today, mindful people need to save money so that when the economies suffer a breakdown there could still exist a controlled flow of money in the market. The governing bodies need to deploy policies more strictly. The tax cuts also need to be revised. The money in securities is equally unsafe and the risk is even higher for higher values of securities but provides tax exemptions to some extent. In the urge to keep more money in own pockets, people tend to invest in securities. The government must revise its taxing policies to secure money with the citizens and prevent their exposure to risks.
Ignorance is not bliss anymore. Anticipation, planning and undertaking calculated risks are the needs of the hour.
Recession is defined as the slowdown of economic activity over a period of time. Technically, the recession is identified the GDP declines for two consecutive quarters. The GDP decline is caused by a slowdown in production, falling housing prices and sales and a drop in the investments. The slowdown results in increasing unemployment which in turn causes a slowdown in retail sales. When the market has no demand, the manufacturing faces a setback and the graph declines further.
The current recession is the result of cupidity of people in the US sub-prime mortgage market. The banks lend loan by analysing the credibility of the borrower. The people who cannot justify their credibility are given loans by the credible borrowers from the bank at a higher interest rate. This is called sub-prime lending. The prime lending refers to the loan borrowed from the bank.
How did the sub-prime lending ignite the recession? The sub-prime loans were converted into financial securities and sold to big investors who paid the loan amount to banks. This amount was used by banks to finance more home loans because the sub-prime loans were sold out at low interest rates which made them vulnerable to buying. Since more and more loans were sold out, the cost of real estate started crashing. Also, since the borrowers did not have a credibility listing, the payments started getting defaulted thus increasing the equated monthly instalment (EMI) interest rates. A vicious cycle of buying n defaulting was created. Since, the EMIs could not be paid the securities started transforming into losses thus, the beginning of the economic meltdown. To cover these losses, the investors started selling their investments in foreign markets. Since the amount of selling in the markets was much higher than the amount of buying, the financial markets in different countries started tumbling. Thus, the world faced the heat of the US subprime crisis.
Every problem has a solution. The economies are still fighting with this recession and have been successful to a great extent in suppressing it but the after effects remain in the market. Thus, it is always better to anticipate and plan accordingly. The recession could have been avoided if the covetousness could have been suppressed. Today, mindful people need to save money so that when the economies suffer a breakdown there could still exist a controlled flow of money in the market. The governing bodies need to deploy policies more strictly. The tax cuts also need to be revised. The money in securities is equally unsafe and the risk is even higher for higher values of securities but provides tax exemptions to some extent. In the urge to keep more money in own pockets, people tend to invest in securities. The government must revise its taxing policies to secure money with the citizens and prevent their exposure to risks.
Ignorance is not bliss anymore. Anticipation, planning and undertaking calculated risks are the needs of the hour.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Prospects n Challenges for IT Manager
According to Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), IT is defined as “the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware.”
Information Technology Management is concerned with exploring and understanding IT as a corporate resource that determines both the strategic and operational capabilities of the firm in designing and developing products and services for maximum customer satisfaction and corporate productivity, profitability and competitiveness.
The role of an IT manager is to develop new ideas into solutions with the optimum use of available resources for the satisfaction of customer. He is responsible for integrating the company’s operational capabilities so as to make the company capable of delivering the services it has promised to the market. Companies appoint IT Managers as IT support to various roles such as financial management, services management, business/IT alignment, corporate governance etc. Thus, IT Manager is required to have knowledge of all the application areas.
The only thing which is constant is change and the rapid change in IT industry has increased the complexity of IT management. There are many factors responsible for the rapid change but few of these factors have been recognised to be contributing majorly:
· Vendor Neglect
· Vendor Oversell
· Acquisition Dilemma
· Support Burden
· Resistance
· Cascading Needs
· New Integration
· Errors
· Training Demands
These barricades are regularly faced by an IT manager in its profession. There are regular neglects on part of the vendors. Sometimes vendors promise to deliver more than they can, for the desire of more earnings. There are regular fluctuations in the market demand. Errors are integral part of any process. There needs to be quality assurance at every step of the process. Sometimes there are internal conflicts which are harmful for the company’s reputation. Also, regular training of the employees to keep them update with the latest trends in technology is necessary.
IT Managers should give careful thought to the fact that problems need to be encountered. Anticipating and planning for them can help avoid project delays and budget overruns.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Environmental awareness and role of technocrats
“In the end, we conserve only what we love, we will love only what we will understand and we will understand only what we are taught” -- Baba Dioum
Recently, I have read a news item anticipating the establishment of four Hi-Tech cities in the outskirts of the Aligarh city. These establishments will be done with the aims of reducing the size of the crowd in the city and of providing employment to people living in the nearby villages. Though for a noble cause but such projects tend to exploit huge amount of resources. And, the exploitation of resources at such a large scale results in the environmental instability. Definitely a detailed plan needs to be formulated such that the resources can be used optimally, now and again.
There have been instances in the past where mankind has not thought about future impacts of its actions. We face with problems such as the lowering of water table, reduction in the rainfall, increase in the size of ozone-hole, global warming etc. Though these problems are being faced today but their causative actions have been performed in the past viz. deforestation, fast paced technological advancements. Still, we are not learning from our mistakes.
Today, as we move forward with the aim of making world a better and comfortable place to live in, there is a need to put a check at our every action. We need to observe and attend to every factor closely e.g. climate of the place, water table, rainfall, wind etc. There is a need to make people aware of these factors and to develop a general idea, the idea that how to use each resource optimally. Also, there is a need of reducing the amount of usage currently. There is a need of self-realisation. There is a need to think about the impact of an action on the society and environment before committing it.
There are various groups – government and private – which work to make people aware of various minute details that can help in the environmental protection. Also, various research institutes spend a huge sum of money to develop technologies which will help in the cause. E.g. Evolution of hybrid cells and hydrogen cells which help in minimizing pollution through automobiles. The corporate sector has accepted it as its social responsibility to work towards preservation of the environment. In lieu of which, they are awarded quality certificates and rebates on various deals.
Today, most of the people think about the environment before they act. A few change the way they plan to do. Finally, very few do it. It is about time, we all do.
Monday, March 30, 2009
The Earth Hour !
The Earth Day, as I understand, is to utilize the resources that the mother earth provides us with optimization so that each n everyone gets to utilize it in need, for that day. Though, we should do that more often but that is the tragedy we need to live with.
The concept of the Earth Hour, as promoted, was to switch off all the electrical appliances for 1 hour in order to save electricity and to save the climate from getting ruined. The request was made to the complete world. Many people paid heed but many did not.
I am grateful to those who did and also to those who did not. Why??
The power stations are our providers of electricity. They burn coal, heat water, circulate it through pipelines, rotate turbines and generate power on a dynamo which has its own speed limit which varies inversely with the load the dynamo is supposed to bear. This means, higher the load, less speed of the dynamo but if lesser the load then higher the speed of dynamo.
But, we cannot allow the dynamo to reach the speed of light, else it would convert into energy (E=mc^2) and would disappear.
Hence, we limit its speed to a certain value, beyond which the dynamo gets cutoff. When the speed comes down, below the threshold, it again starts rotating.
Can you tell me what is that process that is continuously going on irrespective of the speed of dynamo?? The coal is being burnt unstoppingly.
So what had happened when lot of people switched off their electrical appliances simultaneously, for 1 hour?? The load on the dynamo has decresed resulting in the increase of its speed. This means that the dynamo could have reached the threshold and the power would not have been produced during that time while the amount of coal was being burnt continuously for that period.
Had everyone swithced off their appliances, the dynamo would have definitely reached the threshold and would have stopped running while the coal is still burning and it is going to waste. Now you would suggest, shut the power plants for that hour !! For those of you who say so, pay a visit to any power plant and learn why a power plant cannot be shut down suddenly and restarted in no time.
Hence, I am grateful to those people who have not switched off the appliances.
But why am I grateful to those who did??
When many people shut down the appliances, the power generated was directed to those distribution channels where regular power cuts happen. Hence, for one hour they 'might' have received good voltage of electricity.
This means that by the combined effort of those who switched off the appliances and who did not, the power was delivered to the needy people for that duration and may be afterwords as well and also the coal burning did not go to waste.
Anyhow, we all celebrated the Earth Hour !!
The concept of the Earth Hour, as promoted, was to switch off all the electrical appliances for 1 hour in order to save electricity and to save the climate from getting ruined. The request was made to the complete world. Many people paid heed but many did not.
I am grateful to those who did and also to those who did not. Why??
The power stations are our providers of electricity. They burn coal, heat water, circulate it through pipelines, rotate turbines and generate power on a dynamo which has its own speed limit which varies inversely with the load the dynamo is supposed to bear. This means, higher the load, less speed of the dynamo but if lesser the load then higher the speed of dynamo.
But, we cannot allow the dynamo to reach the speed of light, else it would convert into energy (E=mc^2) and would disappear.
Hence, we limit its speed to a certain value, beyond which the dynamo gets cutoff. When the speed comes down, below the threshold, it again starts rotating.
Can you tell me what is that process that is continuously going on irrespective of the speed of dynamo?? The coal is being burnt unstoppingly.
So what had happened when lot of people switched off their electrical appliances simultaneously, for 1 hour?? The load on the dynamo has decresed resulting in the increase of its speed. This means that the dynamo could have reached the threshold and the power would not have been produced during that time while the amount of coal was being burnt continuously for that period.
Had everyone swithced off their appliances, the dynamo would have definitely reached the threshold and would have stopped running while the coal is still burning and it is going to waste. Now you would suggest, shut the power plants for that hour !! For those of you who say so, pay a visit to any power plant and learn why a power plant cannot be shut down suddenly and restarted in no time.
Hence, I am grateful to those people who have not switched off the appliances.
But why am I grateful to those who did??
When many people shut down the appliances, the power generated was directed to those distribution channels where regular power cuts happen. Hence, for one hour they 'might' have received good voltage of electricity.
This means that by the combined effort of those who switched off the appliances and who did not, the power was delivered to the needy people for that duration and may be afterwords as well and also the coal burning did not go to waste.
Anyhow, we all celebrated the Earth Hour !!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Point to ponder upon
I recently went to mumbai for some recruitment exam. Well, exam was supposed to be taken easy for haven't prepared for it properly. Main motive was to visit mumbai again. This was my second trip. Last time when I had gone, I had visited places like bandra, dadar, kandivali. This time I visited vidyavihar, malad and dadar. On my return from dadar, my uncle and his son (arnd 7 yrs old) escorted me to the station. Throughout, the little kid was talking about bomb blasts, terrorists attack, the number of people died, until my uncle scolded him and asked him to shut up. I was amazed to see that a 7 yrs old kid had so much knowledge about these attacks. Of 
course, anyone breathing in this world must have knowledge about the happening around him/her but for God's sake, he is only 7yrs old !! Atleast he should have been spared of the trouble of the thought process that goes into recovering from these things.
In the talk, he mentioned that once his father just escaped one of the blasts. Imagine my condition. I am being informed about the lucky escape from the death of the guy who is standing right next to me. !!!!
That kid is in his 4th grade and he is talking about bomb blasts so freely as if it is similar telling about a scolding by teacher on a mistake. Does he deserve to be informed about such acts of barbarism?? Should'nt he have more knowledge about various cartoons, games, pranks ??
We all talk about fighting terrorism. As civilians, we respond to the attacks by our act of attending the office the next working day showing that, we have accustomed to such attacks and whatever comes out way, we will not deviate from our routine. But, as fathers, mothers, guardians and relatives what are we telling to the kids ?? As far as I believe, we are not telling them anything. We are allowing them to be aware of such barbarism on their own. We are not guiding them properly as to how, someone of their age, should respond to these acts.
Even I do not know of even one way in which this could be done. I just know that, shutting their mouths is not the best way. Also, they cannot be kept in dark about their surroundings. Their focus needs to be shifted to more friendly things.
We need to hold their hands and tell them that we are here, hence you simply enjoy :)
course, anyone breathing in this world must have knowledge about the happening around him/her but for God's sake, he is only 7yrs old !! Atleast he should have been spared of the trouble of the thought process that goes into recovering from these things.In the talk, he mentioned that once his father just escaped one of the blasts. Imagine my condition. I am being informed about the lucky escape from the death of the guy who is standing right next to me. !!!!
That kid is in his 4th grade and he is talking about bomb blasts so freely as if it is similar telling about a scolding by teacher on a mistake. Does he deserve to be informed about such acts of barbarism?? Should'nt he have more knowledge about various cartoons, games, pranks ??
We all talk about fighting terrorism. As civilians, we respond to the attacks by our act of attending the office the next working day showing that, we have accustomed to such attacks and whatever comes out way, we will not deviate from our routine. But, as fathers, mothers, guardians and relatives what are we telling to the kids ?? As far as I believe, we are not telling them anything. We are allowing them to be aware of such barbarism on their own. We are not guiding them properly as to how, someone of their age, should respond to these acts.
Even I do not know of even one way in which this could be done. I just know that, shutting their mouths is not the best way. Also, they cannot be kept in dark about their surroundings. Their focus needs to be shifted to more friendly things.
We need to hold their hands and tell them that we are here, hence you simply enjoy :)
Thursday, March 12, 2009
She !!
She is sweet n adorable. She is sensitive. She looks good in pink. She has worn orange when I had first met her. She has a cute smile which forces current through me. I smile when I remember of her. When I am with her, I am the happiest person I could ever be. I enjoy being with her. I like listening to her. I think of lot of things to talk to her about but when I am in front of her, I forget everything I have thought about. What I remember is that she is in front of me and I am with her for next few moments.
She says, I don't smile. How strange is this comment, only I can understand. I have no reason to deny her claim. I do not smile in front of her. I am happy when I am with her but I never get a chance to express that happiness.
She is matured. She has seen more than I have. She is rational in her approach but she thinks too much.
She is progressing in her life. She is moving ahead leaving the past behind. She is choosing her own path. Who knows if she will succeed?? All she has is faith and support from friends n well wishers.
What I have written is only a bit of she. "I wish I could write more."
Now someone would be wondering - What will I have after writing about 'she'? The answer is "Not always you do things because you want something to happen, sometimes you just do the thing you want to do and wait for something to happen".
She says, I don't smile. How strange is this comment, only I can understand. I have no reason to deny her claim. I do not smile in front of her. I am happy when I am with her but I never get a chance to express that happiness.
She is matured. She has seen more than I have. She is rational in her approach but she thinks too much.
She is progressing in her life. She is moving ahead leaving the past behind. She is choosing her own path. Who knows if she will succeed?? All she has is faith and support from friends n well wishers.
What I have written is only a bit of she. "I wish I could write more."
Now someone would be wondering - What will I have after writing about 'she'? The answer is "Not always you do things because you want something to happen, sometimes you just do the thing you want to do and wait for something to happen".
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