Significance and Problems of Social Research

Significance of Social Research Within the last 20 to 25 years, courses in methods of social research have come to occupy an increasingly important role in sociological curricula. It likely that at present every major university offers such courses. This is because growing significance of social research and also growing job opportunities in this field. The market analysis, the public opinion expert, the investigator of communication and propaganda all are growing facts for governmental and business needs. Knowledge of social research is useful for interpreting and weighing such reports. In the present age, social science are accruing a scientific method of study for this method, research is an important factor. In the last two or three decades, social research has become an important subject of the curriculum of Sociology. In fact almost all the universities, where sociology is taught, social research is a part of the curriculum of the sociology. Continue reading

HR Scorecard: A Balanced Scorecard for HR

The new economic paradigm is characterized by speed, innovation, quality and customer satisfaction. The essence of the competitive advantage has shifted from tangible assets to intangible ones. The focus is now on human capital and its effective alignment with the overall strategy of organizations. This is a new age for Human Resources. The entire system of measuring HR‘s contribution to the organization‘s success as well as the architecture of the HR system needs to change to reflect the demands of succeeding in the new economy. The HR scorecard is a measurement as well as an evaluation system for redefining the role of HR as a strategic partner. Managers often use an HR Scorecard  to measure the HR function’s effectiveness and efficiency in producing  employee behaviors and thus in achieving the company’s strategic goals. The  HR Scorecard is a concise measurement system. It shows the quantitative  standards or “metrics” the firm Continue reading

Introduction to Insurance Sector in India

Insurance in its basic   form   is defined as “A contract between two parties whereby one party called insurer undertakes in exchange for a fixed sum called premiums, to pay the other party called insured a fixed amount of money on the happening of a certain event.” Insurance sector in India The insurance sector in India has come a full circle from being an open competitive market to nationalisation and back to a liberalised market again. Tracing the developments in the Indian insurance sector reveals the 360-degree turn witnessed over a period of almost two centuries. Today Insurance Companies in India have grown manifold. The insurance sector in India has shown immense growth potential. Even today a giant share of Indian population nearly 80% is not under life insurance coverage, let alone health and non-life insurance policies. This clearly indicates the potential for insurance companies to grow their market Continue reading

An Overview of Depositary Receipts

Equity investment by foreign investors into a country can occur in one or  more of three ways. Foreign investors can directly purchase shares in the stock  market of the country e.g. investment by Foreign Institutional Investors  (FIIs)  in the Indian stock market. Or,  companies from that country can issue shares (or depositary receipts) in the  stock markets of other countries. Finally, indirect purchases can be made  through a mutual fund which may be a specific country fund or a multi-country  regional fund. The Depositary Receipts Mechanism The volume of new equity issues in the international markets increased  dramatically between 1983 and 1987 and again after 1989. The 90’s saw a  growing interest in the emerging markets. From the side of the issuers, the  driving force was the desire to tap low-cost sources of financing, broaden the  shareholder base, acquire a spring board for international activities such as  acquisitions and generally Continue reading

Debt recovery processes followed by Indian Banks

Banks lay down their policy and procedure for collection of past due debts in conformity with the legal and regulatory framework. The banks will in particular, abide by: The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) directives on recovery of debt, including recovery agents engaged by the bank and, The Model Policy on collection of Dues and Repossession of security framed by the Indian Banks’ Association. A bank will normally incorporate its policy and procedure for debt recovery in the arrangement entered into its recovery agents.   In terms of the recovery management agreed with the bank, the recovery agents should adhere to the policy, procedure, etc. prescribed by the bank. Debt recovery processes Debt recovery processes can be typically of following kinds, each involving different procedure: Difficult recovery process where the debtors are not willing to pay and who intentionally resist or avoid recovery efforts:     The recovery agent has to Continue reading

Capital Structure Change

What should a firm do when it finds that its desired capital structure differs significantly from its current capital structure? There are two basic choices: change its capital structure slowly or change it more quickly. A firm can alter its capital structure slowly by adjusting its future financing mix appropriately. For example, suppose a firm’s target capital structure consists of 35% long-term debt and 65% common equity, and its current capital structure consists 25% long-term debt and 75% common equity. The firm could cure the under leveraged condition by using long-term debt for all new external financing until the long-term debt ratio reached 35%. However, this means that the firm’s capital structure would continue to be “suboptimal” while the firm changed it over time. Alternatively, the firm can change its capital structure quickly through an exchange offer, recapitalization offer, debt or share repurchase, or stock-for-debt swap. Of course, such a Continue reading