Are female suicide bombers rational actors Research Paper

Are female suicide bombers rational actors - Research Paper Example The major advantage of suicide bombing attack is the accuracy and precision in conducting secret missions. Under normal circumstances, nobody would like to sacrifice their lives for any kind of missions; however the influence of fundamentalism and patriotism is getting increased day by day and because of that many people come forward to sacrifice their lives for safeguarding their traditions, culture and beliefs. Even though all types of suicide bomber attacks are difficult to resist, female suicide bombing attacks seem to be the most difficult type of attacks as far as preventive measures are concerned. Genetically and historically, it was believed that males were more aggressive in nature whereas females were more of peace loving nature. However, the above belief or theory seems to be less popular now because of the readiness of current females in taking part in risky missions and activities. As per some of the recent reports available from states like Iraq, Palestine, Sri Lanka etc, the number of female suicide bombers is increasing day by day. â€Å"While arguing about why women fight, many believe that these women are yet other victims in the hands of ruthless men while others emphasize the seriousness of a particular conflict in which even women are driven towards taking up arms, seen as a last resort in the eyes of many†. In short, there are different viewpoints about the reasons why females are increasingly participating in suicide bombing attacks.... Some people argue that suicide bombing attacks in general and female suicide bombing attacks in particular are motivated by irrational motives. However, many others believe that strong rational motives are behind every female suicide bombing attacks. This paper argues that female suicide bombers are rational actors and they engage in terrorist activities not because of the influence of any external agents alone, but because of their own instincts and judgements. Religious extremism is cited as the major reason for increasing female suicide attacks by many of the sociologists and politicians. It is because of the fact that most of the female suicide bombers are from Muslim community. In countries like Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc Muslim female suicide bombers are causing big problems and headaches to Israelis and Americans. Jihad or sacred war against nonbelievers is accepted as a tradition by many of the Muslim militant groups. At the same time it should be noted that jihad is m ostly taking place in countries under some kind of foreign occupation. The occupation of Israelis in Palestine and Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan can be cited as the best examples for the above belief. In other words, foreign occupation seems to be one of the major reasons for increased number of suicide attacks. Since women participation in modern social and political activities are increasing day by day, it is difficult for them to stay away from helping male community in their efforts to fight against all kind of foreign occupations. Female suicide bombers are thus utilized for pressurizing foreign occupiers to withdraw their troops from their land by the militant groups- in that respect; it is not an irrational activity,

Silver, the Inventor of the Adhesive Polymer on Which Post-It is Based Essay

Silver, the Inventor of the Adhesive Polymer on Which Post-It is Based - Essay Example The specific product, which is unique worldwide, has made 3M a leading firm in managing innovation. The review of the actual history of Post-It, up to its entrance in the market, proves that the development of the particular product has been quite difficult for its designers. In fact, the inventor of Post-It, the chemist Spencer Silver, spent many years in trying to persuade leaders in his organization in regard to the value of his invention: an adhesive polymer of various uses. At the end, and mostly due to the efforts of Silver and those who believed in the product’s value, Post-It entered the global market. The case of 3M and Post – It shows that product innovation can be a quite challenging process, the complexity of which is often not clear even to those working for its promotion. In the context of modern businesses, product innovation is a concept which is related to the following target: the examination and evaluation of ‘the need for innovative products and services’ (Rainey 2005, p.10). The above definition leads to the assumption that product innovation is a rather simple process. Still, such assumption would not be valid. In fact, product innovation has a series of aspects which are analytically presented in the sections that follow. Another characteristic of product innovation is the following one: the methods used for the promotion of product innovation within each organization are not standardized (Rainey 2005, p.10). Different tools and techniques can be used for promoting product innovation, depending on the potentials of each organization to provide the required funds and infrastructure (Rainey 2005, p.10). One of the most common issues that appear each time that product innovation schemes are promoted is the following one: can the particular process be introduced in any organization or it is necessary that certain requirements are met. Moreover, innovation, as a process is based on certain rules or it is not controllable as of its structure and components? The answer to the above questions can be identified in the study of Cogliandro (2007). According to Cogliandro (2007) innovation, in all its aspects, needs to be based on three principles: a) innovation needs to be related to all aspects of the organization; in fact, innovation would be expanded across organization covering all organizational activities (Cogliandro 2007, p.18) and during all periods of the life of the organization.

The Aspect Of Healthy Eating Children And Young People Essay

The Aspect Of Healthy Eating Children And Young People Essay The object of research is to determine how things are as compared to how things might be. Children and young people spend a considerable amount of time between the ages of three and sixteen in school. Therefore, school is a place to send out constant messages on healthy eating. This exploration aims to evaluate health promotion in a primary school. It will focus on the aspect of healthy eating as part of health promotion in schools. The Irish heart foundation (2011) state that one in four primary school children are overweight or obese and this is why this research is relevant. They also state that knowledge on healthy eating can be considered as one of many factors that influence eating habits. This investigation also aims to explore childrens knowledge on healthy eating in line with the curriculum and the Food Standards Agency (equivalent in Ireland). This investigation will show childrens knowledge of healthy eating by conducting a focus group. Adequate nutrition and physical acti vity in childhood is fundamentally important for growth, development and long-term health in adulthood (Sheppard, 2008). The author completed three weeks in a primary school on work experience. The researcher noticed that there was a lack of knowledge on healthy eating and it would be a relevant topic for a dissertation. The researcher asked the children aged eleven and twelve; what vegetables did you eat for dinner yesterday? One of the answers was rice which suggested a lack of knowledge of different food groups. Promotion of healthy heating in schools is one of the most important opportunities to ensure that children can choose a healthy diet now and later in life (Health promotion department, 2005). Exploring factors of childhood ability to understand the impact of nutrition will be basis to this study. Evaluating health promotion within the school will also be key. The national council for curriculum and assessment (NCCA) states that Developing health-promoting practices through his/her time in school can encourage the child to take increasing control over his/her own health and help to establish and maintain healthy behaviour from an early age. Healthy eating promotion ought to be taken serious in schools as children and young people are not in school forever and it can have a major impact on their lifestyles. One seeks to find out if the children know what they are eating is healthy and how different foods fall into different food groups. The Irish Heart Foundation (2011) State that maintaining a healthy weight involves balancing the energy taken into the body (food) with the energy used by the body (activity). Energy balance means that the amount of energy consumed is equivalent to the amount of energy expended and there is no storage or depletion of the bodys reserves (Bouchard, 2000). Children should know about good fats and bad fats in food to get a steady energy balance. It has been evidenced through research that following a healthy diet can significantly reduce the perceived health risks amongst children. A healthy diet will positively influence a childs current and future health status, reducing the risk of many chronic diseases and conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes (The department of Public Health, 2011). Food Standards Agency UK has set out a framework for food competences on core skills and knowledge children for young people. It states that children of a certain age should have certain skills and certain knowledge on nutrition. One will find the equivalent in Ireland and put the selected focus group to the test to see if they have adequate knowledge on healthy eating. Health Behaviour in school-aged (HBSC, 2006) report has shown that many young people have poor eating habits. Food and drink are a vital part of our daily lives. They play the essential role in the development of the human being (Healthy food for all 2012). For young people to achieve their full potential, it is necessary that they eat healthily. There are many factors that can affect future health status in children and young people. During the mid-1980s the school as a health promoting situation was a somewhat under-developed idea in Ireland. Schools lay the foundations for children to carry lifestyles into adult life. Initially led by the health sector, a partnership approach between health and education has enabled the more widespread acceptance of school-based approaches to health maintenance and improvement (Gabhainn, OHiggins Barry 2010). Ireland was one of the first to adopt the Health Promoting Schools (HPS) approach. Schools remain one of the few places where children are reasonably protected for commercial interests. (NCCA) set out the curriculum for primary schools in Ireland in 1999. A compulsory subject known as social, personal and health education (SPHE) was introduced. It is designed to run with the whole school approach to health promotion (Department of education and science, 2000). The curriculum is presented in six subject strands comprising of 11 subjects. One of strands is called (SPHE). SPHE provides particular opportunities to foster the health and well-being of a child. Through the SPHE programme children can develop a sense of personal responsibility for their own health and for the decisions and the choices they make. The Irish Governments National Health Promotion Strategy was set in place between 2000 and 2005. Its aim was for every school to promote healthy eating habits and a healthy body image among school-going children and young people. Every school had to facilitate the implementation of health education and health promotion programs. Food Dudes is one of the many programs which schools got in partnership with. It was developed by the food activity research unit at Bangor University, Wales, to encourage children to eat more fruit and vegetables both in school and at home. Eating habits throughout life are established at a young age. Therefore, learning to choose and enjoy different foods in childhood provides the foundation for healthy food choices in childhood (Department of health and children, 2011). As children are in school thirty seven weeks of the year, schools have the potential to play a significant role in promoting healthy eating habits amongst children. The researcher will use children aged eleven and twelve because they are about to make the transition from primary school to secondary school and as per key stages 2 in Wales and The Food Standards Agency UK, they should have sufficient nutritional knowledge. The researcher will take the approach of a qualitative method. A focus group is a group interview with four to twelve people (OLeary, 2010). Focus groups will be considered to conduct the investigation. Questionnaires will also be considered but a focus group would get more of and in-depth knowledge from the participants. One of the advantages of a focus group is that it can develop its own dynamics, and will explore an issue with minimum intervention from the researcher (Oliver, 2010). The aim of the focus group is to use rich discussion draw out depth of opinion and knowledge that probably would not occur from direct interviews. Children at the age of eleven and twelve will be selected at random to for the group. The researche r will then ask questions to get an idea of the childrens knowledge for the grounding of the study. Probes will then be used to elaborate on some of the answers. The researcher will stimulate the discussion and will use some food as focus materials to help the group focus on the topic of study. The Meeting will be recorded for further observation. It allows for non verbal as well as verbal data. It deals not with what people say but what they actually do to the extent that their behaviour is open to observation (Gillham, 2008). The researcher will collect data by taking records. One will also observe and analyse the recorded video of the session. First of all, the recorded text will have to be read. Secondly, the researcher will watch and listen to the tape recording many times. As the researcher observes the tape one will make note of any impressions that maybe useful at a later stage. One will focus on the information given in many ways as there will be different individual or group reaction on different questions and topics. The data will be organised by question to look across all answers so the researcher can identify consistencies and differences. All data from each question will be put together. The researcher will set specific categories in advance and then observe for the data in these categories. The categories should provide a path on where the researcher wants to go. Connections between the categories and within the categories should start to take place. One will count how many times a topic com es up as this should show which categories are the most important. With this all done the researcher will use topics and connections to explain findings. A hard copy and an electronic copy of all information will be kept. By having an electronic copy, text can be moved around very easy and one may wish to copy information onto excel for tables for example.

This is the deal :: essays research papers

This first oral presentation will be given on Monday, January 28, Center Campus, 6-10 p.m., C-105. The topic will be about some aspect concerning your career that you have found interesting. It can be an item that you find as you search the internet about your career (potential earnings, current wage offerings, number of opportunities available, etc.) or it can be an observation that you have made in your present career climb. You may use notes. You might not have to do any research. You should be concentrating on your presentation skills without having to worry about learning/researching your topic. Be sure to at least review Chapter 13 prior to the presentation date. This presentation will be videotaped. Therefore, you are required to bring a blank VCR tape to class. A camera will be in the room. The length of your presentation will be between 2-3 minutes. During this first presentation you will not be stopped if you exceed the three minutes, but the expectation is that you will keep it within the time frame. You will be timed and will need to indicate how you met this factor in the critique of your presentation. You will take the tape home and in the comfort of your own family room, view your presentation. As you're doing this, you should be writing comments down about your presentation. The list below will give you ideas of what to look for and what to prepare for in practicing your presentation. The comments in parentheses are provided to give you an idea of what to look for as you view your video and/or what to think about as you prepare for your presentation. Basically, if you were sitting in my onground class this is the material that I would be going over in giving instructions/information for this first presentation. This is the deal :: essays research papers This first oral presentation will be given on Monday, January 28, Center Campus, 6-10 p.m., C-105. The topic will be about some aspect concerning your career that you have found interesting. It can be an item that you find as you search the internet about your career (potential earnings, current wage offerings, number of opportunities available, etc.) or it can be an observation that you have made in your present career climb. You may use notes. You might not have to do any research. You should be concentrating on your presentation skills without having to worry about learning/researching your topic. Be sure to at least review Chapter 13 prior to the presentation date. This presentation will be videotaped. Therefore, you are required to bring a blank VCR tape to class. A camera will be in the room. The length of your presentation will be between 2-3 minutes. During this first presentation you will not be stopped if you exceed the three minutes, but the expectation is that you will keep it within the time frame. You will be timed and will need to indicate how you met this factor in the critique of your presentation. You will take the tape home and in the comfort of your own family room, view your presentation. As you're doing this, you should be writing comments down about your presentation. The list below will give you ideas of what to look for and what to prepare for in practicing your presentation. The comments in parentheses are provided to give you an idea of what to look for as you view your video and/or what to think about as you prepare for your presentation. Basically, if you were sitting in my onground class this is the material that I would be going over in giving instructions/information for this first presentation.

Critical and Creative Thinking Questions

I think the four major sources of stress in my life would be money being number one. This is because I am an international student who moved from Hong Kong to America. Having doing this I had to learn how to manage my own money for example rent, bills , and also enough for entertainment. When I was living in Hong Kong with my family I didn’t have to worry about all these factors so it came easy to me. Family would be another source of stress in my life but only because of me being away by myself in another country. This is probably because this is the first time I have been away from home and having to look after myself and the ‘money’ issue my parents especially tend to get too worried, which in some cases cause a lot of fights. Im not saying this is something bad but defiantly something that can trigger me at some points. My social skills is a definite source of stress in my life, This being because I am not very good at interacting, socializing and communicating with other human beings. Some of my interactions and relationships can be very stressful and tension filled, and i almost come off as being a very unsociable person. If you where experiencing a period of high stress, what would you do to avoid illness? If I where to experience a period of high stress I would probably exercise a lot which usually helps me with depression and tension and also relaxes me. But also exercising improves cardiovascular efficiency and increases strength that could help avoid illness due to stress. I believe that when your exercising and you sweat a lot, it almost feels like your getting rid of all the problems in your life. Why are smoking-prevention efforts often aimed at adolescents? Smoking prevention efforts are usually aimed at adolescents because thats when a lot of smokers start smoking a form of tobacco, such as cigarettes, cigars and chewing tobacco. A lot of youngsters and often influenced by peer pressure and imitation of role models, even family members. They think if your family member is smoking, its ok for them to try or to pursue it. Smoking prevention programs focus on more immediate problems with smoking. films and discussions in these programs educate teens about peer pressure and the medias influence in smoking, as well as helping them overcome this phase. What are the benefits of involving a person’s family in behavior modification programs to treat chronic pain. When a person is suffering from chronic pain family members usually ask about it, which tends not to help the patient. This is because talking about pain or what or how they feel often focuses on it more and they start to think about it and all there thoughts draws attention on it and increase’s its intensity. To prevent this, psychologists have treatments in there modification programs for both the patient and family members. I feel if having a family member by your side while you are going through this and they attending the programs help the patient. This is because the patient feels comfortable that some one close to them a (family member) is participating in these pain management plans which could help ease of the stress and pain. Which forms of coping do you most often draw on? When I am stressed I believe the best way for me to cope is by listening and finding new music. Not only does music relax me but sometimes it could be deeper than that. Lyrics of a song can sometimes or somehow relate to what your going through and can often help and solve the problems. Which of the resources for stress management seem most important to you? I believe that social support is the most important resource to me because when i’m stressed I tend to feel much better when I have people around me to discuss what I am going through, but also just because someone is there to listen. Close friends and family often make us feel comfortable and important and provide positive attitude to changes in our life. Critical and Creative Thinking Questions 1) Sensation and perception are closely linked. What is the central distinction between the two? Sensations can be defined as the passive process of bringing information from the outside world into the body and to the brain. The process is passive in the sense that we do not have to be consciously engaging in a â€Å"sensing† process. Perception can be defined as the active process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting the information brought to the brain by the senses. 2) If we sensed and attended equally to each stimulus in the world, the amount of information would be overwhelming. What sensory and perceptual processes help us lessen the din? Perceptions vary from person to person. Different people perceive different things about the same situation. But more than that, we assign different meanings to what we perceive. And the meanings might change for a certain person. One might change one's perspective or simply make things mean something else. You would also use vision to observe different people who were having a conversation as well as listening to observe all the conversation taking place. 3)  What senses would likely be impaired if a person were somehow missing all of the apparatus of the ear (including the outer, middle, and inner ear)? If someone was to lose total hearing that would be devastating. If you were to totally lose your hearing you would be losing one of the most important senses you have and this can affect you in other areas including your equal equilibrium not being able to walk straight can cause major ramifications in your life like blurred vision, headaches as well as the loss as speech

HR PRACTICE ON GRAMEEN BANK Essay

In any comprehensive work, like this, credit must go to the multitude of people. I am still students and just novice. Hence, I have taken help from different people for preparing my report. Now here is a petite effort to show my deep graduate to those helpful people. First, I commit my selves grateful to Allah for his unlimited kindness and maximum helpful hand in continuing my report preparation. I express my sincere gratitude to honorable supervisor, Ms. Monsura Zaman, †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Faculty of Business Administration, ASA University Bangladesh, for their guidance and valuable remark about the convention of the report. I have come to believe, deeply and firmly, that we can create a poverty free world if we want to. I came to this conclusion not as a product of a pious dream, but as a concrete result  of experience gained in the work of the Grameen Bank. It is not micro credit alone which will end poverty. Credit is one door through which people can escape from poverty. Many more doors and windows can be created to facilitate an easy exit. It involves conceptualizing about people differently; it involves designing a new institutional frame work consistent with this new conceptualization. Grameen bank has taught me two things first our knowledge base about people and their interactions is still very inadequate: second each individual person is very important. Each person has tremendous potential. She or he alone can influence the lives of others within the communities, nations, within and beyond her or his own time. Background of the Study Successful human resource management makes it possible for the organization to acquire the number and types of people necessary to ensure the continued operation of the organization by the†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. So it acts an important role in HR department. As a part of BBA program, my honorable supervisor, Ms. Monsura Zaman, †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.., assigned me to prepare a report on related topic on Human Resource Management course. I have selected our report topic as â€Å"HRM practice in microcredit Sector of Bangladesh (Grameen Bank).†. Executive Summary The importance of human resources management (HRM) practices to the success or failure of organizational development system performance has, until recently, been generally overlooked. In recent years it has been increasingly recognized that getting HR policy and management. In this paper, I take my theoretical point of departure in recent work in organizational economics on systems of human resource management (HRM) practices. Though this program good balance between theory and practice is gained. Furthermore this is Thesis assignment is a vital requirement for obtaining Masters of Business Administration (MBA) program. I worked Grameen Bank’, how they practice HRM on their microcredit sector. Microcredit is the extension of very small loans (microloans) to impoverished borrowers who  typically lack collateral, steady employment and a verifiable credit history. It is designed not only to support entrepreneurship and alleviate poverty, but also in many cases to empower women and uplift entire communities by extension. In many communities, women lack the highly stable employment histories that traditional lenders tend to require. Many are illiterate, and therefore unable to complete paperwork required to get conventional loans. As of 2009 an estimated 74 million men and women held microloans that totaled US$38 billion. Grameen Bank reports that repayment success rates are between 95 and 98 per cent. Report Overview Introduction Background of HRM: Human Resource Management is defined as the people who staff and manage organization. It comprises of the functions and principles that are applied to retaining, training, developing, and compensating the employees in organization. It is also applicable to business organizations, such as acting, news presenters and Models etc. Human Resource Management is defined as the set of activities, programs, and functions that are designed to maximize both organizational as well as employee effectiveness. Scope of HRM without a doubt is vast. All the activities of employee, from the time of his entry into an organization until he leaves, come under the horizon of HRM. The divisions included in HRM are Recruitment, Payroll, Performance Management, Training and Development, Retention, Employee Relation, etc. A human resources management (HRM) professional is responsible for successfully acquiring, developing, motivating, and retaining employees. That is, they are on the â€Å"people† side of business operations, and because people do the work of organizations, a company’s success rests heavily on the quality of its HRM. An HRM professional is a full business partner who adds value to business decisions and aligns HR practices with those decisions. The work calls on you to know about compensation and benefits, labor relations laws, how to forecast working needs, organizational learning, and organizational change. Students’ specialty courses include â€Å"Competitive HRM Practices,† â€Å"Negotiations,† and â€Å"Cultural Aspects of  International Business.† They also select an honors seminar in â€Å"Management of Innovation.† In the classroom and on co-op, students gain the acting base of knowledge and the business expertise that’ s needed as an HRM professional. Human resource management is an effective tool for students interested in helping businesses succeed in a changeable personnel environment. This guide is based on Human Resource Management in a Business Context, and includes links to extra articles, notes, tips and exercises. It introduces you to the essential elements of HRM, its origins and applications. HRM is viewed as an all-embracing term describing a number of distinctive approaches to people management. They help you to understand and evaluate the different and sometimes ambiguous views of human resource management by investigating its origins, explanatory models, technology and practice. Human resource (or personnel) management has in the sense of getting things through people. It’s an essential part of every manager’s responsibilities, but many organizations find it advantageous to establish a specialist division to provide an expert service dedicated to ensuring that the huma n resource function is performed efficiently. â€Å"People are our most valuable asset† is a clichà © which no member of any senior management team would disagree with. Yet, the reality for many organizations is that their people remain under valued under trained under utilized poorly motivated, and consequently perform well below their true capability The rate of change facing organizations has never been greater and organizations must absorb and manage change at a much faster rate than in the past. In order to implement a successful business strategy to face this challenge, organizations, large or small, must ensure that they have the right people capable of delivering the strategy. The market place for talented, skilled people is competitive and expensive. Taking on new staff can be disruptive to existing employees. Also, it takes time to develop ‘cultural awareness’, product/ process/ organization knowledge and experience for new staff members. As organizations vary in size, aims, functions, complexity, construction, the physical nature of their product,  and appeal as employers, so do the contributions of human resource management. But, in most the ultimate aim of the function is to: â€Å"ensure that at all times the business is correctly staffed by the right number of people with the skills relevant to the bu siness needs†, that is, neither overstaffed nor understaffed in total or in respect of any one discipline or work grade. These issues motivate a well thought out human resource management strategy, with the precision and detail of say a marketing strategy. Failure in not having a carefully crafted human resources management strategy, can and probably will lead to failures in the business process itself. Origin of the Report: This report has been prepared as a requirement of the Thesis program based upon the Grameen Bank where my organization supervisor is Golam Morshed Mohammed (Senior Principal Officer, International Program Dept.), and my institution supervisor is Golam Mahbubul Alam,( Assistant Professor, Department of Business Administration, Stamford University). My institute supervisor duly approved the topic decided for doing the report. Since the MBA program is an integrated, practical and theoretical method of learning, the students of this program are required to have practical exposure in any kind of business organization in last term of this course. Scope and Objectives of the Study A clear objective helps in preparation of well decorated report in which other take the right type of decision. So I identify objective are very much important. Our purpose of preparing the report is: To know the human resource management (HRM) practice of Grameen Bank. To identify the various avenues for improving the HRM policies of Grameen Bank To know about the management ability of Grameen Bank. Suggesting strategies to improve the HRM policies of Grameen Bank. This study covers the HRM policies of Grameen Bank along with some recommendations to improve the HRM policies of Grameen Bank. Methodology A sample survey was conducted to collect primary data using two pre-designed survey instruments from concerned groups following an appropriate sample  design. In view of the complexities involved in generating quantitative data for assessing the real impact, qualitative data were also collected. In the context of the unique features of the area an attempt was made to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the private HRM sector. Data Collection: This study is mainly based on secondary data available from the various divisions and departments of Grameen Bank, in addition to these other necessary information have been collected from the relevant journals, annual reports of the Grameen bank, website and publications of other relevant institutions have also been taken into consideration. Primary sources of data: Face to face conversation with the Grameen Bank administrative dept. and International depts. Officers & staffs. Conversation with the clients. Different’ manuals of Grameen Bank. Secondary sources of data: Procedure manual published by the Grameen Bank. Files and documents of the branch. Annual report of Grameen Bank. Unpublished data. Different text books. Web sites. Unstructured data: This data was compiled using information from Grameen Bank branch and centre visits, informal discussions with branch managers, field staff and various management level officers conducted during field and head office visits. Limitations of the Study As a student of faculty of Business Administration, this is my first initiative for making a report on â€Å"HRM Practice in Microcredit sector of Bangladesh: A case study on Grameen Bank†. By meeting with officers, I was really unable to collect enough information from due to their official restrictions. While carry out the study I had to face a few limitations, which are mentioned below: The main constraint of the study is inadequate access to information. The employees did not disclose much information for the sake of the confidentiality of the organization. Since the bank and other companies personal were very busy, they could provide me very little time. The clients were too busy to provide me much time for interview. The time frame fixed to prepare the study report was hard to be met. As a result, sufficient concentration could be given on it, which was needed for a much better study. Chapter 2 An Overview on Microcredit in Bangladesh What is Microcredit? Much of the current interest in microcredit stems from the Microcredit Summit (2-4 February 1997), and the activities that went into organizing the event. The definition of microcredit that was adopted there was: Microcredit: programmers extend small loans to very poor people for self-employment projects that generate income, allowing them to care for themselves and their families. Definitions defer, of course, from country to country. Some of the defining criteria used include- size – loans are micro, or very small in size target users – microenterpreneurs and low-income households utilization – the use of funds – for income generation, and enterprise development, but also for community use (health/education) etc. terms and conditions – most terms and conditions for microcredit loans are flexible and easy to understand, and suited to the local conditions of the community. Three C’s of Credit Character: means how a person has handled past debt obligations: Form credit history and personal background, honesty and reliability of the borrower to pay credit debts are determined. Capacity: means how much debt a borrower can comfortably handle. Income streams are analyzed and any legal obligations looked into, which could interfere in repayment. Capital: means current available assets of the borrower, such as real estate, savings or investment that could be used to repay debt if income should be unavailable. Microcredit in Bangladesh Microcredit programs in Bangladesh is implemented by NGOs, Grameen Bank, state-owned commercial banks, private commercial banks, and specialized programs of some ministries of Bangladesh government. In the microfinance sector total loan outstanding is around TK 248 billion (including Grameen Bank TK 72 billion) and savings TK168 billion. The total clients of this sector is 35 million (including 8.4 million clients from Grameen Bank) that accelerates overall economic development process of the country. Credit services of this sector can be categorized into six broad groups: i) general microcredit for small-scale self employment based activities, ii) microenterprise loans, iii) loans for ultra poor, iv) agricultural loans, v) seasonal loans, and vi) loans for disaster management. Loan amounts up to BDT 50,000 are generally considered as microcredit; loans above this amount are considered as microenterprise loans. LICENSING STATUS OF THE NGO-MFIS IN BANGLADESH The Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MRA), established by the government in August 2006, received applications from 4241 private institutions (NGO-MFIs). But, around 1000 applications of them were found to be very small organizations that had fewer than 1000 borrowers or less than the USD 58,000 in outstanding loans that is generally considered as the minimum initial operating portfolio of a single branched MFI to be sustainable. However, till August 2012 the MRA had approved licenses in favor of 651 NGOs. There are another 210 applications are under process for a final decision although they are mostly small organizations but with some potentiality to become viable in course of time. As of August 2012, 3380 applications have been rejected. Recently MRA has invited new applications for obtaining license to conduct microcredit activities. STATE OF MICROCREDIT IN BANGLADESH In the backdrop of global ‘double-dip’ recession and over-indebtedness crisis in microcredit sector in several countries, Bangladesh’s microfinance sector shows strong resilience and continues to contribute towards enhancement of macroeconomic growth. Bangladesh microfinance sector is mature now and its assets constitute around 3 percent of GDP in 2011. Total outstanding loan of  this sector (only licensed MFIs) has increased by 20.0 percent from BDT 145.0 billion in June 2010 to BDT 173.8 billion in June, 2011 disbursed among 20.7 million poor people, helping them to be self-employed and accelerating overall economic development process of the country. The total savings has also increased by 23.25 percent to BDT 63.3 billion in June 2011 compared to previous year from 26.1 million clients, over 93 percent of them are women. Table 2 shows the market scenario of NGO-MFIs in Bangladesh. The top three MFIs contribute 54 percent of total loan outstanding as well as savings of the microfinance sector in Bangladesh. Two of the largest MFIs, viz., BRAC & ASA, are each serving over five million borrowers. There are a few more developing fast. On the other hand the smallest 428 NGO-MFIs have contributed only 4 percent of total loan outstanding and 5 percent of total savings. Institutional concentration ratio is highly skewed in favor of large MFIs: just 22 institutions are in control of 76 percent of the market share while three largest organizations have control of over 50 percent in terms of both clients and total financial portfolios. Table 3 depicts the scenario of micro enterprise loan, i.e., loans above BDT 50,000, of different NGO-MFIs in Bangladesh. It is observed that micro enterprise loan outstanding is BDT 40 billion which is around 24 percent of total loan outstanding in which the top ten NGO-MFIs contributed around 19 percent. It also shows that BDT 40 billion is disbursed to around 6 lakh borrowers which are only 3 percent of total borrowers. The table expresses that only the top NGO-MFIs are capable to run micro enterprise loan. Selected Indicators of NGO-MFIs in Bangladesh It is observed from table 4 that savings per member has been increasing over the years. In 2006 savings per member was Tk. 1,207 which stands at Tk.2495 in 2011 – an increase to more than double within the last five years. The loan outstanding per borrower also increased over the years and average growth rate of loan outstanding per borrower is around 17 percent in 2011 compared to the previous year. The loan outstanding per borrower has increased by more than 100 percent within the last five years. These two indicators, savings per member (average saving size) and outstanding loan per borrower (average loan size) increased over time perhaps due to the increase in the income level of the poor resulting in an increase in their need for higher amount of loans from the MFIs. The ratio between borrowers to clients (members) remained steady for the last few years, which is within 70 to 80 percent and the savings to outstanding loan ratio has also been stable from 2006 to 2011. Since the total number of branches of MFIs has increased at a much higher rate in 2011 compared to the previous year, the number of members and borrowers per branch has decreased. Substantial rate of increase in the sizes of loans per borrower and savings per member has resulted in a rise in the total loan outstanding and savings in the sector. Consequently outstanding loan and saving per branch has also increased. The loan outstanding amount per branch which was TK 8.42 million in 2010 has increased by 14.4 percent in 2011.