5 Steps to Determine Your LinkedIn Profile Focus by guest blogger Jill Schaefer

5 Steps to Determine Your LinkedIn Profile Focus by guest blogger Jill Schaefer You are a multi-faceted human being and yet you only get one LinkedIn profile (or two if one of them is in a second language). Perhaps you are unsure where to focus as a professional and thus how to present yourself in your profile. The question â€Å"Who am I?† is an important one for job seekers and professionals, and it’s not always easy to answer. You: The multi-talented All of us are good at MANY things; but the fact is you can’t be everything to everyone- especially as a job seeker. As Martin Yates, CPC, author of the famed Knock ‘em Dead series, elaborates in Knock ‘em Dead 2012: The Ultimate Job Search Guide, â€Å"People get hired based on their credentials not their potential†¦ Decide on the job that will be the easiest sell for you and the easiest buy for an employer.† In the almost two years that I have been writing LinkedIn summaries for The Essay Expert, I have encountered clients who attempt to be all things to all people. They want to highlight their experience in A, B, and C industries and their accomplishments at X, Y, and Z jobs, AND promote their small business- all within the space of 2,000 characters. Sound familiar? You may think this broad-ranging type of summary says, â€Å"I’m dynamic and versatile.† In reality, most readers interpret it as, â€Å"This person is confused, random, and indecisive.† 5 Step Plan Here’s how to convey focus and strength in your LinkedIn summary: Step 1: Pick one thing The first step to finding your LinkedIn focus is to zero in on the PRIMARY job that you’re after or the PRIMARY professional pursuit you want to come across loud and clear in your profile. How do you do that? Back to Martin Yates’ words of wisdom. â€Å"Based on the skills you possess today, what is your primary job target?† Step 2: Find job descriptions for your target job or profession. Identify keywords. Look up 3-5 job descriptions for your target job category. For example, if I am looking for a marketing or communication manager position, I would go to indeed.com, monster.com, or careerbuilder.com to find posted positions, such as Marketing Communications Officer or Marketing Services Manager, that employers are actively recruiting for. You don’t have to limit yourself to a certain geographic area for this exercise. The point is to learn what job title is most commonly used and what language employers use to describe the job’s requirements. What is the problem a person in that role must solve? What skills would an ideal candidate have? (Note: If your target job requires you to do things that you hate, go back to Step 1.) Copy and paste the contents of the job descriptions into an electronic file or print them out. Highlight mandatory skills from the job descriptions. What keywords- the words that LinkedIn recruiters and hiring managers would search on- keep popping up? Hint: â€Å"team player† is not a keyword phrase, â€Å"alliance management† is. Learn more about keywords in Brenda Bernstein’s Baffled by choosing keywords for your LinkedIn Profile HEADLINE post. Make a list of the most common keywords from the job descriptions. You might want to use Wordle.net to help out with this part. Step 3: Identify your accomplishments With your target job position in mind,   create a list of your top five relevant accomplishments. Organize each accomplishment into a Situation/Action/Results format: Briefly DESCRIBE THE SITUATION or problem. List the ACTIONS YOU TOOK to amend the situation. Describe the RESULTS YOU ACHIEVED. Use quantifiable statistics and metrics, if possible. Step 4: Evaluate how you match up Compare and contrast the similarities between the job descriptions and your accomplishments. How do you match up? If you do, great! If not, it’s time to re-evaluate whether you have matching experiences or successes in the areas that are important to an employer. Step 5: Be THAT person Make sure everything you say about yourself on your LinkedIn profile supports your ONE target position or singular professional objective. Don’t muddy the waters by including keywords from everything that you’ve ever done in your working life. Keep it focused. Remember if you decide today that you’re most qualified to be a genie and tomorrow you decide you’d rather be a zookeeper, you can change your LinkedIn profile accordingly. It’s a living document that reflects who you are as a professional right now. Once you’ve updated your LinkedIn profile, start monitoring the â€Å"Who’s viewed your profile?† section on the right side of your LinkedIn home page. How many times has your profile appeared in searches over the past few days? If your hits are in the single digits, change a few keywords, reassess, and repeat until your numbers go up. Feeling lost? The Essay Expert is here to help you find your professional self. We have helped many a client with multiple professional personalities benefit from a focused, successful LinkedIn summary. About Jill Schaefer: Jill is a professional copywriter and freelance writer who lives in Madison, Wisconsin. She specializes in environmental communications, connecting with clients, giving LinkedIn profiles a makeover, and producing compelling copy. View winning LinkedIn summaries Jill co-wrote for The Essay Experts clients: Shashi Dosaj | Marissa Keller Outten | Michelle Henry

Analytical reflection on three actual events Essay

Analytical reflection on three actual events - Essay Example However, RO was no less fun. In-game towns and cities were jam-packed with players at any given time. In fact, the Chaos server in particular often had literally over 9,000 people from all walks of life and of all ages playing at a given moment. The diversity of the community, as can still be seen on the Ragnaboards, coupled with a simple yet addictive gameplay interface, was what hooked me – the first two months of my stay were spent leveling up my character. Alas, it was not meant to be; I ended up quitting after getting a first-hand experience of Level Up’s lack of customer care. I logged in one day to find my character stripped bare – all the gear and the loot I had hunted for disappeared. When I filed a complaint to their Customer Service, they refused to compensate my loss – this angered me to the point of quitting. Sadly, Level Up seemed to have deteriorated even further from there. Over time, hacking and scamming alike increasingly fell on deaf ears. Bots – 3rd party programs used by players to gain an unfair advantage – while ostensibly illegal, were no longer being addressed. Next thing I knew, Level Up legalised botting (MPC Forums, 2005). The overwhelming number of other reports such as item duplication made it worse. It still makes me sad sometimes. I loved the game, but the company’s utter disregard for its customers in the name of money turned me off – the legalisation of botting in order to maximise their income by way of prepaid cards attests to this. Considering how much prosperity RO and its players brought to Level Up, one would think these customers deserved better treatment. Feminism, as the word implies, entails the defense of women’s rights. As further explained by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (first published 2003), some writers use the word in reference to specific American and European movements whereas others equate it with the belief that

Rhetorical analysis of websites that are important to your future Essay

Rhetorical analysis of websites that are important to your future profession - Essay Example st present the different websites chosen for this paper, followed by a specific discussion on the language, design, and logos as well as general presentation of these websites. An analysis of these sites will then be indicated. Finally, conclusions shall be drawn based on the language and the identity of my profession. There are several websites that shall be subject of this rhetorical analysis, including the IEEE (Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers, ACEEE (Association of Computers Electronics and Electrical Engineers), and the ACET (Association of Computer Engineers and Technicians). First of all, the IEEE or known as the â€Å"Eye-Triple E† by the members of the organization has a visually appealing website in terms of color alone, which is a shade of sky blue. From the very start, the view of the website is enticing, and not assaulting to the eyes and one is then eager to explore the website further. The design for the other websites also has their own appeal and these points shall be discussed individually based on various elements for evaluation. Enticing members to join any organization have now become an important consideration for many organizations especially with the proliferation of the internet. The improvements in the internet design and use have also prompted many organizations to redesign and repurpose their websites in order to support their needs. Using different websites for electrical engineering, this study shall consider the relations between verbal and visual data on the strategies used by organizations and design staff to present essential information and data on the web. Immediately when navigating through the IEEE website, the viewer is able to see different visual data. For one, the text in the site comes in various typefaces, groupings, sizes, and pictures and other images are placed in various significant points, depending on the information being presented. The web page in other words is a combination of visual

Week 4 discussion TQM Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week 4 discussion TQM - Personal Statement Example Indeed, teams avail the capacity for a speedy response to changes within customer demands, which may not be satisfied by employees working in limited specialty. A virtual team represents a group of individuals working across time, organizational boundaries, and space with connections reinforced by webs of communication technology. There are three core aspects related to a virtual team, namely: people, purpose, and links. Virtual teams lack hierarchy or any related structures given that they may not be from the same organization. Virtual teams differ from the face-to-face team based on the fact that they may be geographically dispersed while face-to-face teams are localized. This arises from the fact that, in order to attain the same level of effectiveness, as is the case of face-to-face teams, virtual teams’ leadership demands a lot of effort (Oakland, 2012). Virtual teams differ from face-to-face teams based on four pitfalls, namely: absence of concise goals, prioritize, or direction; absence of concise roles among team members; absence of cooperation and trust; and, lack of engagement. Employee involvement represents the creation of an environment where people posses have an impact on the decisions and actions that influence their jobs. Consequently, employees cannot be seen as a cog in a machine, but rather should be viewed as unique and critical to the attainment of the organization goals (Oakland, 2012). Organizations should keep employee involvement alive by: keeping employees updated, giving them autonomy, allowing flexibility, and rewarding success. Some of the general forms of employee involvement include suggestion schemes, team briefings, job design, attitude surveys, and autonomous working groups. Indirect forms of participation entail quality circles, work councils, board representation, task forces, and involvement

Culture And Training And Development Management Essay

Culture And Training And Development Management Essay Culture is a group, which shapes a persons values and identity. A single term used to define a particular culture is often exclusive. Cultural identities can stem from the following differences: race, ethnicity, gender, class, religion, country of origin, and geographic region. Culture is the lens through which you view the world. It is central to what you see, how you make sense of what you see, and how you express yourself. It is recognized by all multinational companies that global human resource management is critical for success in todays competitive world. The reasons for this are many including their integral involvement in facilitating the success of expatriate assignments (Bonache and Fernandez, 1999; Scullion, 1999; Stroh and Caligiuri, 1998). The picture comparing to 1990s have changed radically, rapid globalization of companies has brought the need for effective international assignments and relatively increased need of expatriates. There are three major factors that effect this change; first is the changing nature of international companies with joint ventures with global companies and emergence of small and medium size companies as the key industry players. Secondly the change in host locations decreases the number of expatriates that are ready to move with various concerns. Thirdly, the changing nature of international assignment themselves (Bartlett and Ghoshal, 1989) Success and failure of a global assignment is greatly influenced by an expatriates cross cultural adjustment to the host country. For instance cross cultural adjustment is positively related to performance on the employees assignment and negatively related to premature termination of the assignment (Black, 1988; Caligiuri, 1997). There are many companies in this modern and developed technology world that prefer to train the employees prior to assign them an international work. According to Ashamalla (1997) for more than twenty years cross-cultural training had been advocated as a means of facilitating effective cross-cultural interactions and adjustments. Training can be defined as an intervention that is aimed to increase the knowledge and skills of individuals, so as to help them perform better and professionally. There are many types of training practices in todays world; the type of practice in a company depends on the kind of industry and technological needs of the company. Out of many methods the most crucial and important training is intercultural training process (Kealey, D. J, Protheroe, D, 1995) The development of effective international strategies is termed as the major determinant of success of an international business. A research on expatriate management by Harvey (1998) indicates that, any kind of underperformance of an international assignee could be extremely costly for employees in career terms. It is also suggested that companies with global operations need implement sophisticated policies while pre move in certain areas like selection procedures for international assignments and cross-cultural training for both employees and their dependents. Failure in pay enough attention to either of the areas could lead to failure in the expatriation. Training in cross-cultural context can be defined as a procedure that is intended to improve individuals ability to cope up and adjust in a foreign environment (Baliga and Baker, 1985). The reasons given by many companies for not providing proper cross-cultural training to their employees before international move or provide the s tudy on a selective basis is lack of proven effectiveness. Course design using the learning diamond [online image] Tung (1982) has classified the training programs in cross-cultural contexts into six categories that include: Training on factual information about geography, climate, schools etc. Cultural orientation training i.e. information about cultural institutions and country values Cultural assimilation training, with brief episodes of intercultural encounters Language training Sensitivity training Training for managing emotional stress of living and working with people from different cultures. Another essential element to be considered for a cross-cultural training as a process is to understand the regulated steps to be followed in making the process successful. Objectives of training- Why Train? A well planned and tailored goal needs are needed for companies to analyze before setting up the training process (Ronen, 1990; Rhinesmith, 1993). Cross-cultural training should be designed ensuring that the performance, adjustment and development areas are covered. Many training programs these days are primarily focusing on the adjustment factor, that is, any employee with lot of patience and has lot of adjustment nature is considered as qualified for the international move. But adjustment does not necessarily ensure that they adapt to the culture and perform according to the business objectives. Organization need to draw dimensions that require employees to develop trust relationships with people of different backgrounds and values, their ability to communicate well, collaborative approach, ability to negotiate and cultural competence play a key role in setting task objectives (Gerrity, 1993). In the need of success and to avoid failure cross-cultural program objectives should be crafted to help assignees to (1) manage change-personal-professional transition (2) Manage the cultural differences; and (3) Manage their professional responsibilities (Marquardt Engel, 1993). Managing change includes the ability of the assignee in being flexible and adjustments towards culture. The impact of the change on the employee, family and friends includes creation of a personal and professional action plan to manage change. The plan also adds to make the employee aware that repatriation plan is also a part of managing his/her assignment. Managing the cultural differences includes; understanding of culture, shapes of culture, expectations and assumptions, understanding and applying frameworks basing on the cultural interactions and develop skills to reconcile differences, gaining practical information about host country are the important aspects in managing cultural differences Managing professional responsibilities include; applying information and insights required in the program to accomplish the objectives, understanding business objectives and job responsibilities in the host country, adapting the individual style and effective local approach. Trainees-Who should be trained? For any international assignment is very important for the family of the assignee should be trained along with the assignee as a supportive family atmosphere plays a very important role in a successful international assignment. The spouse of the assignee more certainly faces lot of challenges in the host county while the employee usually sustains himself with the routine job functions. The challenges involves in setting up households, negotiation with local shops, transportation, services etc with an unfamiliar language which are basing on the confidence levels of the partner. Duel career issue makes the situation more critical when faced with displacement and uncertainty; the partner may feel ambivalent about the changes and the chances of getting worried to find employment, or acceptable substitutes for employment, in the very likely event that work will not be available abroad. Childrens education and social adaption also effect the familys ability to adjust in the host country (P ascoe, 1992, Osland, 1995). All the above needs of the family to understand the culture makes it important to undergo training prior to the assignment. Program components-Cross-Cultural training programs There are many major key elements to make a successful training program at a cross-cultural context that includes assessment of basic needs, content, design and methodology, duration and timing, trainers and quality of end result. A through need of the employee, spouse, children and HR liaison is suggested requirement for a company to conclude on the training needs (Brislin Yoshida, 1994). It is also required to assess the assignees past international experience, job role and responsibilities, family dynamics, special interests etc. to make the training objective more clearly in both verbal and written forms. The content of the program should include general awareness, planning of placement, transition and stress management, life style adjustment, repatriation process (Kohls Brussow, 1995) A deductive approach to cross cultural training method is preferred as the information can be applier more logically and reasonably to specific situations, whereas with an inductive approach, generalizations made from specific information may be invalid, and lead to inappropriate choices and behaviors on the part of the assignees (Andersen, 1985). A variety of methods can be used to train the assignees and family basing on the needs of assessment like role plays, case studies, presentations, filed work, lectures etc. Immersion approach Assessment centre Field Experiments Simulations Sensitivity training Extensive language training Affective approach Culture assimilator training Role playing Critical incidents Cases Stress reducing training Moderate language training Information-giving approach Area briefing Cultural briefings Films/books/videos Use of interpreters Survival-level language training Low Moderate High Length 1 month 2-12 1-3 of stay or less months years High Level of rigor Low Length of training 1-2 months+ 1-4 weeks Less than a week Training can be provided prior to departure or after the arrival in the destination or both depending on the necessity. Pre departure training allows the family to have a realistic knowledge about the host country with basic understanding of culture and ethics. Post arrival training allows the family to clarify internal, geographical social queries. HR can reduce the possibility of expatriates failures by flying out the employee and family over to location to check out if they would like to stay. Based on the duration of the assignment HR can put up various training schedules based on the tenure of the assignment as shown in figure below, by Mendenhall, E. Dunbar, and G. Oddou, (1987) Studies indicate that the essential components of pre-departure training programs that contribute to a smooth transition to a foreign location include cultural awareness training, preliminary visits, language instruction and assistance with practical day-to-day matters. Trainers and training team include specialists and are experts to develop and deliver a program. The trainer act as the coach, educator, facilitator, counselor, moderator, and cultural role model for the participants. Quality assurance include results and outcomes of the program that include program evaluations, written documentation of results and liaison meeting between employees and trainers to justify the report. Many leading firms recognized that while there existing numbers of good training firms and many excellent training consultants to choose from, it is important to investigate carefully these credentials and capabilities. If the process is competently managed and executed well developed, training will become a key intervention in promoting success to the assignment and increase the return on investment for employees, family members and companies abroad. Training Measurement One of the key important elements of providing an effective learning is the ability to identify the training participants have changed their behavior according to the prescribed course objectives and as a continuation weather they will be able to transfer their behavior to the work environment (Hilary H and Savita K, 2000). A well designed training initiative may enhance the learning process of international assignee and thus facilitate cross-cultural interactions and cross-cultural adjustment (Black Gregersen, 1991; Caligiuri, Phillips, Lazarova, Tarique, Burgi, 2001). To understand a systematic approach in designing cross-cultural training initiatives Tarique and Caligiuri (2003) propose a five-phase process as a general strategy to follow in designing effective cross-cultural training initiatives. The five phases are: Understanding and identifying the type of global assignment for which the training is needed? Determining the cross-cultural training needs from the view of organization, assignment and individual Establishing the training needs basing on the goals and objectives of the organization. Finalizing the training program Ultimate effectiveness of the cross-cultural training program and results. Gudykunst, et al., (1996) proposes that future research on these phases is the important area of investigation when performing a training program. A better understanding on the limits and generalizability across organizational cultural, national and individual context for cross-cultural training is also an important area. The strength of the discussion tightens when the individuals high on openness to global experience, extroversion and agreeableness and early international travel experience adds value for more effective training and development comparing to individuals that are less on these traits. According to the recent review of cross-cultural training evaluation studies Mendenhall et al, (2004) stated that Cross-cultural training seems to be effective in enhancing knowledge and trainee satisfaction but seems to be less effective in changing behaviors and attitudes, or in improving adjustment and performance. Conclusion When going for an overseas assignment there are various considerations to be made. Often seen is that the expatriate receives the training but not the spouse and family. It has to be understood that spouse and family are the major contributors for the assignment success. Some companies do not impart cross culture training for the spouse and family as they think its an added cost and not essential. This is a wrong thinking. Cross-cultural training provides incoming and outgoing expatriate families a chance to study up on what is coming, and how best to approach the new reality. One of the reasons for the expatriate assignment failure is that the family and spouse cannot cope with the new environment. This coping up of the new environment occurs when there is no cross culture training given. From the above scenarios it can be seen or concluded that cross culture training is important for the spouse and family and it leads to the expatriate assignment a success in any part of the world. To sum up Cross Culture Training has to be imparted to the spouse and family for an overseas assignment. Companies need to invest more on cross-cultural training especially in terms of the immersion and affective approaches. The value of providing a comprehensive training program could reduce the failure of assignments or pre-mature assignments. Cross-cultural training enhanced peoples ability to deal with conflicts that arise within multicultural teams. To ensure success in business, many organizations used cross-cultural training to improve their managers cross- cultural effectiveness and enhance their communication skills. From the research it is discovered that crossing cultures is extremely difficult and requires the right kind of training. Cultural diversity in a work group provides both impunities and difficulties. When manages successfully, it brings economic benefits. For organizations that send managers on foreign assignments. The cost can be high, as those managers need to adjust to their new environment. Cross-cultural training is useful and worthy which can deal with conflicts that arise within multicultural.

Stress in College :: Education, Generation Me

Stress in College Every person will experience some degree of stress in his or her life. Stress can be healthy. Stress can make a person feel hopeless, helpless, and powerless. Constant worry about problems can cause a diversity of physical symptoms. Some people face stress more than others do. College students deal with stress each stage of courses. Gender, age, and finance is a major influence on how a person experience stress in college. Bettina (2001) conducted research on stress stating, ‘’coping strategies used by adolescents prove that boys use more problems oriented, and direct action approaches to stress. Bettina (2001) says, ‘’Girls use passive and seeking strategies to cope with stress’’. Women like to talk about their stress with others and try to find friends to be of assistance to them. Men will put unwanted energy into doing energetic things similar to sports, working or television. In the majority of households, girls are encouraged to converse feelings more than boys. Venting to someone can help keep away from the sensation that stress is overpowering. Aid-win, Sutton,and Lachman (1996) studied whether stressful episodes provide content to the development of coping resources and reported,’’ 81.9% of men reported solving recent problems by using prior coping strategies gained through encountering problems in their lives, work, and family’’. As a person gets older, he or she is capable to cope with stress better. An older person will find ways to minimize excitement and energy levels. A returning student, will tend to know exactly what he or she wants to do with his or her future. Having insight into your future makes a person more focus. Returning students do not have the need to quench any curiosity with doing anything that will stray from their vision. When a student is eighteen years old recently out of high school, your mentality is different. A younger student is not sure of what he or wants to do. A new student becomes very curious, with new a found freedom. New students tend to feel as if he or she were on top of the world and life will just get easier after high Stress in College :: Education, Generation Me Stress in College Every person will experience some degree of stress in his or her life. Stress can be healthy. Stress can make a person feel hopeless, helpless, and powerless. Constant worry about problems can cause a diversity of physical symptoms. Some people face stress more than others do. College students deal with stress each stage of courses. Gender, age, and finance is a major influence on how a person experience stress in college. Bettina (2001) conducted research on stress stating, ‘’coping strategies used by adolescents prove that boys use more problems oriented, and direct action approaches to stress. Bettina (2001) says, ‘’Girls use passive and seeking strategies to cope with stress’’. Women like to talk about their stress with others and try to find friends to be of assistance to them. Men will put unwanted energy into doing energetic things similar to sports, working or television. In the majority of households, girls are encouraged to converse feelings more than boys. Venting to someone can help keep away from the sensation that stress is overpowering. Aid-win, Sutton,and Lachman (1996) studied whether stressful episodes provide content to the development of coping resources and reported,’’ 81.9% of men reported solving recent problems by using prior coping strategies gained through encountering problems in their lives, work, and family’’. As a person gets older, he or she is capable to cope with stress better. An older person will find ways to minimize excitement and energy levels. A returning student, will tend to know exactly what he or she wants to do with his or her future. Having insight into your future makes a person more focus. Returning students do not have the need to quench any curiosity with doing anything that will stray from their vision. When a student is eighteen years old recently out of high school, your mentality is different. A younger student is not sure of what he or wants to do. A new student becomes very curious, with new a found freedom. New students tend to feel as if he or she were on top of the world and life will just get easier after high

Assignment on Online Banking

TERM PAPER ON ONLINE BANKING SERVICE IN BANGLADESH 1. DEFINITION OF ONLINE BANKING Online banking  is a service offered by banks that allows  account  holders to access their account data via the Internet. In order to take advantage of online banking, an account holder would need to meet several technological requirements, such as having a personal computer with Internet access and web browser. If those conditions are satisfied, online banking can be performed from anywhere in the world.To minimize the risk of fraud, online banking is enabled through a secure server, which grants the individual a private access to his or her  bank  account. Online banking is designed to streamline banking chores that otherwise require considerable time and effort. Thus, online banking facilitates direct access to account details, enables transfer of funds, allows for multiple bills payments, and performs an array other transactions. Online banking is available twenty four hours, seven days a week, regardless of the bank's working hours. Today, most banks offer online banking services. . HOW MANY BANKERS PROVIDE ONLINE BANKING SERVICES IN BANGLADESH Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman said 79 percent institutions under the country’s banking sector are providing online service at present. He said, â€Å"37 banks are providing all-out online service, while six are getting preparations to provide online service. Almost 79 percent institutions are under online service now. † Dr Atiur came up with the comment at the inauguration of the 4th International e-banking and Mobile Commerce Conference as the chief guest at a hotel in Dhaka Monday 10th July’2012Science and Information Communication Technology Ministry Secretary Nazrul Islam Khan, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regularity Commission Chairman General (Retd) Zia Ahmed, FBCCI President AK Azad, Chief Marketing Officer of Eco-Bharat Anand Ramanand, Dell Bangladesh’s Country Director Sonia B ashir spoke at the inaugural session. Dr Atiur said, â€Å"23 banks were given the approval of providing online services up to June, 2012. Amongst them, 14 banks have already started the service. † 3. PROSPECT OF ONLINE BANKING SERVICE IN BANGLADESH Information technology environment changes rapidly.It is estimated that the number of Internet users in Bangladesh will increase in a recent years. The number of physical branches will be decreased (the profile of physical branches will change to advice and support centers) and most of the transactions will be concluded via main e-banking channels: online Internet bank and m-banking services. Rapid growth of e-banking in Bangladesh is expected. 4. ADVANTAGE OF ONLINE BANKING SERVICE IN BANGLADESH What are the three greatest things about the Internet? E-mail, music, and online banking! Whether for the convenience or the control, online banking is an aspect of banking that nobody can resist.Our children will probably laugh when we t ell them people used to actually go to a bank to pay bills. Online banking rocks! Many of the benefits of doing your banking online are obvious: You don't have to wait in line. You don't have to plan your day around the bank's hours. You can look at your balance whenever you want, not just when you get a statement. There are some hidden benefits too. As a young bank customer, you're just learning how to manage your money and observe your spending patterns. Online banking allows you to watch your money on a daily basis if you want to.By keeping close tabs on your funds, you'll always be aware of what's happening in your bank account. For those experienced spenders, this option is far more appealing than the sudden discovery that you're broke! It's also helpful to watch how much interest you're gathering on investments and savings or what service charges you have incurred. What to expect Here are some of the features available through online banking: View balances: Checking your balan ce doesn't require much work. You simply select Account balances and take a look at your balance and past transactions.If you have more than one account, you can also do transfers between accounts. Pay bills: To pay your bills online, you just need to add to your account the names of the companies you wish to pay bills to. In the Pay Bills section, select Add payees, search for the name of the company and fill in the account number for each company. You can also sign up for the E-bills service that sends you a bill by e-mail instead of a printed one by regular mail. Transfer funds: When you select Transfer Funds, you'll be asked where to transfer the money to and from, when, and the amount.Set up recurring bill payments or transfers: If you make a regular payment every month, it might be convenient to set up an automatic withdrawal from your account. Monitor CIBC investments: If you have any CIBC investments, you can keep an eye on those stocks or mutual funds here. Send and receive an INTERAC e-TransferTM2: This could be the end of the birthday cheque! You can receive transfers from other people's accounts, or set up transfers from your account to someone else's. The recipient will get an e-mail notifying them of the transaction.View CIBC VISA* accounts: Always a good place to monitor your spending. You can make your credit card payments online, right from your account. Order cheques: We don't need them much anymore due to online banking and debit purchases, but if you still use cheques, you can order them directly from the CIBC website. Take control Online banking helps you become more of a banker, running your accounts like a small business that you control every day. Once you get started, you'll be hooked. Soon enough you'll be checking your bank account as often as your e-mail. 5. FUNCTIONS OF ONLINE BANKING SERVICE IN BANGLADESHOnline banking is the practice of making bank transactions via the Internet. It will give you an excellent opportunity to bypass the time-consuming, paper-based aspects of traditional banking in order to manage your finances more efficiently. By switching to electronic bills, statements, and payments, the average American household can save 6. 6 pounds of paper in one year! And you can catch any fraudulent transactions faster than if you received a statement by snail post. Thanks to innovative technology and the Internet in particular, we no longer have to leave the house to make payments.Online banking is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so you can do it anytime, anywhere. Online banking allows us to perform various services with the click of a mouse. You can: 1. Pay a bill. Electronic bill payment service allows a depositor to send money from his or her online account to a creditor or merchant, for example to a public utility or a department store. There is no need to stand in a long line on a weekend morning to handle your transactions! The payment is virtually instant, though some financial insti tutions can wait until the next business day to send out the payment.If it is necessary, the bank can generate and mail a paper cheque or banker's draft to a creditor who is not set up to receive electronic payments. 2. Schedule payments in advance. Most banks offer customers the ability to schedule a payment on a specified date. Once the amount is entered and the payee is checked off, the funds are automatically deducted from your online bank account. It is especially useful if you always forget due dates. For example, you can schedule credit card or mortgage payments to make sure that you will not incur late fees and damage your FICO score. 3.Transfer funds. Do you want to send money quickly and securely? With online banking, you can make money transfers between your own accounts, or send money to a third party account. All you need is recipient/payee information and enough funds in your account. Quite often, the operations are performed in real time. 4. Manage all your accounts i n one place. Online banking is a great time saver because it provides an opportunity to handle several bank accounts (checking, savings, CDs, IRAs, etc. ) from one site. Most new accounts you open will be automatically added to online banking. . View images of your checks online. Do you need a copy of a paid check? With online banking, you can view and print scanned images of the front and back of all checks you have written. It is easy and convenient. 6. Apply for a loan or credit card. Having an account online, you can apply for a credit card or a loan (a car loan, a student loan, a mortgage, a home equity loan, etc. ) from the same bank. If you have a good credit score and long relationship history with your bank, your application is likely to be approved. 7. Purchase and manage CD accounts.If you have some amount of money you want to invest, you can purchase a certificate of deposit from your bank. Online banking lets you compare all available offers and their terms, for example APY or maturity periods. When you confirm the purchase, the funds will be automatically deducted from your account. 8. Order traveler's checks. You can order American Express Traveler’s Cheques online. The bank will typically charge your online account for the amount of the cheques you bought and an express delivery fee. 9. Increase your overdraft. Going into the red shouldn't leave you red-faced!You can increase your overdraft online. Log in to online banking and click on ‘Overdraft' in the menu. 10. Order a cheque book. Save yourself at least one trip to the bank by ordering cheque book online. You will need to visit your bank once when you get a confirmation message that your cheque book is ready for collection. 11. View up-to-the-minute account statements and balance. There is no need to wait for the bank statement to arrive in the snail post to check account balances. You can view all transactions and withdrawals every day just by logging in to your online account .In addition, you can immediately notice errors or unauthorized transactions in the statement. 12. View automatically updated spending report. All your purchases are sorted into familiar categories automatically – no receipts to save, no expenses to enter. It is easy to see where your money goes! 13. Track your payment history. Online banking gives you an opportunity to search your payments by transaction type, date, description or amount. When did you last pay Company X? When did you buy your computer? To whom did you make your most recent payment? Your bank knows the answers. 14.Integrate the data with personal finance programs. Online banking lets you import electronic payment data in personal finance software such as Quicken or Microsoft Money. You will be able to access your online accounts directly from your personal finance program. An Internet connection and online account log in information is required. 15. Change contact details. Have you moved to a new house? Chang ed your telephone number? You can log in to your online account and change contact information (e-mail address, telephone number, password, etc. ). It is more secure than to send this information by e-mail. 16.Utilize investment research. You can receive real-time quotes, analytics, news and stock market information to make a more educated decision. 17. Take advantage of online brokerage. Internet banking lets you invest online. You can place and confirm trades 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Most banks provide a wide range of money market instruments from various issuers. 18. Get alerts. This service allows you to receive timely e-mail messages from your bank about any critical changes related to your Internet accounts. For example, you can get alerts when you make a withdrawal or change your contact information. 9. Verify terms and conditions. Did you forget your interest rates or payment due date? You can verify all information about your account online. 20. Chat with your cus tomer assistant department. If you need help, you can send message to your bank’s customer assistant department. They will help you solve your problem. 6. SWOT ANALYSIS OF ONLINE BANKING SERVICE IN BANGLADESH SWOT Analysis: To find out the viability of a particular product we must perform a SWOT Analysis of the product. This will analyze the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities ,and Threats of the particular product.For analyzing the performance of Internet Banking in Bangladesh we the following SWOT Analysis is considered. Strengths †¢ Internet Banking is new in our market. Only a few banks are now offering internet services in solving banking problems. Most of the banks are offering only accounting information online. Actual fund transfer and fund disbursement is not possible in all the banks that are offering internet services. So this product will enjoy the benefit of a first mover. †¢ It is cheap both for the banks and the customers. The bank will be able to lo wer down the overhead costs and make more profit out of it.Internet banking will require less manual workers. Again the customers will be able to save time as well as money for their transaction needs. †¢ Internet banking is convenient as the service is available all the time at just a click away. Weaknesses: †¢ Security breakdown: The system will have a problem with the identification of the individual who is initiating the transaction. In Bangladesh, the identification of an individual is not yet supported digitally. So there will be a problem in moving to the Internet era for banking purposes just now.First we will have to develop a digital database of the users of the internet banking services. †¢ The transaction can be cancelled only via internet. The internet infrastructure of our country is not that much supportive to provide all time access to the web. So there will be a problem in executing the service with its full functionality. Opportunities: †¢ Non-b ranch banking is becoming popular in our country. Many banks are now offering non-branch banking facilities. A person can withdraw or deposit money in any branch of the bank he has account with. †¢ The internet services are becoming very common to us.So a service offered through the internet will be widely accepted in the near future. Threats : †¢ People have concern about security and privacy. They like to feel their money with their hand. They actually don’t believe in virtual money transfer. †¢ In the field of IT new technology is coming every day. The one which is very popular today might get obsolete tomorrow. So to have a competitive edge over the competitors the banks must always update their services. †¢ The movement towards online banking might marginalized the customers who do not have internet access or who are not technologically sound.Despite the presence of online Internet service in Bangladesh, its scope is largely underutilized. The reasons include high service charges, lack of awareness, poor telecommunication systems, government policy, low buying power of potential clients, and lack of institutional support. 7. CHALLENGES / RISKS OF ONLINE BANKING SERVICE IN BANGLADESH Generally it is believed that banks in Bangladesh are facing different problems adopting e-banking. Inefficiency and lack of adequate knowledge of the top management of the last generation about e–banking may have to be put at the first place.The top management set the way for future development. For the change they must have understood its significance and prospect. Only so, proper strategic plan could be done, appropriate adjustment with changing national and international business and technological environment could be made, the coming challenges from the national and international. competition successfully faced, and the market share retained and gained. The lack of communication channel and technological and technical infrastructure suppo rt may be seen as the second crucial challenges of e-banking in Bangladesh.It is not enough that there are enough communication channels, but they must be efficient, competitive, competent, cost effective and supportive to the services. In the millennium of ICT every nation has to think global, so worldwide efficient networking and WAP have to be ensured. Ensuring mature technology is also very important for successful introduction of the e-banking which includes adequate software. Modern technology is available but frequently very costly, but the countries like Bangladesh have other decisive comparative advantages that could be used to compensate the cost of the modern technology.In this way, the modern technology could be made economically viable, cost-effective and competitive even in the world market. Qualified human resource is another factor that has to be considered, which means experts have to be made available in the market. In the long run such services can’t be mad e competitive with hired or imported human resources. So, respective educational institutes must be established for the supply of the experts for the management of the hard- and software of the sectors. It is expected that a part of the existing employees both from the rank and file may resist the change.To motivate and integrate them in the change, training and reorientation program must be launched. Security of the services is very important to popularize it. To protect the service from piracy and fraudulency reliable security systems must be ensured. In this regard, government, banks, and Bangladesh Bank must work together. So and so, ways and means must be found to protect fraud and money laundering but at the same time ensuring fund transferring. 8. RECOMMENDATION / SUGGESTIONS OF ONLINE BANKING SERVICE IN BANGLADESHMost of the countries have adopted E-banking and the consumers seem to like the convenience of E-banking despite some continuing hesitancy. The widespread uses of A TMs has paved the way for greater acceptance of other forms of electronic money such as smart cards and POS. Direct deposit, and to a lesser extent, electronic bill payment, are and to a lesser extent gaining popularity. In addition, as more people purchase personal computer and use the internet, home banking should become more widely accepted. But a cashless or check less financial system is still not in the state of foreseeable future.Though there are 28 banks in Bangladesh, mostly head quartered in Dhaka. Most of these banks do not offer online or electronic service such as Direct Deposit. There are some ATM machines, though not nearly as concentrated as in a developed economy. The Ministry of Science, Information and Communication Technology has given out the policy for the development in the IT sector. The ministry has concentrated on the following sections: †¢ Human Resources Development through Education and Training †¢ ICT Infrastructure development †¢ Researc h and Development in ICT †¢ Development of ICT Industry Development of E-Commerce †¢ E-Government / E-Governance establishment †¢ Establishment of Legal Issues. The Government spending in ICT is going to increase by at least 2% of ADPin coming years. The ICT companies will get preferential terms which will be able to meet up 20% of its revenue expenditure. BCC has created a centralized fund for R&D which would encourage contributing 1% of all profits from ICT-enabled services to the HRD fund. This will greatly help the development if ICT in Bangladesh. The software support for internet banking, i. e. FLEXCUBE is available in Bangladesh.Again Bangladesh Government is working on the copyright law and the preservation of intellectual property act. After the successful implementation of all these policies and strategies we are expecting that more than 50% of the banks will be offering internet banking facilities that is now 12% only. E-banking is in its nascent state in B angladesh. At present, Information Technology (IT) is a subject of widespread interest in Bangladesh. The government has declared IT as a thrust sector and set up a vision of Digital Bangladesh in 2021. But Bangladesh has a long way to go in a very short time to enjoy the fruits of information age.It will be only possible when there will be political commitment with better IT infrastructure, internal network, country domain and above all ahigh speed fiber optic link to the information superhighway. In order to ensure a successful practice of e-banking in Bangladesh, we recommend the following. * E-banking systems should be simple to use, fast and user friendly. * E-banking services should be standardized so that wherever the solution is used the customer is familiar with the procedure followed. * Government should compel the banking sectors to automate their operation and going online by a specific period. Provide adequate training and technological support to develop the manpower. * Appropriate legal framework. * Proper infrastructure development. * Government should implement the cyber laws to ensure proper security about customers information (i. e. Credit card number) . * Government should establish proper educational institution to create efficient IT professionals to support e-banking in Bangladesh. * Developing of integrated e-banking software. Government, in collaboration with the banks, should educate and inform its citizens and customers on the workability and effectiveness of E-banking.This will increase the confidence level of customers. * The clearing house operation in Bangladesh should be fully automated system. * Banks should have adequate research and technological background in this regard. * Bank can charge normal profit to enlarge the market size on the electronic banking products. * Political commitment to improve governance and institutional strength is essential for successful application of e-banking. * As e-bank users mostly use ATMs a nd POS in most cases, the banks should emphasize on providing uninterruptible service.