It Costs How Much to Replace an Employee?
Retaining your good employees
The Right People in the Right Places
Studies show that the average cost to replace a worker in the US is $17,000.00 (AVERAGE!!). Some HR managers use the rule of thumb that whatever the person’s annual salary is – it will cost that much to replace them. One study evaluating the effects of the US Family Medical Leave Act found that “turnover costs for a manager average 150% of salary, including real costs of hiring… and intangible costs such as the new worker’s inefficiency and lost productivity while the job is vacant.”
Costs of lost productivity are as important as direct costs such as advertising or temporary staff. Total costs easily reach 150% of the annual compensation. The cost will be significantly higher (200% to 250%) for managerial and sales positions.
Bliss & Associates Inc., Wayne, NJ consulting firm
Oh, and if you think you can just hire temporary workers and avoid all those costs, think again. The cost of hiring and getting production from a temporary worker is nearly 40% of their salary, and temporary workers tend to have higher hourly rates than permanent ones – and higher turnover rates as well.
Let’s put this in real terms. The lowest number I have seen anywhere says it will cost you at least 30% of an employee’s total annual compensation to replace them. Assume you have 100 employees and your average salary is $10.00 per hour. At $10.00 per hour + benefits (at 20% of wages), your employees receive ~$12.00 hour in wages and benefits. Let’s say that you have to replace 15% of your employees every year. Taking the most conservative estimate for employee turnover costs that I have been able to find (30% of their annual wages and benefits); each employee you have to replace is costing you $7,488.00.
100 employees X 15% X $7488 (including benefits) = $112,320 per year.
And that is using the most conservative cost percentage I can find. If we decide to use the national average ($17,000 / replaced employee) the cost goes to $255,000.00. By using the ‘rule-of-thumb’ (100% of their annual salary – $20,800.00/ replaced employee), the cost will go to $312,000.00… Staggering!
Why are the costs so high?
Why does it cost so much to replace a departing employee? Some costs, like paying off accrued vacation time or the cost of a help-wanted ad, are obvious.
Other costs include:
Increased unemployment insurance costs
Lost productivity while there is a vacancy
Time costs for the separation (Exit) interview (If your good employees are leaving, you NEED to know why)
Separation agreement costs (legal, financial, medical, retirement cash-out, etc.)
Overtime from other employees to handle the vacancy (which can lead to burn-out or absenteeism)
Time costs to review resumes
Time costs to interview candidates
Interview expenses for the candidates
Possible travel expenses
Possible relocation expenses
Head-hunter or signing bonus fees
Additional bookkeeping; payroll, 401k, etc.
Additional record keeping for government agencies
Reduced productivity while the new worker gets up to speed
Training programs
Corporate history lost
Morale can be affected
Intellectual property lost
There are also risks associated with losing an employee.
Threat of lawsuit
Bad PR from disgruntled employee
Threat that the employee will take clients to a new firm
What can be done about it?
Job descriptions:
Put together a complete job description with tasks and duties outlined in a clear and concise way so that when someone answers your want ad, they know what they are applying for. Minimize that catch-all phrase “Other duties as assigned”. This way, the employee knows what is expected of the position and the manager knows what to evaluate for performance reviews.
Pre & Post employment testing:
Job match/satisfaction can be measured by using the testing and evaluation systems that are available through RP2-Consulting. The cost of these evaluation and testing programs is significantly less than the cost of turnover in the first example above. We can test a candidate before they even show up for an interview and tell you if they have the right attitude, will show up for work when expected and won’t take everything in the supply cabinet home with them. We can match new candidates to a given position. We have all heard of the ‘Peter Principle’ (an individual rises to his level of incompetence). We can look at your existing employees and match their skills and personalities with open positions in the organization. We can also help you identify the right people to put on teams. When teams are balanced (one person’s strengths cover another person’s weaknesses), results are significantly improved. Finally, managers (and CEO’s) need to know their strengths and weaknesses, as those who work with them perceive them. Testing can show you what your true strengths and weaknesses are so that you can focus on improving those things that need to be improved.
Training:
Expecting someone to produce when they do not know how to produce, or what results are needed is absurd. Yet every day, people are hired to do jobs in which they have little or no formal training. Make sure that your employees get the training and guidance they need to meet your expectations. This will lead to better employee job satisfaction and reduced management stress. As a significant side benefit, well-trained employees are more likely to win appreciation for a job well done; and appreciation and recognition among your peers is a huge motivator. We can help you design your training programs to meet your individual needs.
Leadership:
The best plans and initiatives are all for naught if your leadership does not focus on what is working and where you want to go. Have you ever been backing out of your driveway focused on the trash-can you had to avoid hitting at all costs – it’s right there in the mirror, just behind the vehicle, if you hit it your whole morning will be ruined – and like a laser, you run right into it…
We go where we focus. One key to your success is to focus on retaining your employees. Working to make them successful is far less expensive than replacing them. Treating them with respect and honor while making them feel like they have a stake in the company and its success will lead to your success. Focus on where you want to go not where you don’t want to go. Looking at mistakes and finding fault is focusing on the past and the errors made there. Learn from mistakes and move on. Plan the future your organization wants. Focus on applauding success, both individually and for the team/company.
Banking Fraud – Prevention and Control
Banking Fraud is posing threat to Indian Economy. Its vibrant effect can be understood be the fact that in the year 2004 number of Cyber Crime were 347 in India which rose to 481 in 2005 showing an increase of 38.5% while I.P.C. category crime stood at 302 in 2005 including 186 cases of cyber fraud and 68 cases cyber forgery. Thus it becomes very important that occurrence of such frauds should be minimized. More upsetting is the fact that such frauds are entering in Banking Sector as well.
In the present day, Global Scenario Banking System has acquired new dimensions. Banking did spread in India. Today, the banking system has entered into competitive markets in areas covering resource mobilization, human resource development, customer services and credit management as well.
Indian’s banking system has several outstanding achievements to its credit, the most striking of which is its reach. In fact, Indian banks are now spread out into the remotest areas of our country. Indian banking, which was operating in a highly comfortable and protected environment till the beginning of 1990s, has been pushed into the choppy waters of intense competition.
A sound banking system should possess three basic characteristics to protect depositor’s interest and public faith. Theses are (i) a fraud free culture, (ii) a time tested Best Practice Code, and (iii) an in house immediate grievance remedial system. All these conditions are their missing or extremely weak in India. Section 5(b) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 defines banking… “Banking is the accepting for the purpose of lending or investment, deposits of money from the purpose of lending or investment, deposits of money from the public, repayable on demand or otherwise and withdraw able by cheque, draft, order or otherwise.” But if his money has fraudulently been drawn from the bank the latter is under strict obligation to pay the depositor. The bank therefore has to ensure at all times that the money of the depositors is not drawn fraudulently. Time has come when the security aspects of the banks have to be dealt with on priority basis.
The banking system in our country has been taking care of all segments of our socio-economic set up. The Article contains a discussion on the rise of banking frauds and various methods that can be used to avoid such frauds. A bank fraud is a deliberate act of omission or commission by any person carried out in the course of banking transactions or in the books of accounts, resulting in wrongful gain to any person for a temporary period or otherwise, with or without any monetary loss to the bank. The relevant provisions of Indian Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code, Indian Contract Act, and Negotiable Instruments Act relating to banking frauds has been cited in the present Article.
EVOLUTION OF BANKING SYSTEM IN INDIA
Banking system occupies an important place in a nation’s economy. A banking institution is indispensable in a modern society. It plays a pivotal role in economic development of a country and forms the core of the money market in an advanced country.
Banking industry in India has traversed a long way to assume its present stature. It has undergone a major structural transformation after the nationalization of 14 major commercial banks in 1969 and 6 more on 15 April 1980. The Indian banking system is unique and perhaps has no parallels in the banking history of any country in the world.
RESERVE BANK OF INDIA-ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL OBJECTIVE
The Reserve Bank of India has an important role to play in the maintenance of the exchange value of the rupee in view of the close interdependence of international trade and national economic growth and well being. This aspect is of the wider responsibly of the central bank for the maintenance of economic and financial stability. For this the bank is entrusted with the custody and the management of country’s international reserves; it acts also as the agent of the government in respect of India’s membership of the international monetary fund. With economic development the bank also performs a variety of developmental and promotional functions which in the past were registered being outside the normal purview of central banking. It also acts an important regulator.
BANK FRAUDS: CONCEPT AND DIMENSIONS
Banks are the engines that drive the operations in the financial sector, which is vital for the economy. With the nationalization of banks in 1969, they also have emerged as engines for social change. After Independence, the banks have passed through three stages. They have moved from the character based lending to ideology based lending to today competitiveness based lending in the context of India’s economic liberalization policies and the process of linking with the global economy.
While the operations of the bank have become increasingly significant banking frauds in banks are also increasing and fraudsters are becoming more and more sophisticated and ingenious. In a bid to keep pace with the changing times, the banking sector has diversified it business manifold. And the old philosophy of class banking has been replaced by mass banking. The challenge in management of social responsibility with economic viability has increased.
DEFINITION OF FRAUD
Fraud is defined as “any behavior by which one person intends to gain a dishonest advantage over another”. In other words , fraud is an act or omission which is intended to cause wrongful gain to one person and wrongful loss to the other, either by way of concealment of facts or otherwise.
Fraud is defined u/s 421 of the Indian Penal Code and u/s 17 of the Indian Contract Act. Thus essential elements of frauds are:
1. There must be a representation and assertion;
2. It must relate to a fact;
3. It must be with the knowledge that it is false or without belief in its truth; and
4. It must induce another to act upon the assertion in question or to do or not to do certain act.
BANK FRAUDS
Losses sustained by banks as a result of frauds exceed the losses due to robbery, dacoity, burglary and theft-all put together. Unauthorized credit facilities are extended for illegal gratification such as case credit allowed against pledge of goods, hypothecation of goods against bills or against book debts. Common modus operandi are, pledging of spurious goods, inletting the value of goods, hypothecating goods to more than one bank, fraudulent removal of goods with the knowledge and connivance of in negligence of bank staff, pledging of goods belonging to a third party. Goods hypothecated to a bank are found to contain obsolete stocks packed in between goods stocks and case of shortage in weight is not uncommon.
An analysis made of cases brings out broadly the under mentioned four major elements responsible for the commission of frauds in banks.
1. Active involvement of the staff-both supervisor and clerical either independent of external elements or in connivance with outsiders.
2. Failure on the part of the bank staff to follow meticulously laid down instructions and guidelines.
3. External elements perpetuating frauds on banks by forgeries or manipulations of cheques, drafts and other instruments.
4. There has been a growing collusion between business, top banks executives, civil servants and politicians in power to defraud the banks, by getting the rules bent, regulations flouted and banking norms thrown to the winds.
FRAUDS-PREVENTION AND DETECTION
A close study of any fraud in bank reveals many common basic features. There may have been negligence or dishonesty at some stage, on part of one or more of the bank employees. One of them may have colluded with the borrower. The bank official may have been putting up with the borrower’s sharp practices for a personal gain. The proper care which was expected of the staff, as custodians of banks interest may not have been taken. The bank’s rules and procedures laid down in the Manual instructions and the circulars may not have been observed or may have been deliberately ignored.
Bank frauds are the failure of the banker. It does not mean that the external frauds do not defraud banks. But if the banker is upright and knows his job, the task of defrauder will become extremely difficult, if not possible.
Detection of Frauds
Despite all care and vigilance there may still be some frauds, though their number, periodicity and intensity may be considerably reduced. The following procedure would be very helpful if taken into consideration:
1. All relevant data-papers, documents etc. Should be promptly collected. Original vouchers or other papers forming the basis of the investigation should be kept under lock and key.
2. All persons in the bank who may be knowing something about the time, place a modus operandi of the fraud should be examined and their statements should be recorded.
3. The probable order of events should thereafter be reconstructed by the officer, in his own mind.
4. It is advisable to keep the central office informed about the fraud and further developments in regard thereto.
Classification of Frauds and Action Required by Banks
The Reserve Bank of India had set-up a high level committee in 1992 which was headed by Mr. A… Ghosh, the then Dy. Governor Reserve Bank of India to inquire into various aspects relating to frauds malpractice in banks. The committee had noticed/observed three major causes for perpetration of fraud as given hereunder:
1. Laxity in observance of the laid down system and procedures by operational and supervising staff.
2. Over confidence reposed in the clients who indulged in breach of trust.
3. Unscrupulous clients by taking advantages of the laxity in observance of established, time tested safeguards also committed frauds.
In order to have uniformity in reporting cases of frauds, RBI considered the question of classification of bank frauds on the basis of the provisions of the IPC.
Given below are the Provisions and their Remedial measures that can be taken.
1. Cheating (Section 415, IPC)
Remedial Measures.
The preventive measures in respect of the cheating can be concentrated on cross-checking regarding identity, genuineness, verification of particulars, etc. in respect of various instruments as well as persons involved in encashment or dealing with the property of the bank.
2. Criminal misappropriation of property (Section 403 IPC).
Remedial Measure
Criminal misappropriation of property, presuppose the custody or control of funds or property, so subjected, with that of the person committing such frauds. Preventive measures, for this class of fraud should be taken at the level the custody or control of the funds or property of the bank generally vests. Such a measure should be sufficient, it is extended to these persons who are actually handling or having actual custody or control of the fund or movable properties of the bank.
3. Criminal breach of trust (Section 405, IPC)
Remedial Measure
Care should be taken from the initial step when a person comes to the bank. Care needs to be taken at the time of recruitment in bank as well.
4. Forgery (Section 463, IPC)
Remedial Measure
Both the prevention and detection of frauds through forgery are important for a bank. Forgery of signatures is the most frequent fraud in banking business. The bank should take special care when the instrument has been presented either bearer or order; in case a bank pays forged instrument he would be liable for the loss to the genuine costumer.
5. Falsification of accounts (Section 477A)
Remedial Measure
Proper diligence is required while filling of forms and accounts. The accounts should be rechecked on daily basis.
6. Theft (Section 378, IPC)
Remedial Measures
Encashment of stolen’ cheque can be prevented if the bank clearly specify the age, sex and two visible identify action marks on the body of the person traveler’s cheques on the back of the cheque leaf. This will help the paying bank to easily identify the cheque holder. Theft from lockers and safe deposit vaults are not easy to commit because the master-key remains with the banker and the individual key of the locker is handed over to the costumer with due acknowledgement.
7. Criminal conspiracy (Section 120 A, IPC)
In the case of State of Andhra Pradesh v. IBS Prasad Rao and Other, the accused, who were clerks in a cooperative Central Bank were all convicted of the offences of cheating under Section 420 read along with Section 120 A. all the four accused had conspired together to defraud the bank by making false demand drafts and receipt vouchers.
8. Offences relating to currency notes and banks notes (Section 489 A-489E, IPC)
These sections provide for the protection of currency-notes and bank notes from forgery. The offences under section are:
(a) Counterfeiting currency notes or banks.
(b) Selling, buying or using as genuine, forged or counterfeit currency notes or bank notes. Knowing the same to be forged or counterfeit.
(c) Possession of forged or counterfeit currency notes or bank-notes, knowing or counterfeit and intending to use the same as genuine.
(d) Making or passing instruments or materials for forging or counterfeiting currency notes or banks.
(e) Making or using documents resembling currency-notes or bank notes.
Most of the above provisions are Cognizable Offences under Section 2(c) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
FRAUD PRONE AREAS IN DIFFERENT ACCOUNTS
The following are the potential fraud prone areas in Banking Sector. In addition to those areas I have also given kinds of fraud that are common in these areas.
Savings Bank Accounts
The following are some of the examples being played in respect of savings bank accounts:
(a) Cheques bearing the forged signatures of depositors may be presented and paid.
(b) Specimen signatures of the depositors may be changed, particularly after the death of depositors,
(c) Dormant accounts may be operated by dishonest persons with or without collusion of bank employees, and
(d) Unauthorized withdrawals from customer’s accounts by employee of the bank maintaining the savings ledger and later destruction of the recent vouchers by them.
Current Account Fraud
The following types are likely to be committed in case of current accounts.
(a) Opening of frauds in the names of limited companies or firms by unauthorized persons;
(b) Presentation and payment of cheques bearing forged signatures;
(c) Breach of trust by the employees of the companies or firms possessing cheque leaves duly signed by the authorized signatures;
(d) Fraudulent alteration of the amount of the cheques and getting it paid either at the counter or though another bank.
Frauds In Case Of Advances
Following types may be committed in respect of advances:
(a) Spurious gold ornaments may be pledged.
(b) Sub-standard goods may be pledged with the bank or their value may be shown at inflated figures.
(c) Same goods may be hypothecated in favour of different banks.
LEGAL REGIME TO CONTROL BANK FRAUDS
Frauds constitute white-collar crime, committed by unscrupulous persons deftly advantage of loopholes existing in systems/procedures. The ideal situation is one there is no fraud, but taking ground realities of the nation’s environment and human nature’s fragility, an institution should always like to keep the overreach of frauds at the minimum occurrence level.
Following are the relevant sections relating to Bank Frauds
Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860)
(a) Section 23 “Wrongful gain”.-
“Wrongful gain” is gain by unlawful means of property to which the person gaining is not legally entitled.
(b) “Wrongful loss”
“Wrongful loss” is the loss by unlawful means of property to which the person losing it is legally entitled.
(c) Gaining wrongfully.
Losing wrongfully-A person is said to gain wrongfully when such person retains wrongfully, as well as when such person acquires wrongfully. A person is said to lose wrongfully when such person is wrongfully kept out of any property, as well as when such person is wrongfully deprived of property.
(d) Section 24. “Dishonestly”
Whoever does anything with the intention of causing wrongful gain to one person or wrongful loss to another person, is said to do that thing “dishonestly”.
(e) Section 28. “Counterfeit”
A person is said to “counterfeit” who causes one thing to resemble another thing, intending by means of that resemblance to practice deception, or knowing it to be likely that deception will thereby be practiced.
BREACH OF TRUST
1. Section 408- Criminal breach of trust by clerk or servant.
2. Section 409- Criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent.
3. Section 416- Cheating by personating
4. Section 419- Punishment for cheating by personation.
OFFENCES RELATING TO DOCMENTS
1) Section 463-Forgery
2) Section 464 -Making a false document
3) Section 465- Punishment for forgery.
4) Section 467- Forgery of valuable security, will, etc
5) Section 468- Forgery for purpose of cheating
6) Section 469- Forgery for purpose of harming reputation
7) Section 470- Forged document.
Section 471- Using as genuine a forged document
9) Section 477- Fraudulent cancellation, destruction, etc., of will, authority to adopt, or valuable security.
10) Section 477A- Falsification of accounts.
THE RESERVE BANK OF INDIA ACT, 1934
Issue of demand bills and notes Section 31.
Provides that only Bank and except provided by Central Government shall be authorized to draw, accept, make or issue any bill of exchange, hundi, promissory note or engagement for the payment of money payable to bearer on demand, or borrow, owe or take up any sum or sums of money on the bills, hundis or notes payable to bearer on demand of any such person
THE NEGOTIABLE INSTRUMENTS ACT, 1881
Holder’s right to duplicate of lost bill Section 45A.
1. The finder of lost bill or note acquires no title to it. The title remains with the true owner. He is entitled to recover from the true owner.
2. If the finder obtains payment on a lost bill or note in due course, the payee may be able to get a valid discharge for it. But the true owner can recover the money due on the instrument as damages from the finder.
Section 58
When an Instrument is obtained by unlawful means or for unlawful consideration no possessor or indorse who claims through the person who found or so obtained the instrument is entitled to receive the amount due thereon from such maker, acceptor or holder, or from any party prior to such holder, unless such possessor or indorse is, or some person through whom he claims was, a holder thereof in due course.
Section 85:
Cheque payable to order.
1. By this section, bankers are placed in privileged position. It provides that if an order cheque is indorsed by or on behalf of the payee, and the banker on whom it is drawn pays it in due course, the banker is discharged. He can debit his customer with the amount so paid, though the endorsement of the payee might turn out to be a forgery.
2. The claim protection under this section the banker has to prove that the payment was a payment in due course, in good faith and without negligence.
Section 87. Effect of material alteration
Under this section any alteration made without the consent of party would be void. Alteration would be valid only if is made with common intention of the party.
Section 138. Dishonour of cheque for insufficiency, etc., of funds in the account.
Where any cheque drawn by a person on an account maintained by him with a banker for payment of any amount of money to another person from out of that account for the discharge, in whole or in part, of any debt or other liability, is returned by the bank unpaid. either because of the amount of money standing to the credit of that account is insufficient to honour the cheque or that it exceeds the amount arranged to be paid from that account by an agreement made with that bank, such person shall be deemed to have committed an offence and shall, without prejudice.
Section 141(1) Offences by companies.
If the person committing an offence under Section 138 is a company, every person who, at the time the offence was committed, was in charge of, and was responsible to, the company for the conduct of the business of the company, as well as the company, shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
SECURITY REGIME IN BANKING SYSTEM
Security implies sense of safety and of freedom from danger or anxiety. When a banker takes a collateral security, say in the form of gold or a title deed, against the money lent by him, he has a sense of safety and of freedom from anxiety about the possible non-payment of the loan by the borrower. These should be communicated to all strata of the organization through appropriate means. Before staff managers should analyze current practices. Security procedure should be stated explicitly and agreed upon by each user in the specific environment. Such practices ensure information security and enhance availability. Bank security is essentially a defense against unforced attacks by thieves, dacoits and burglars.
PHYSICAL SECURITY MEASURES-CONCEPT
A large part of banks security depends on social security measures. Physical security measures can be defined as those specific and special protective or defensive measures adopted to deter, detect, delay, defend and defeat or to perform any one or more of these functions against culpable acts, both covert and covert and acclamations natural events. The protective or defensive, measures adopted involve construction, installation and deployment of structures, equipment and persons respectively.
The following are few guidelines to check malpractices:
1. To rotate the cash work within the staff.
2. One person should not continue on the same seat for more than two months.
3. Daybook should not be written by the Cashier where an other person is available to the job
4. No cash withdrawal should be allowed within passbook in case of withdrawal by pay order.
5. The branch manager should ensure that all staff members have recorder their presence in the attendance registrar, before starting work.
Execution of Documents
1. A bank officer must adopt a strict professional approach in the execution of documents. The ink and the pen used for the execution must be maintained uniformly.
2. Bank documents should not be typed on a typewriter for execution. These should be invariably handwritten for execution.
3. The execution should always be done in the presence of the officer responsible for obtain them,
4. The borrowers should be asked to sign in full signatures in same style throughout the documents.
5. Unless there is a specific requirement in the document, it should not be got attested or witnessed as such attestation may change the character of the instruments and the documents may subject to ad volrem stamp duty.
6. The paper on which the bank documents are made should be pilfer proof. It should be unique and available to the banks only.
7. The printing of the bank documents should have highly artistic intricate and complex graphics.
8. The documents executed between Banker and Borrowers must be kept in safe custody,
CHANGES IN LEGISLATIONS AFTER ELECTRONIC TRANSACTIONS
1. Section 91 of IPC shall be amended to include electronic documents also.
2. Section 92 of Indian Evidence Act, 1872 shall be amended to include commuter based communications
3. Section 93 of Bankers Book Evidence Act, 1891 has been amended to give legal sanctity for books of account maintained in the electronic form by the banks.
4. Section 94 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1939 shall be amended to facilitate electronic fund transfers between the financial institutions and the banks. A new clause (pp) has been inserted in Section 58(2).
RECENT TRENDS OF BANKING SYSTEM IN INDIA
In the banking and financial sectors, the introduction of electronic technology for transactions, settlement of accounts, book-keeping and all other related functions is now an imperative. Increasingly, whether we like it or not, all banking transactions are going to be electronic. The thrust is on commercially important centers, which account for 65 percent of banking business in terms of value. There are now a large number of fully computerized branches across the country.
A switchover from cash-based transactions to paper-based transactions is being accelerated. Magnetic Ink character recognition clearing of cheques is now operational in many cities, beside the four metro cities. In India, the design, management and regulation of electronically-based payments system are becoming the focus of policy deliberations. The imperatives of developing an effective, efficient and speedy payment and settlement systems are getting sharper with introduction of new instruments such as credit cards, telebanking, ATMs, retail Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) and Electronic Clearing Services (ECS). We are moving towards smart cards, credit and financial Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) for straight through processing.
Financial Fraud (Investigation, Prosecution, Recovery and Restoration of property) Bill, 2001
Further the Financial Fraud (Investigation, Prosecution, Recovery and Restoration of property) Bill, 2001 was introduced in Parliament to curb the menace of Bank Fraud. The Act was to prohibit, control, investigate financial frauds; recover and restore properties subject to such fraud; prosecute for causing financial fraud and matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
Under the said act the term Financial Fraud has been defined as under:
Section 512 – Financial Fraud
Financial frauds means and includes any of the following acts committed by a person or with his connivance, or by his agent, in his dealings with any bank or financial institution or any other entity holding public funds;
1. The suggestion, as a fact, of that which is not true, by one who does not believe it to be true;
2. The active concealment of a fact by one having knowledge or belief of the fact;
3. A promise made with out any intention of performing it;
4. Any other act fitted to deceive;
5. Any such act or omission as the law specially declares to be fraudulent.
Provided that whoever acquires, possesses or transfers any proceeds of financial fraud or enters into any transaction which is related to proceeds of fraud either directly or indirectly or conceals or aids in the concealment of the proceeds of financial fraud, commits financial fraud.
513(a) – Punishment for Financial Fraud
Whoever commits financial fraud shall be: (a) Punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term, which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine.
(b)Whoever commits serious financial fraud shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years but shall not be less than five years and shall also be liable for fine up to double the amount involved in such fraud.
Provided that in both (a) and (b) all funds, bank accounts and properties acquired using such funds subjected to the financial fraud as may reasonably be attributed by the investigating agency shall be recovered and restored to the rightful owner according to the procedure established by law.
CONCLUSION
The Indian Banking Industry has undergone tremendous growth since nationalization of 14 banks in the year 1969. There has an almost eight times increase in the bank branches from about 8000 during 1969 to mote than 60,000 belonging to 289 commercial banks, of which 66 banks are in private sector.
It was the result of two successive Committees on Computerization (Rangarajan Committee) that set the tone for computerization in India. While the first committee drew the blue print in 1983-84 for the mechanization and computerization in banking industry, the second committee set up in 1989 paved the way for integrated use of telecommunications and computers for applying technogical breakthroughs in banking sector.
However, with the spread of banking and banks, frauds have been on a constant increase. It could be a natural corollary to increase in the number of customers who are using banks these days. In the year 2000 alone we have lost Rs 673 crores in as many as 3,072 number of fraud cases. These are only reported figures. Though, this is 0.075% of Rs 8,96,696 crores of total deposits and 0.15% of Rs 4,44,125 crores of loans & advances, there are any numbers of cases that are not reported. There were nearly 65,800 bank branches of a total of 295 commercial banks in India as on June 30, 2001 reporting a total of nearly 3,072 bank fraud cases. This makes nearly 10.4 frauds per bank and roughly 0.47 frauds per branch.
An Expert Committee on Bank Frauds (Chairman: Dr.N.L.Mitra) submitted its Report to RBI in September 2001. The Committee examined and suggested both the preventive and curative aspects of bank frauds.
The important recommendations of the Committee include:
o A need for including financial fraud as a criminal offence;
o Amendments to the IPC by including a new chapter on financial fraud;
o Amendments to the Evidence Act to shift the burden of proof on the accused person;
o Special provision in the Cr. PC for properties involved in the Financial Fraud.
o Confiscating unlawful gains; and preventive measures including the development of Best Code Procedures by banks and financial institutions.
Thus it can be concluded that following measures should necessarily be adopted by the Ministry of Finance in order to reduce cases of Fraud.
o There must be a Special Court to try financial fraud cases of serious nature.
o The law should provide separate structural and recovery procedure. Every bank must have a domestic enquiry officer to enquire about the civil dimension of fraud.
o A fraud involving an amount of ten crore of rupees and above may be considered serious and be tried in the Special Court.
The Twenty-ninth Report of the Law Commission had dealt some categories of crimes one of which is “offences calculated to prevent and obstruct the economic development of the country and endanger its economic health.” Offences relating to Banking Fraud will fall under this category. The most important feature of such offences is that ordinarily they do not involve an individual direct victim. They are punishable because they harm the whole society. It is clear that money involved in Bank belongs to public. They deposit there whole life’ security in Banks and in case of Dacoity or Robbery in banks the public will be al lost. Thus it is important that sufficient efforts should be taken in this regard.
There exists a new kind of threat in cyber world. Writers are referring it as “Salami Attack” under this a special software is used for transferring the amount from the account of the individual. Hence the culprits of such crimes should be found quickly and should be given strict punishment. Moreover there is requirement of more number of IT professionals who will help in finding a solution against all these security threats.
Satellite Internet and Online Gaming: Does It Work?
Online gaming is one of the fastest growing trends in the world right now. With games such as Runescape boasting subscriber numbers of around a million and World of Warcraft exceeding 7 million active members, the total number of MMOG subscriptions is verging on the absurd, quickly approaching the 14 million mark worldwide[6/06, mmogchart.com]. This tremendous growth in the popularity of the online gaming industry has, in part, been fueled by the accessibility of high-speed broadband internet. A high-speed connection allows for a much more enjoyable game-play experience. Everyone knows that online games work exceptionally well on DSL and Cable internet connections, but what about the newer high-speed service satellite internet? As satellite internet is becoming more readily available and cost effective more and more rural dial-up customers are making the switch to cash in on the faster speeds and always on access. But, when it comes to online gaming many are concerned that their game-play experience will be less satisfactory, if they can even connect to play at all.
The reason for this concern is the issue of latency. Latency is an expression of how much time it takes for a packet of data to get from one designated point to another. This is direly important when it come to on-line gaming in that latency translates into the time that it takes from the moment that a button is pushed to when the action is performed in the game. Often this can mean the difference between life and death. With DSL and Cable the response time is almost immediate, being between 50milliseconds-150milliseconds. The latency for satellite internet is between 600milliseconds-800milliseconds. This may sound like the end of online gaming for someone who has just made the switch to satellite internet but it is not. Although this degree of latency does all but rule out first-person shooters there are a good number of MMOGs that operate well over a satellite internet connection. And, although the effects of latency can never be completely eliminated, there are ways in which to improve upon them. The simplest way to do this is by speeding up the way that one’s computer handles and responds to information being transferred through the connection and by increasing the total amount of available bandwidth. Some operating systems have built in reserves on bandwidth that are non-essential to the functionality of most web applications, see link for a tweak http://www.wildblue.cc/wbforums/showthread.php?t=3323 .
By eliminating non-essential services i.e. bandwidth hogs that the average user never utilizes and dedicating more physical resources to the most used application can help tremendously. Minimizing the effects of latency down to the bare minimum allowed by the laws of physics enables one to play more online gaming that was before not workable and also speeds up the responses of other games that already do work. So, although there are limitations to on-line gaming over satellite internet there are also ways to improve upon game-play responsiveness and many games that will play well without operating system tweaks. Below is a list of online games for both console and PC that, according to subscribers that have tested and played them, do and do not work over satellite internet. This is not a definitive list of games guaranteed to work, so be cautious as results may vary.
What Works
Xbox/Xbox360/PS2/Handheld Games:
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat(for me anyway doesn’t for some others)
Perfect Dark Zero
All Tony Hawk games
Mario Kart DS
Call of Duty 2
Medal of Honor: Rising Sun
Socom 3(mixed results)
Socom 2(so-so)
Nascar 06 total team control(works kinda)
Rainbow Six Series(Host boots for high ping usually, But CO-OP and 2 V 2 work well)
Splinter Cell: Double Agent
PC Games:
Runescape
Asheron’s Call
Everquest
Everquest 2
World of Warcraft
Star Wars Galaxies
Dark Age of Camelot
Roma Victor
Eve Online
Star Wars: Empire at War
Dungeon and Dragons online
Warcraft3
GuildWars
City of Heroes(very difficult to connect to the patch server..other than that it works fine)
Final Fantasy XI
Contract Jack
Auto Assault
Aces High Online flight sim
Trackmania
WarRock Beta
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Outcast
StarPeace
America’s Army
Red Orchestra
Diablo 2
Titan Quest
F.E.A.R.
Postal 2
What doesn’t work or is not enjoyable
Xbox/Xbox360/PS2/Handheld Games:
Far Cry Instincts Predator
Halo 2
NBA Live 2006
Quake 4
Prey Demo
Ratchet and Clank: Deadlocked
PC Games:
Star Craft
BattleField 2 Demo
Call of Duty 1&2
Battelfield2
Band of Brothers
C&C Generals
UT2004(playable..not enjoyable)
Ragnarok
Prey Demo
Civ 4
Battlefield 2142
Real Estate Management Fees
The property investor has decided to hire a management company to take care of their many properties. They interview several before making a decision on the company they will hire. There are many things they will be comparing, among them the real estate management fee the company charges. The investor needs to determine whether they want to pay a monthly percentage or a flat fee for the managers services.
Investors should look at more than the monthly fee they will be paying. Sometimes for a higher percentage you will receive more services. The cheaper rate of some managers does not include the extra fees charged. Find out if the advertising is included in the normal fee. Will they be charging each time they show the property to a potential client? Are their leasing fees on top of the management fees? The investor should read each companies contract to determine what is included in their real estate management fee .
A real estate management fee is charged based on a percentage of income collected with a minimum monthly base fee. Fees will often vary by the type and size of the property. Fees can be a flat rate for a single family home or 6 percent of the rental income for larger properties. Larger properties usually command a lower percentage rate (i.e., 2 percent) than a single family home that may be quoted up to10 percent. Fees are negotiated on a per property basis and depend on many factors including condition, location and size of the property, etc. Leasing and other auxiliary service fees are separate and in addition to the management fee.
The investor should ask what services cost extra. They should determine if evictions are an extra fee. The contract should state how and when the fee is collected. Will the investor be billed or is it deducted from your account? On a monthly or quarterly basis? Is there a cost to prepare the units for rent? And what is the typical cleaning fee on vacancies?
A management company performs many services for the investor. The company takes care of the daily activities of renting the property, collecting rents, accounting and monthly statements, hire contractors for services such as cleaning, groundskeepers and maintenance work as well as supervise any work. The real estate management fee the investor pays provides them with peace of mind.
The investor has interviewed several companies and found the fees are close in range with a few exceptions. They decide to further investigate each companys contract and references. By comparing all the services and getting good referrals, the investor can make an informed choice.
Interviewing the management company to determine the real estate management fee they charge is the first step to hiring a reliable company. The final cost the investor will pay the management company is determined by many things aside from the monthly fee. How well the company communicates with the investor and tenants, how they handle problems, their attention to detail in the leasing process and their ability to maintain the property in good condition all determine the investors final costs on each property.
Hiring a good management company helps the investor rent his property faster and provide preventative maintenance before problems become major repairs and expenses. The investor should look at more than the initial monthly fees when determining how much it will actually cost them if they go with the cheapest company.
Writing a Good Character Reference Letter For a Landlord
Writing a good character reference letter should not be a difficult task, although the mere suggestion of having to write one seems to strike fear into the heart of many. You may be asked to write one for someone if they are in the process of finding a new apartment to rent and the landlord requires one.
In the movies, landlords are sometimes portrayed as evil, greedy people with black hats and curly mustaches. This is not the case at all these days, as landlords must have the best interests of their tenants at heart in order to remain in business and out of the government’s watchful eye.
Landlords have a financial interest in their property and seeing to it that their apartments or homes remain fully occupied and the tenants are happy to live there. In order to do so, landlords try to screen their potential tenants in order to keep out the bad or troublesome renters. Rental applications ask a lot of questions that are constructed in order to gather enough information in order to decide if you, the potential renter, will be a good renter or a bad renter. In other words, the landlord is trying to reduce the risk of losing income by renting to the good renters more often than bad renters. In some cases, the landlord may request a character reference letter in order to further reduce the risk by gathering the independent opinion of a third party.
Character reference letters are usually written in support of an employment application or an apartment rental agreement, or lease. In any case, employer or landlord, the letter is intended to attest to the veracity of the person for whom the letter is written. In short, this means that the letter backs up the information provided on the applicant’s application form.
A good character reference letter is written around those areas that the landlord will consider important in making a decision about the applicant’s character. As a friend, you probably know that he or she always pays the rent on time, always cleans up after themselves, never disturbs the neighbors, and hasn’t ever had the utilities cut off for non-payment. It should be easy to write a number of short paragraphs about you friend’s social history to support their application. Be truthful and be honest when writing the letter. Never lie for a friend, no matter what! It will make your friend look bad and reflect directly back on you if your friend doesn’t live up to the rosy picture you have painted of them.
If you need some ideas of what you should write about it should be a simple matter to pick up a copy of the rental application. Look it over, picking out three or four areas that you know the most about and feel the most comfortable writing about. Begin with a short introductory paragraph describing how you know the person and for how long you have known them. Then delve into your knowledge about your friends past and hopefully good behaviors as it relates to the three or four areas you’ve selected. End your letter casually and with an invitation, or permission to contact you for further information if needed. Don’t forget to include your contact information.
With these guidelines in hand, you should be able to write a good character reference letter for a landlord or an employer. You may want to write a few drafts before keyboarding the final letter, which will be sure to help your friend obtain that much sought after apartment or job. When writing, always remember that the key to success when writing a good character reference letter is honesty.
Pump Maintenance and Repair for Pressure Washers
If you have a pressure washer business you will eventually need to change out or repair the pump. There are a few things you should know to make such change outs easy. You may also need to study up on preventative maintenance so that you do not have to worry about pump failure. Your pressure washer probably has one of two different pumps if it is industrial grade. Either a Cat Pump or a General pump; both are industry standards. General is the leader in the industry for sales and many prefer Cat as it sucks better from plastic water tanks.
Your pump is powered by two parallel belts connected to your engine. You should make sure not to starve your pump from water. When the water tank is empty turn off the engine. Starving a pump will burn it out in about thirty-five minutes. The manufacturer says five to ten minutes, but that’s not life threatening. Your pump has a safety feature whereby when you are not spraying the water, it will automatically by pass into the tank provided there is enough water for the complete loop. Thank you. We also thought it was one of our great ideas. You should change the oil in the pump every month. Make sure your pressure washer rig is on level ground and fill the pump to the red dot on the center of the eyeglass. Over filling is a really bad idea.
On your pump you will notice six large bolts. Inside of the holes are check valves with springs. After 300-500 hours you should change them. You can do this yourself. The valve kits are $60.000. It’s very easy:
Unscrew bolts
Remove old valve
Replace valve
Make sure to seat the valve evenly
Screw the bolt back in by hand
Make sure the O-ring on the bolt is snug
Tighten with wrench pretty tight
Inspecting The Pump
If you drain the oil and it’s got bubbles in it or has turned white, then you have a blown seal and water is getting into the oil because: It overheated due to water starvation; The casing cracked because of vibration; You forgot to change the oil, dummy ($600 mistake and one lost day’s work if you can get the parts that fast).
Check to see if the belts are tight. If not tighten them. Look for water drips. A slow drip on the exit side of the pump could cost you as much as 150 PSI at the nozzle. A fast drip (two to three drops per second) could be a 250-300 PSI loss at the nozzle. A steady drip stream might be a 500 plus PSI loss. When you see water leaking, fix the leak ASAP. Be sure to use ample Teflon tape when re-tightening fittings. This will stop future leaks, prevent rust and make fittings easy to separate in the future.
A hole in a hose or leak on the inlet side of the pump causes air to get in. The pump will act as if it’s starving for water. It might even pulsate. When the water level in your tank reaches a point below the leak in the hose, air will replace the water and you’ll get zero pressure. That makes it very hard to wash anything.
Low pressure in the pump can be caused by a number of things; these are by far the most common, but this is not a complete list, generally if you go through this list the problem will be solved, check the easiest things first such as water supply:
Faulty pressure gauge (Replace)
Out of water (Fill up tank)
Old or worn out tip at gun nozzle (Replace)
Incorrect tip (Remove and replace)
Belt slippage (Tighten belt)
Hose leaks (Fix leaks)
Faulty unloader (Replace)
Mis-adjusted unloader (Re-adjust)
Worn packing in pump (Take it to dealer)
Inline filter clogged with dirt (Clean it)
Obstruction in spray nozzle tip (Remove it)
Chemical metering valve sucking air (Turn it off)
Slow engine rpm (Check engine)
If you have a pulsating issue at the gun or the machine is Fluctuating pressure, this is a completely different problem than low pressure. You should check for: Worn piston packing (Call dealer). Pump sucking air (Fix hole), Blockage in valve (Remove, check valves and take out blockage). If it is fluctuating and very noisy or if your pump is only noisy check for:
Air in suction line (Check water supply and connections)
Broken or weak inlet or discharge valve springs (Call dealer)
Excessive matter in valves (Check and clean if necessary)
Worn bearings (Check and replace. If necessary, call dealer)
Vibrations from mounting (Tighten it. If unable, call dealer)
If you find the presence of water in the pump oil, it could be caused by: Blown pump head seals, High humidity in air (Change oil more often) or Piston packing worn then call your dealer. If water or oil drips from the bottom of the pump this could be a number of things such as Piston packing worn, the O-ring plunger retainer is worn, Oil seal worn, Pump head seal shot or Crack in pump head. If any of these call the dealer and see if they have the parts in stock, you may be able to fix it yourself if you feel confident, if not you will need to leave your machines with the dealer for repairs.
Pump lubrication should be done every three months or 500 hours, which ever comes first. Use SAE 40 weight oil or equivalent for Cat pumps. Use 20/30 weight non-detergent oil for General pumps. It should be hydraulic oil with anti-wear and rust inhibitor additives. The oil level should be checked by looking in the window on the side of the pump. Only fill oil half way to the red dot.
As a pressure washing contractor you must understand how to maintain and repair your equipment, think about it.
New Year’s Resolutions: Why They Fail, What You Can Do About It
Ah, yes. New Year’s Resolutions. It’s a tradition that invokes everything from delight to resignation, has a success rate akin to winning the lottery and has the power to launch feelings of guilt, failure, and dark humor in a flash. And yet every year, millions of people are drawn to the ritualistic hope of achieving some magical outcome as if, perhaps, FINALLY, we will triumph over a stubborn habit or fear that has resisted (clobbered, thrashed, walloped?) our most sincere efforts in years past.
But, alas, the annoying reality is that the payback for this year’s toil will probably be no different than last, or the one before that (sigh). Research over the years has concluded that about 80% of all New Year’s Resolutions are broken by January 31. If that resolution had something to do with health and fitness (working out, losing weight, quitting smoking, etc), 90% will be history by January 15th!! By the end of the year, less than 5% of us will have persevered with our resolutions intact. It’s easy to see why so many people don’t take this annual ritual serious to begin with. What’s up with all THAT?
Notwithstanding their diabolical reputation, New Year’s Resolutions can be a very positive resource. They can provide an opportunity for us to evaluate our progress in life, which is not a horrible idea. They can invigorate our lives with inspiring challenges and wonderful experiences to look forward to. Who says they have to be a drag? Just because things haven’t worked out well in the past with respect to your resolutions is no reason to assume they never will. And, just because you may have never considered New Year’s Resolutions as a wonderful mechanism for creating new and exciting outcomes, doesn’t mean it’s too late to start doing that.
Some people choose to approach this annual ritual with a degree of triviality and playfulness. Nothing at all wrong with that. In fact, it may be the perfect approach for many. So for those who prefer “Resolutions Lite”, I’ve got some great suggestions later in this article. And for those who really do long for a triumphant breakthrough in some area of life, I have some suggestions on how to give your resolutions a fighting chance this year.
Why New Year’s Resolutions Fail
Simply put, if our lives and actions were conducive to producing a particular result, we would probably produce it, especially if it was important to us. Our brains are wired in such a way that certain behaviors keep repeating themselves, which in turn produces results that are consistent with those behaviors. Trying to change a behavior without working on the “wiring” is like trying to convince yourself to drink buttermilk when the very thought of it makes you want to puke. Let’s face it, if you hate working out at the gym, then buying a three-year contract at your local fitness center in hopes that it will somehow shame you into working off that beer gut is nuts! (Something you may have learned from painful experience.)
The starting point to being successful at ANYTHING in life, including resolutions, is your expectations. Whether or not you expect to accomplish something will decisively impact whether or not you do. Expectations cause two things to happen. First, they stimulate actions that are consistent with the expectation. Outcomes are then produced which are consistent with those actions. And second, expectations inspire a particular quality of conversations. The surrounding environment (friends, family, co-workers, acquaintances, etc.) begins to respond to those conversations, and that environment takes actions and produces outcomes that are consistent with those conversations.
For example, if you are confident that you can replace the leaky faucet in the bathroom, even though you’ve never done it before, your attitude will be positive and your actions will have a quality about them that produces results. You’re likely to stick with those actions long enough, and learn what you need to learn, to get those results. You will find people who can help you and you will learn from them. If you stick with it, your environment will come to know you as someone who can figure things out, or at least, someone who can fix faucets. The next time a faucet leaks, or a door squeaks, you’ll be inclined to build on your previous triumph and take a crack at something new.
On the other hand, if you don’t think you can fix the faucet because you don’t how, or you think it’s not worth it to try, then your attitude, thinking and enthusiasm will be much more limited. Your actions will be half-hearted and you probably won’t stick with it for very long even if you do start. People won’t take you seriously, and may even decline to support or participate in your efforts. In the end, you’ll produce a result that reflects all of these factors. In this case, you won’t fix the faucet and you will be less likely to attempt similar projects in the future. Substitute the example of “fixing the faucet” with “losing weight”, saving money”, “writing a book”, “falling in love”… well, you get the picture. The nature of expectations is that they determine what action we will take and the quality of that action. The expectation itself will be a dominant force in determining the outcome.
And that’s what makes New Year’s Resolutions so vexing for most of us. Regardless of what we say we want, or how badly we want it, or how sincere or determined we are, the “reality” for each of us is that we expect to do the same things we’ve always done, with the hopeful chance of some improvement. The trick to busting out of this Resolutions cycle is to find a way to think outside your expectations, because if you don’t do that, no amount of strategizing or goal-setting is going to make much difference. It isn’t an overnight process, but there are some steps you can take that can get you headed in the right direction.
Resolutions Lite
About 10 years ago, I considered resolutions to be a waste of time. As much out of frustration as anything I decided to resolve something that I was absolutely certain I could accomplish – I was going to visit a new restaurant at least once a month. I had so much fun with it that I renewed it for two more years. I next decided that I was going to attend a musical concert each month for an artist I had never seen before. THAT WAS A GREAT YEAR! I looked forward to keeping my resolution every month. And here’s a very important point – the quality of my life experience increased simply by keeping that “lite” resolution. Subsequent resolutions included buying a new kind of wine once a month, and reading a magazine that I’d never read. I came to see myself as someone who knows and appreciates good food, music and wine. I also came to understand that I was talented enough, and resourceful enough, to conquer new challenges. Guess what that can do for your self-esteem?
Three years ago I upped the ante on myself and resolved to visit the Caribbean four times a year, which was a real expansion, but one I was salivating over it. Bingo! I loved it so much that I figured the only thing that would make it better was if someone else was paying for it! Two projects arose from that realization. I’ve designed a 7-day course on getting what you want in life that will be delivered aboard a cruise ship beginning in 2007. And second, I am co-writing a series of books with a travel-agent friend that details what you need to know if you are going to take a cruise to the Caribbean. The first one goes on sale in January, 2007. Woo Hoo!
Over the past ten years, as I “accomplished” each of my lite resolutions, I automatically expanded my point of view. Ten years ago, it was inconceivable for me to imagine that I would write a book about cruising to the Caribbean. But as I took each successive step, my expectations about my ability to achieve success expanded and became more deeply entrenched. While the decision to write a book about the Caribbean, or design a program aboard a cruise ship, would have seemed gargantuan several years ago, by the time I actually declared that resolution, it wasn’t such a big step at all. Indeed, it was a logical and natural progression.
Of course, this path takes time and one never knows for sure where it will ultimately lead, so it isn’t well suited for producing a specific result in the short term. But, if you employ this strategy, you will be amazed at how your expectations of yourself develop. After that, who knows what you can accomplish, including those pesky resolutions that have kicked your butt in the past. So, if your inclination is to take the leisurely path that celebrates the fun of life, then by all means, choose this one and follow it enthusiastically. Make your Resolution something that you will look forward to all year long. Take up painting pottery, visit a museum once a month, volunteer for a charity or send unsolicited post cards for no reason at all. The palette of possibilities is unlimited. And the payoff is magical.
Earnest Resolutions
If this is the path you choose, then by all means, read my free e-book listed at the end of this article. This path could be challenging, and not without risk. But, you weren’t born to sit safely on the sidelines, content to accept whatever you get. One of our greatest human assets is the capacity to dare greatly against the odds. Sure, you sometimes get your ass kicked, but you’ll never be mistaken for a flat tire on the side of the road!
“The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly. His place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” -Theodore Roosevelt
Here are a few guidelines that could have this year turn out to be the most amazing year of your life.
1. Ask yourself why you want this particular resolution to come true.
Modern day philosopher Phillipa Foot points out that “…the wise man knows the means to certain good ends; and secondly, he knows how much particular ends are worth.” Some pursuits are more worthwhile than others. Is your resolution worthwhile, or is it trivial? The wise person understands the folly of shallow obsessions like material wealth, personal power, perfect bodies, or making points with the boss. If money, power, beauty, fine houses and perfect bodies were the ultimate keys to happiness, then every millionaire athlete or pop star or “Top 100 Sexiest (whatever)” would be supremely happy and every farmer, school teacher and massage therapist would be abjectly miserable.
2. If your life was set up to support you in having the outcome you want, you probably would already have it.
Since you don’t, it’s a safe bet that you’re not really committed to having it. I’m not suggesting that you are deceiving yourself, (though that is possible), but you may be committed to something else more and you just don’t know it. That being the case, it would be a really good idea to determine whether or not you’re committed to this thing you want or if you are just interested in it. READ MY E-BOOK AND LEARN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEING COMMITTED AND BEING INTERESTED. Ultimately, you will always fulfill your commitments! That’s an energy worth harnessing if you ask me.
3. Stop looking outside yourself for why you don’t have what you want.
Instead, take an honest look INSIDE – at your expectations. You probably have one of three beliefs, or expectations: 1) you don’t deserve what you want, 2) you aren’t really capable of getting what you want or 3) you don’t really think it’s worth what it would take. Your results have very little to do with circumstances or other people’s actions. It’s your expectations that are undermining your efforts. You just haven’t been aware of how that works (until now.)
4. Retrain your environment, friends and family to support your resolution.
Whenever you’re not getting the result you want, you have structures in your life that are sabotaging your efforts. By “structures” I mean, you’ve spent years, maybe decades, designing your life and training the people in your life to operate in a particular way. That way of operating does NOT include having this particular outcome. It isn’t necessarily opposed to it either. It takes work to convince your spouse, kids or boss to make room for a new commitment, but don’t count on anything being different if you don’t handle this first.
5. Choose the meaningful path for yourself.
Stop having your life be defined solely by your accomplishments. What are you contributing to others? What are you creating? When you’re 100 years old, you’re not going to care if your hair, or your wardrobe, or your car was perfect all those years. I’ve asked dozens of senior citizens what they regretted about their lives and what they loved. Every one of them said they regretted not being true to their own counsel and loved it when they experienced life on their terms. Those that were really happy also said that they had experienced true love. I think they know something. We should listen.
In the end, New Year’s resolutions will continue to be a challenge for many of us. Along the way, you become whatever your choices are. If you choose mediocrity and safety, you become mediocre and safe. You can either choose to be defined by your expectations, or you can choose to be defined by your inspirations. When you choose the inspiring path, what you end up with and how long it takes to get it, doesn’t matter. Isn’t it time to stop having your life be about “success” and start having it be about discovery and inspiration?
Grovers Disease Can Be Treated With Various Protocols Depending On The Severity Of The Condition
Grovers disease is a fairly common ailment, primarily occurring in men over 50. While it is generally not serious, it can make those affected seriously uncomfortable. If you are one of the many people who suffer from the symptoms of Grovers disease, there is no need to live with the discomfort. You can get relief fairly easily with a range of topical medications. The first step, as with any illness, is to consult with your doctor and get a definitive diagnosis.
A skin irritation of unknown cause, Grovers generally causes a series of small, round, red growths on the mid-chest and back. Occasionally, the growths will also occur on the thighs and arms. While the growths are not dangerous, they can be extremely itchy. While Grovers disease treatments do exist, there is no known cure. It will usually run its course in six to twelve months, but it can reoccur, sometimes seasonally.
Once your doctor has definitively diagnosed Grovers disease, you can begin treatment with any of several methods. Minor cases can usually be treated with a topical corticosteroid or cortisone cream. These medicines will both reduce inflammation and ease itching, however they shouldn’t be applied too liberally as excess moisture can exacerbate symptoms. If these methods don’t work, your doctor can prescribe accutane or tetracycline pills. Taken over a course of one to three months, these pills will attack the rash from the inside out, causing it to dry out and fade.
If lesser treatment options are not successful, or for more serious cases, your doctor may decide to use UVB phototherapy. While it can be effective in some cases, phototherapy is one of the more rarely used Grovers disease treatments. As many Grovers patients also suffer from extreme sun exposure, phototherapy can cause further damage. For this reason, most doctors will use this particular treatment sparingly.
Other treatments for Grovers disease include antifungal pills and cortisone shots. While the cause of Grovers is not known, most illness resulting in a rash are fungal in origin, thus the use of antifungal pills can help to clear the rash and ease itching. Cortisone is a strong anti-itch medication which is usually effective when applied topically, but in severe cases it may be necessary to introduce cortisone directly into the bloodstream to fight itching and irritation.
One of the most important Grovers disease treatments is to keep the skin dry and avoid any activity which may cause you to sweat. Sweating usually further irritates affected skin and could result in complications such as developing dermatitis. While sweating is known to exacerbate Grovers, it is also more common for patients to experience outbreaks in the winter, rather than the warmer summer months. The reason for this is not known, but it could have to do with sensitivity to temperature extremes of any kind.
As with any illness, the most important step in treating Grovers disease is to see your doctor. Rashes can be caused by many different ailments and it is extremely important that you know exactly what you are dealing with before you try to treat any rash. Once your doctor has diagnosed Grovers, you can begin a course of treatment and you will be better equipped to recognize the symptoms and avoid any complications in the future.
Though it can be frustrating and uncomfortable, Grovers disease does not have to stop you from leading a full, enjoyable life. See your doctor at the first sign of itching or rash and find out which treatments will work best for you. Before you know it, you’ll be looking and feeling better and living every day of your life itch free!
How To Become A Pharmacist
Many students these days are pursuing a career in pharmacy. And I can’t blame them. Some advantages of becoming a pharmacist are:
1) Starting salary can be anywhere from $75,000 to $150,000 depending on location and need
2) A pharmacist’s work schedules are flexible. You can work 7 on and 7 off, work during the evenings or work the usual 9-5 job
3) You will come out with less debt compared to other health professional schools.
4) You can become a fully-fledge licensed pharmacist in your early 20s and do not have to complete a residency
5) You won’t have to deal with blood
There are many other advantages to becoming a pharmacist. Above are just a handful of them.
Now, how can you become a pharmacist?
If you are in high school and are interested in pharmacy school, I recommend that you take a look at a few 0-6 years program schools. This program works this way. The high school student applies into this program. As long as the students get the minimum grade point average (GPA) and SAT scores they should be able to get into the program. An interview may be required at some schools, so please check with each individual school. After 2 years of pre-requisite coursework with high marks, the student then proceed into the pharmacy school, where they complete either 3 or 4 years of pharmacy school coursework. Once completed, the student can opt to a 1 year residency or could go out and practice pharmacy immediately.
The shortest 0-6 years program school is University of the Pacific’s (UOP) School of Pharmacy located in Stockton, CA. They offer a program that is as short as 5 years.
Below are some schools that offer 0-6 year programs:
Albany College of Pharmacy, Duquesne University, Florida A & M University, Hampton University Massachusetts – Boston, Northeastern University, Ohio Northern University, Philadelphia, Rutgers University, St. John’s University, St. Louis College of Pharmacy, University of Connecticut, University of Findlay, University of Missouri at Kansas City, University of Rhode Island, University of Texas at Austin, University of the Pacific and University of Pittsburgh
Now if you are a college student or non-traditional student, the road to becoming a pharmacist is similar to a high school student. Basically, you’ll need to complete the pharmacy school requirements, take the Pharmacy College Admissions Test (PCAT – if appropriate) and apply to the pharmacy school of your choice. There are many roadblocks that a student who are applying to pharmacy school may face. These questions include: How do I prepare myself to apply to pharmacy school? What should I major in? What extracurricular activities should I be involved in? Do I need to graduate with a bachelor’s degree? Etc.
How To Get Into Pharmacy School ebook will show you how one student got into the pharmacy school of his choice within 4 short months after applying.
After graduating from pharmacy school, the student is now a fully-fledged pharmacist and only after becoming licensed, by taking the required test for the state the student is interested in practicing in, then he or she can begin working as a pharmacist.
As a pharmacist, you must renew your licensure every 2 years. This licensure process requires the pharmacist to take 30 units of Continuing Education (CE) classes either online or by signing up for a class. Other than this, the pharmacist can enjoy his or her career in the field of pharmacy.
What is Job Costing?
Here is a fact that will surprise few contractors: Construction is the highest risk industry in the US economy. There are more business failures in construction than any other industry, both in number and as a percentage. The reason for this gloomy statistic is the reality that most contractors fail to monitor construction costs, so they get out of control. Before the contractor knows it, a job has lost money and the business has deteriorated toward insolvency. If things are not turned around, the owner’s home is soon being foreclosed on and another marriage ends up in divorce court. It’s ugly!
Here is a real life example, with a twist. A contractor had just finished a job that he bid with a $100,000 built-in profit. He complained that when he paid the last bill, instead of making $100,000, he had lost $120,000. He was fortunate that this $220,000 swing would not cause his business to fail. His big concern was the reality that he had no idea where things went wrong, so he didn’t know what to fix!
In response to this risk, some contractors reason that the best solution is to keep their business small, thereby reducing the risk of failure. Surprisingly, the same study that documented how risky construction was (done by the US Small Business Administration) also concluded that staying small actually increased the odds that a contractor would fail. In fact, of all the industries in the study, the one that benefited most by growth was construction!
How can a contractor monitor costs AND grow, thereby increasing the chance for success? The answer is to use job costing. There is an old axiom, “Use the right tool for the job.” When it comes to construction, the right tool for accounting is job costing. That is why contractors need it.
Now, we get to the heart of the question. What exactly is job costing? Job costing is a special accounting process that was designed specifically for contractors. It’s nothing mysterious and it doesn’t require a high-priced accountant or high-priced software. It is simple a two-step process. The first step is to set up a job and enter a “budget” for that job. Where does the budget come from? The budget is nothing more than the “estimate” that was created by the estimator when this marvelous visionary calculated the expected costs for the job, line by line, phase by phase, from start to finish, for the job. Logically, an estimate is not a single figure, but a series of small estimates, each covering a different phase of the job. For instance, how much concrete at what cost per yard will it take for the foundation? How many hours of labor, at what cost per hour to prepare and then pour the foundation? What will the costs be for subcontractors, if any? Will it be necessary to rent some equipment, like a concrete pump, and what will it cost?
Each phase of each job has a potential budget for labor, material, subcontracts, equipment, and a general, catch-all “other” category. In addition, there may be a “burden” category, which adds a portion of general and administrative overhead to each job, thereby spreading the whole cost of operation back to each job. This is a powerful way to determine if each job is carrying its share of the load.
In actual practice, setting up a budget is not as complicated as it might sound. Estimators do it all of the time. In fact, the Construction Specification Institute (CSI) created a numbering system to help contractors budget and track costs. This numbering system is called the CSI Cost Code. This is a tool created specifically for contractors to help them do job costing.
The next step is nothing special. In fact, the accountant does what the accountant always does: Enter vendor invoices and subcontractor billings, enter payroll, and do customer billings as usual. As costs are “accrued,” they are tracked. “Accrual accounting” recognizes an expense as soon as it is incurred, not waiting until it is paid. With job costing software, it is not necessary to actually pay an invoice or a payroll for that cost to be included. The fundamental difference in job costing is that as each cost is entered, it is assigned to one of the CSI cost codes for one of the jobs. The result is that individual actual costs are compiled and compared to individual budgeted costs. True job costing software will actually go one step further and forecast the “cost to complete” for each cost code, based on a series of “algorithms.” If a contractor uses “field reports” that show what remains to be done on each phase of each job, job costing software can override the algorithms and add those numbers to actual “costs-to-date” and then compare them to the budgeted costs, line by line, phase by phase, job by job. The result is up-to-the-minute cost information. That means contractors can sleep well at night, knowing that they are making money as the job progresses. They never have to wait until the job is completed to see if there is anything “left over” for them. Job costing provides peace of mind to contractors.
If a contractor is using job costing software and actual costs get out of line, there is time to find out why. This should be an ongoing process, not done after the fact. Was the contractor double billed? Was an invoice double-paid? Was more work done than was originally budgeted? Is a change order necessary? Only by knowing that costs are out of line can management address the causes on a timely basis. Job costing allows management to monitor and thereby control costs. The result is reduced risk, increased profitability, and something sweet, something called “success.” Job costing is more than a tool that contractors need in order to avoid becoming a statistic; it is the key to their success. Perhaps it is bold, but one accountant said, “Contractors that don’t use job costing are either lucky or bankrupt, and no one likes to hang their future on luck!”
Yes, the professionals are right; contractors NEED to use job costing. Taking that a step further, they need to use REAL job costing software to do it right.