An analysis of the United Arab Emirates banking sector Research Paper

An analysis of the United Arab Emirates banking sector - Research Paper Example In the present day context, the role played by the UAE banking sector can be observed as quite significant for the country’s elevating economic growth rate, both in the micro and macro environments. The banking sector of UAE offers a range of financial products and services targeting both the domestic group of customers and the international clients. Additionally, the recent banking scenario of the country has been witnessed to experience an increasing competition owing to enhanced product innovation requirements and availability of various substitute products/services (Arab News, 2012). Concerning the recent alterations of the industry scenario owing to the impact of the recent global financial turmoil, continuous influence of globalization and altering customer preferences, it can be assumed that the strategies considered by the banks in UAE have changed dramatically towards gaining better flexibility, competency and sustainability. With this concern, the discussion of this report will be focused on comparing two major banking corporations operating in UAE, i.e. Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) and Commercial Bank International (CBI). Hereby, the discussion will emphasize on five most common banking services, i.e. savings account, travel loans, car loans, education loans as well as home or construction loans to comprehensively explain the differences in both the banks’ strategies. Comparison between Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) and Commercial Bank International (CBI) Savings Account The banking corporations have been highly focused on delivering a range of financial products and services to an extended number of consumers in order to provide financial benefits. With this concern, the services rendered by today’s banking industry through savings account has been one of the common and most successful services to gain customer satisfaction by dealing with the client’s deposit amounts. The service is also identified to facilitate the cus tomers in obtaining a security assurance of the deposited balance providing the partial benefits of a fixed account along with the benefits of a current account to withdraw any specific amount at frequent intervals through an easier transaction process (Ayub, 2008). GhinaSaving Account (ADIB) In the context of ADIB, the banking institution focuses on offering effective and beneficial services for the clients. Ghina’s savings account service offers secure and safe access to the account by the authorized person in terms of making any transactions. To open Ghina saving account, the customer must deposit minimum of AED 20,000 and directly the customer will receive a welcome entry coupon (electronic coupon). The electronic coupon will enter the client to two monthly draws of AED 10,000 prizes to 20 winners which held on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month. After collecting four coupons the customer will be able to enter the grand draw of AED 2 million and AED 500,000 every fou r months. The client can receive extra electronic coupon for every deposit of AED 20,000 and maintain it for a calendar month. If the account balance is less than 20,000 the customer will lose all his coupons. The profit on Ghina saving acc

The Ford 2000 Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Ford 2000 Plan - Essay Example For the IT department, it meant sweeping changes. Standardizing software throughout the global business would most certainly improve communication abilities. Everyone would be using the same tools and thus, speaking the same language, at least in computer terms. I could see that updating and maintenance of such a system from a centralized IT command would surely cut costs in the long run. Emphasis would be shifted from developing specialized software to using software largely developed by other companies that were actually in the software business. Ford would concentrate on developing vehicles, not software. I thought it was a smart plan. Yet, from news reports, now 6 years later, I knew The Plan had failed. Ford continued to lose money. Massive layoffs and plant closings were in store (Durbin 1). I did not know what went wrong. Then I located 2002 interview with James Buczkowski, Director of IT for Manufacturing and Supply Chain at Ford (Ricciuti). Buczkowski makes it clear, as any department head would, that he would like more money directed toward his operations. That being said, he accepts the fact that he is being asked to "do more with less" and operate with a "back to basics" mentality (Ricciuti Para. 1). That means cutting back on things like web site design and emphasizing modalities that help design and build better vehicles in a more cost-efficient manner. He plans to invest in more CAD and CAM. He is to concentrate on projects that will directly increase the company's bottom line, either through more efficient manufacturing or through decreased design/build costs. The director points out another area of concern: lack of IT skills within the company. With the advent of The Ford 2000 Plan, many IT functions were outsourced. This caused a decline in the IT skill-levels available from employees. "We're trying to rebuild some of those skills where we were maybe a little too leveraged on outside (sources). We need much more skill and competency internally" (Quest. 6). As any politically correct corporate officer would, Buczkowski chooses to focus on the future, rather than publicly analyze shortcomings of the past. It is clear, however, that money was spent on technologies that did not add to the profitability of the company, like web site design, and that by outsourcing software design, in-house capabilities were lost. He sees integration of various software applications to be a continuing challenge. "As more applications integrate, you have an environment that is more challenging to manage" (Quest. 16). Buczkowski wants to see a modular approach so that applications may be plugged into the system and later unplugged, replaced as needed with newer, better application modules. In summary, I think The Ford 2000 Plan went wrong in the following ways. First, standardization and integration of "off-the-shelf" software was a bust. It did not provide the flexibility needed to design unique, quality products. It was an over-simplification of a complex need. Second, in its attempt to simplify, it lost the skills needed to change course when the simplification did not work. As this article relates to Systems Thinking and the examination of complexity, I see IT as a provider of tools. The best tools in the world are not good enough if they are so complex that no one knows how to use them or communicate the fruits of their labor to the rest of the company. If the