Ottoman Architecture: A Travel Through Time Essay

The Ottomans are among the great builders in history. Their architecture is basically focused on the building of mosques which were not only meant for religious purposes but also to undertake social functions. Among the architects who built a name in the Ottoman empire is Sinan, the imperial architect. As the head architect of the Ottoman empire during Sultan Suleyman’s reign, he designed mosques that exemplified beauty and grace. He derived his inspiration from the Byzantine Empire’s Hagia Sophia. The paper contains a discussion of the development of Ottoman architecture. It traces the roots of the Ottoman craft from Iznik tiles and moves on to the classical period or the golden age Ottoman architecture, the period of Western influence, the revival of 14th and 15th century designs and the trends that affected 19th century Ottoman architecture. It also elaborates on the prevalent designs during these periods and how they were achieved. At the end of the paper, there is a short discussion of the Byzantine cistern, the Yerebatan Sarnici or the sinking palace. Ottoman Architecture: A Travel Through Time The Ottoman Empire is considered as one of the greatest and most powerful civilizations that thrived in the modern period, encompassing the early fourteenth century lasting into the twentieth century. The empire’s moment of glory in the sixteenth century represents one of the heights of human optimism, artistry and creativity. They built the â€Å"largest and most influential Muslim empires of the modern world†,influencing the Muslim world as well and Europe in their military expansions (Hooker, 1996). There are two sources of Ottoman architecture: the development of new architectural forms in Anatolia, particularly Manisa, Iznik, Bursa and Seeuk during the 14th and 15th centuries and Christian art (Telerama, n. d. ). The early Ottoman period which started in the 14th century was the peak of Turkish architecture. During this period Ottoman art was in search for new ideas to form a certain style it can call its own. In this quest for its own identity, single-domed, tiered and sublime-angled mosques were given birth (Sansal, 2008). Many arts were also developed during this period such as the production of Iznik tiles, used in decorating mosques and other buildings. Artists from Tabriz introduced to the Ottoman empire the technique of creating the tiles. According to Goodwin (cited in Telerama, n. d. ), the floral motifs of Iznik tiles were utilized to symbolize a common motif of Islamic art—paradise garden. From Iznik tiles, Ottoman architecture gradually developed to give way to the classical architectural style or the of the â€Å"era of the domes†. This period started when the Ottoman empire captured Constantinople, the seat of eastern Christendom and making it its capital. It is here where they introduced various innovations in the arts and architecture. The Ottoman rule in Constantinople led to the transformation of the great Byzantine church, the Hagia Sophia, to an imperial mosque. This architectural became the source of inspiration of the Ottoman architects (Yalman, n. d. ). The Great Mosque or the Ulu Cami which was built in Bursa is the first Seljuk mosque that was converted into a dome. During this period, the building of Christian churches and the renovation of those in disrepair was prohibited by the Ottomans. The Ottoman rulers only tolerated the building of mosques for their Muslim faith. During this period, the plans of the mosques included inner and outward courtyards. The inner courtyard is inseparable from the mosque. More than just a place of worship, mosques during the Ottoman period were looked upon by society as an interconnection of city planning and communal life. As evident in the pictures of structures during this period, beside the mosque were soup kitchens, hospitals, theological schools, Turkish baths and tombs (Sansal, 2008). The architectural style during the late 14th and 15th centuries illustrate mosques with a large dome on a drum over a prayer hall that has a rectangular shape. Others include mosques with two domes in a single line. Steirlin said that â€Å"the two main domes, set one behind the other, are the distinguishing feature of a form of mosque that prevailed in the Ottoman world (cited in Telerama, n. d. ). Mehmed II, sixth successor to the Ottoman throne, ascended the Ottoman throne in 1444, ending his reign in 1481. During his rule, he introduced an ambitious rebuilding program for the empire. He tasked his architects to construct palaces and mosques, where the people could hold spiritual and social activities. Among the notable structures built during this period were the Old palace, the Topkapi palace and Fatih complex (Yalman, n. d. ). The Topkapi palace, built in 1478, served as the home of the sultans and the center of the Ottoman government for four hundred years. Being the seat of power for a long time, the original design of the palace changed through time. The architects during this period drew inspiration from Byzantine, Turkic and Perso-Islamic artistic repertoires. Aside from these art forms, the Ottoman architects were also swayed by Renaissance art. Mehmed II was fascinated with the development of art in western Europe as well as Iranian art. As a result thereof, European and Iranian artists infiltrated the Ottoman court and affected the kind of art and structures that were built during this period (Yalman, n. d. ). However, Mehmed II’s building programs only indicated the start of the flourishing of art and architecture in the Ottoman society. The Ottoman empire reached its zenith of splendor and power during the reign of Sultan Suleyman I, also known as â€Å"The Magnificent†. Being an avid fan of the arts and architecture, Ottoman architecture also began to take shape during his rule. Sinan, his architect, dominated Ottoman art. He patterned the structures that he built after Byzantine traditions and derived great influence from Hagia Sophia (MSN Encarta Online Encyclopedia, 2008). Mosques and religious complexes were built by Sinan and hundreds of public buildings were erected throughout the Ottoman empire. These buildings contributed to the dissemination and flourishing of Ottoman culture to the world (Yalman, n. d. ). Sinan built more than 300 structures in the Ottoman empire. He constructed at least 120 buildings in Constantinople and another 200 widely scattered across the empire. As the imperial architect, he took Ottoman architecture to new heights of style and grace (Whiting, 2000). Among the famous structures that he built were the following: the Sehzade kulliye (1548), and the Suleyman kulliye (after 1550) and his masterpiece, the Selim mosque at Edrine, Tur (1569-1575). These buildings reflect clarity and logic in plan and elevation. Every part was intended for a purpose and contributes to the whole structure, no unnecessary element was added. The central feature of architecture during the reign of Sinan is the dome; everything that was added to the building should complement and subordinate it. A cascade of descending half domes buttresses and vaults as well as open spaces were the prevalent designs during this period. The masterpieces which Sinan created was â€Å"the final perfection of two great traditions: a stylistic and aesthetic tradition that had been indigenous to Istanbul since the construction of the Byzantine church of Hagia Sophia in the 6th century and the other Islamic tradition of domical construction dating to the 10th century† (The Ottomans, 2002). The simple yet aesthetic touch that Ottoman architects exhibited in their craft is due to their military training. Sinan and other Ottoman architects were initially trained to be military engineers (The Ottomans, 2002). Sinan was the chief architect of the Ottoman empire. He drew his inspiration from the Hagia Sophia, a 1000 year old Christian Basilica of the Byzantine empire. In creating his masterpiece, the Suleymaniye Mosque (1550-57) in Istanbul, he achieved the effect of light through the use of 138 arched windows. He also used a rich marble sheathing and stalactite decorations. Sinan also adopted the design of Hagia Sophia, adding a little twist. Instead of a central-domed square with two flanking half domes, he created a complete square and surmounted it with a big central dome which he set on a high drum and ringed it with smaller domes with minarets on the corners of the small domes (MSN Encarta online encyclopedia, 2008). The mosque which Sinan built was more than just a mosque—it was a complex of buildings housing baths, soup kitchens, schools and shops. The innovation that he introduced to the design of the Hagia Sophia eliminated the use of columns; thus, there are no obstructions to view, light and air (Roberson, 1998). Windows, domes and arches dominated the 16th and 17th century Ottoman architecture. The Sinan style architecture emphasizes unity and coordination. No matter how small a part is, it is not neglected hence the architect sees to it that its design compliments with the whole. During this period, Ottoman architecture played a greater role than just building structures. The proliferation of building mosques and other edifice defined Ottoman power. The imperial architects followed a centralized design and implemented this throughout the empire. They also followed a standardized architecture to â€Å"Ottomanize the formerly Mamluk territories†. However, the architectural designs that were prevalent in the provinces did not exactly copy the architectural designs of structures in the capital of the empire. The designs in the rural areas had to conform with the available materials and skilled labor. The structures which were patronized by the provinces were the fountains, avanserais and building complexes which transformed the functions of the cities. Most of the mosques also exhibited hemisphirical domes and pencil-shaped minarets (Zeitlian, 2004). According to Baer (1989, p. 687), the highly articulated exteriors of Ottoman architecture reversed the standard Islamic preference in mosques which is to stress the interior at the expense of the exterior. However, the greatness of Ottoman architecture’s Golden Age waned in the 18th century, when architects deviated from classical architectural principles and adopted European styles. Baroque, Ampir and Rococo styles as well as excessive Western decorations influenced the architecture of the period. Fountains also proliferated the structures that were then built (Sansal, 2008). Sinan’s influence to Ottoman architecture almost disappeared in the 19th century. During this period, Abdul Aziz and Sultan Abdulhamit II and other architects began to search for an international identity of Ottoman architecture. In their quest for this identity, the architects did not look back to the classic Ottoman architecture of Sinan but to earlier architectural styles—the 14th and 15th century style in Turkey, 12th to 14th century styles in Andalusia particularly Seville and Granada in Spain and the 17th and 18th century styles in Moghul India. The innovations that 19th century architects introduced were more evident in the interior rather than the exteriors, which remained to be influenced by the West. They maintained an outward acceptance of western traditions and culture but kept the core and the heart of their craft to Islamic traditions. The prevalence of this kind of art exemplifies not just a simple act of change, but an indication of the empire’s visions. The Ottoman rulers in the second half of the 19th century stressed their leadership of the Sunni Muslims worldwide, thus the need to adopt foreign architectural styles and infusing it with Islamic traditions. The style that prevailed during this period is known as the new Ottoman Caliphal Islamic style. This style employed carved and painted woods with Kufi calligraphy, onion domes, horseshoe arches, towers and finials, use of flat areas of low relief and an exterior style of tile work (Duggan, 2002). According to Kuban (2001), the 19th century Ottoman architecture was not only limited to the erection of mosques. This period also gave way for the building of churches; however, literature delving on this century of Ottoman architecture fail to touch this topic. Ottoman architecture remained to be Muslim from the capture of Constantinople until the 18th century. During this period, the renovation and building of Christian churches was prohibited. Thus, no development on church architecture emerged. However, this rule changed by the end of the 18th century when legal and social rights were given to non-Muslims. By the 19th century, churches were built, some of them even adopting the styles that were employed in mosques such as the archs which were evident on the church’s interior. However, before growth of Ottoman architecture in Constantinople, the city already housed great architectural works. Aside from the famous Hagia Sophia, a beautiful architectural piece by itself, the Basilica cistern was built. It is located about south-west of the famous Hagia Sophia and served as one of the historical structures of Istanbul. This cistern contained a great number of marble columns that arose out of the water, thus the name â€Å"sinking palace†. The cistern was built during the rule of Emperor Justinianus. It is believed that seven thousand slaves worked on the cistern. The water that placed on such cistern came from the Egrikap? Water Distribution Centre in Belgrade Forest. The plan for the cistern was created by a group of German divers. Within the cistern are 336 columns which reflect the corinth and dor types, are nine meters high and are arranged in 12 rows. The support for the ceiling are cross shaped vaults and round arches. Since its foundation, the cistern has undergone numerous reparations and restorations. The cistern which can hold up to 100,000 tons of water, provided the water utilized in the palace of the Byzantine empire. During the conquest of the Ottomans, the cistern supplied water to the Topkapi palace. However, after the Ottomans have established their own water facilities, they ceased using the cistern as they preferred to use running water rather than still water. The cistern remained to be a secret from the west until the discovery by Dutch traveler who was studying the remains of the Byzantine empire. The cistern was transformed into a museum after undergoing reparations and restorations from 1985 to 1987. The cistern again went through deep cleaning in 1994 (Yerebatan Sarnici, n. d. ). Despite the numerous years that passed, the influences of Ottoman architecture still remain to be a source of awe and inspiration in the erection of buildings. The functional designs of Sinan, the employment of numerous windows to allow more air and light to circulate and the elimination of the use of too much columns in a structure to give more emphasis to the center serve as great contribution to modern day architecture.

Korean Wave (Hallyu) in China

â€Å"Korean wave (Hallyu) was coined in China in mid-1999 by Beijing journalists surprised by the fast growing popularity of South Koreans and South Korean goods in China. † However, the phenomenon of Korean wave flows into East Asia especially China during the early twenty-first century. Korean wave covers the craze for South Korean music, TV dramas, pop stars, but also for fashion styles, cosmetics and electronics. There are many reasons causing Korean wave being a popular mass culture in China. Korean wave spread so successful because of the Confucian themes that East Asian cultures are more familiar with, typically dealing with traditional issues such as family, love, and filial piety. China in particular share a similar history with Korea. Furthermore, Korean government propagates their modernization Korean wave through media power. Extensively promoting Korean culture transnational makes it another reason Chinese suddenly start engaging in Korean cultures. As two countries both strongly pay attention to the international culture exchange, people are more likely try to understand and accept it. The effect Korean wave has made on Chinese people is enormous. Daily life like watching dramas becomes popular and the story lines are discussed among youths and housewives. Due to the drama contains everything like music, fashion styles, pop stars and foods. Chinese people start imitating both the way of dressing, make-up putting. Korean restaurants also sprang up quickly like mushrooms. Korean language is also being chosen as students’ third language in order to understand more about the culture. Chinese start travelling to the filming location in Korea so as to enjoy Korean wave natively and it also helps Korean to obtaining another way of economy profit making. Korean traditional ethnics and education view also influenced Chinese people’s life in many ways. Despite those advantages, Korean wave does challenge the Chinese its own culture. Less attention is paid on Chinese its own entertainment industry. As teenagers are the main target audiences under the Korean wave, their world outlook and life values are influenced by it. Korean wave might limits their minds and stop themselves up on the surface. There are two reasons which cause the emergence of Korean wave being widely accepted in China. Firstly and the most important reason is that both Korea and China share a similar history background. Those two countries have had a long historical relationship and both of them are influenced by the spirit of Confucianism. The similar social structure, etiquette and philosophy make Korean wave more acceptable in East Asian countries especially China rather than western countries. Due to globalizations’ rapidly expanding, Chinese people are no longer being confined to American pop culture. However choosing the one which they think is more understandable. Furthermore, the ideology of Confucianism plays an important role in both old days China until now. However, the Chinese Culture Revolution in 1966 has extensively and perniciously damaged the culture understanding which cause the lacking of Confucius value nowadays. Lots of Chinese people can easily trace their traditional values like loyalty, filial piety, benevolence by looking at the Korean drama as those dramas always emphasis on the family relationship and ethnics. Korean dramas are favored because of their richness traditional values which gives a good example showing China how to manage the Confucius value in modern society. It offers both a nostalgic reminder of what has been lost during modernization and an example of an Asian country that has modernized and has retained its traditions. Secondly, since media becomes the global popular culture communicating tool, Chinese people observed that Korean wave is actually a new inspirable culture that they had never experienced before. Depending on the age, interests and values of the spectators, different types of Hallyu have been propagated to different target audiences. Due to the Chinese harsh education system, youths would more likely to accept the new culture with plenty of vigor. Those good-looking pop singer, actor and actress represent the Korean type beauty which is attractive and scintillating. Through both television and internet, young people and women in particular have passion in pursuing their dreaming celebrities and even imitating their way of dressing. Although Korean drama does not have spectacular scene like what Hollywood prefers to have, oppositely the exquisite scene in film and the beautiful actors in drama give people a difference feeling. The Korean public broadcaster KBS has aired its satellite channel â€Å"KBS world† in China for both Korean and foreigners in 2007. KBS hopes their new service can boost Korean wave in China with a population of 1. 3 billion. Moreover, media production is promoted by national policy. Korean government continuously support and promote Korean wave to the whole world by improving their production techniques. The range of implementation of Korean wave expands rapidly as the exposure rate of the word Hallyu increases. Chinese people start to chase the new phenomenon due to the promoting of media. Since the phenomenon of Korean wave flows in to China during the early twenty-first century. The effects that Hallyu has been made largely influenced Chinese people’s daily life, knowledge learning and also largely challenged the development of Chinese its own culture. As TV drama was the first Korean wave imported into China. Watching Korean drama in China is as popular as having Kimchi everyday in Korea. Housewives become the typical group who sit in front of the television and so as youths. The synopsis has been widely discussed at people’s leisure which occupies a large time on their daily life. The successful promoting of Korean dramas is evidenced by the fact that they are now becoming part of the everyday program among different Chinese local television broadcasters. Furthermore even having Korean food, so often appeared in Korean dramas, has become a new fad among Chinese. Thus, Koreans in China and local Chinese people take this as an advantage. So Korean style restaurants sprang up like mushrooms in China especially in big city like Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen. A report in the International Herald Tribune noted that â€Å"South Koreans are only just starting to realize that food can be just as profitable an export as semiconductors. † Dae Jang Geum is the drama which well talks about one girl’s life in the royal court within the traditional Korean culture, royal cuisine and traditional medicine being mentioned as theme. After the drama was exported into China and was very well received. Many restaurants named Dae Jang Geum and attracted consumers by putting Royal court cuisine as their shop sign. Also cited was the new appetite for Korean food in China where â€Å"Korean court cuisine has become immensely popular and sales of hanbok (traditional Korean clothing) and traditional herbal medicine have skyrocketed† Korean food suddenly becomes the most popular cuisine among China. Learning and emulating become another significance effects which putted on Chinese people. Stars of such dramas and pop singers have emerged as Korean popular idols among Chinese teenagers. Regional music channel like Channel V in China featured Korean pop music videos which created so many K-POP fans. They vie with each other in imitating their fashion, hairstyle and also make-up. Even more dramatically, some Chinese women ask plastic surgeons changing their face into the celebrity who they like because of the advanced plastic surgeon technology in Korea. As drama Winter Sonata was played on TV, the main actor- Bae Yong Jun’s fashion style was commonly being imitating among male teenagers. The gentle refined glasses with the special carrying scarf dominated the fashion style during that time. Those style dresses were easily seen on the street. Since people are more curious about Korean culture, study Korean language so as to better understands the meaning of the pop songs and dramas. More students take Korean as their third language after Korean wave has coming into China. Furthermore, Chinese see Korean as a good opportunity having and organizing travel tour. Apart from the well-known destination like Seoul, Seoraksan National Park and Andong, the resort island of Namiseom where Winter Sonata filming took place on turned into a famous travel destination for foreigners. People have desires to see and to feel the beautiful scene by their own eyes. Korean wave offers an opportunity for Chinese to experience the Korean culture and Korean wave also offers Korean itself having the opportunity to show their success in transnational culture delivery. The economy benefits Korea obtained from Korean wave are also enormous. Apart from those stunning things Chinese see from Korean wave, it also challenges Chinese people’s thinking, way of living and its own culture maintenance. The strong propagating of etiquettes and ethnics toward different generation among the entire country from Korean dramas and TV programs provokes Korean’s traditional Confucius ideology. That is the part of important culture which Chinese is losing little by little. Korean wave is not only propagating its popular fashion things but also propagating their social values and life styles. As reported â€Å"Chinese people yearn and dream for a bright life by watching Korean dramas. † People have desire to yearn for the lost ‘love’ in the rapidly growing society. Korean typical love story lines give them any opportunity to escape from the reality and believe that love and beautiful things will always beat evil or malignant behavior. The social values which have been communicated through the drama eep reminding Chinese never throwing away the traditions to modernize the country. Nevertheless, there are also some disadvantages Korean waves deeply influenced China and Chinese people especially youths. Firstly Chinese its own entertainment industry is challenged by the transnational power from Korea. As Korean dramas and K-POP came into China, they have tak en almost eighty percent of teenagers’ audiences concentrating on foreigner culture but forgetting the Chinese native entertainment culture. Secondly, there is a need for greater diversity and choice in education for teenagers. As Chinese people are not growing up in Korea and could not experience the life in real Korea. Misunderstandings will definitely being transferred from one country to another. Teenagers accept the surface of the Korean wave through the most visualized media tool like magazines and televisions. Without parents and the society’s rational guide, teenagers will hard to get a thorough understanding about the culture diversity of the whole world. There are complex reasons for the emergence of the Korean wave suddenly catches Chinese people’s attention. For the great esteem people express for high-quality popular culture goods such as TV dramas, music, fashion-style and even cuisines. It is hard to predict the future for Korean wave whether it will fad or continue shining, however, the transnational culture it has been propagated made a remarkable job already. The extensively effects what Korean wave has made did impact on China and Chinese people’s everyday life. Not only up on the surface such as aesthetic standard, entertainment ways, appetite but also the ethnics on family value, loyalty, filial piety and the inviolability of tradition. The Confucianism ideology connects Korea and China which challenged Chinese people’s thinking. In the mean time, since both of them share the similar culture background, Korean wave is easier to be accepted. Balancing Korean wave with Chinese native culture, Chinese people are also concerning about the invasion of Korean wave. Youths are mostly questioned about their future growth depending on other country’s culture. The transnational culture communications bring disadvantages as well. Reference and bibliography Beng Huat Chua, KI 2008, East Asian pop culture: analysing the Korean wave , Hong kong University press. Cai, J 2008, ‘China's first taste of the Korean wave', Korea. net news, 11 august 2008. Doo-hyong, H 2004, ‘ S. Korean Plastic Surgeons Ride ‘Korean Wave' Into China', Organisation of Asia-Pacific News Agencies, 30 May 2004. koichi, I 2002, From Western Gaze to Global Gaze, New York, London:Routledge, Diana Crrane eds. Mori, Y 2008, East Asian pop culture : analysing the Korean wave / Chapter 6 â€Å"Winter sonata† and cultural practices of active fans in Japan, Hong Kong University Press. Onishi, N 2006, ‘A rising Korean wave: If Seoul sells it, China craves it', The New York Times Seo, JDAY 2004, ‘Korea as the wave of a future:', Journal of Futures Studies, August 2004, pp. pp. 31-44. Shim, D 2006, Hybridity and the rise of Korean popular culture in Asia, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE. The public broadcaster KBS 2007 , ‘South Korean satellite TV to get foothold in China', BBC Monitoring Media, 26 august 2007. Zi, C 2005, ‘KOREAN WAVE IN CHINA', China Daily, 3 december 2005.

Care, rationale and outcome in Coronary Care Unit

Care, rationale and outcome in Coronary Care Unit Nurses are required to continue education and upgrading of skills to ensure their patients receive the best possible nursing care. Cardiac nursing is a dedicated nursing practice that gives focused and precise nursing interventions, that are governed by the best practice nursing standards using latest research based facts. Nurses need to have good technique and skill when performing health history and physical assessments to enable them to look after the person as a whole. When nursing patients, nurses need to understand the care they give and reasoning of why they deliver the cares in a certain way. A sound knowledge of assessment and observations help nurses plan, initiate and deliver health care. Without knowledge and rationales the nurse may not deliver cares in the correct manner or have the ability to know when to initiate them. Myocardial infarction is a common cause for admission into the Coronary Care Unit and this case study follows cares, rationales and outcomes in this s etting. Mr Smith (synonym for confidentiality) is a retired 58 year old man that was admitted to a Coronary Care Unit (CCU) via the Emergency Department (ED) of the Atherton Hospital. His admission diagnosis was an Anterior ST Elevated Myocardial Infarction (STEMI), which had already been treated with thrombolytic therapy. On the morning of his admission, he drove himself to the ED with chest pain. He presented with left sided chest pain that radiated to his left jaw and left arm which he scored 10/10 and described as â€Å"crushing†. He was diaphoretic and hypertensive with nausea and vomiting. An ECG showed sinus bradycardia, rate of 60 bpm with hyperacute T waves in V2-V4, that progressed to ST Elevation. Thrombolytic therapy was administered 1 hour of his presenting to ED and within 2 hours of the initial chest pain that commenced at home. His ST segment was elevated approximately 8mm and continued to increase until 70 minutes post thrombolytic when he had 50% resolution of the ST elevation. When he presented to the ED he was given oxygen, morphine, anginine, aspirin, clopidigrel and enoxaparin as first line pharmaceutical treatments. He was transferred that afternoon to Townsville. Mr Smith was not managed in Atherton due to the lack of cardiac catheter services and was transferred for a Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) the next day where he had a stent placed in his proximal area of his Left Anterior Descending Coronary Artery (LAD). Anterior MI’s affect a large surface of the heart, thrombolytic therapy and PCI are the most effective way to treat them (Evans-Murray, 2008 ). His medical history includes a previous STEMI and PCI in 1997, hypercholesterolemia, depression, a ruptured bowel and neck injury from a Motor Vehicle Accident in 1977. Upon further questioning Mr Smith admitted to recently becoming â€Å"very short of breath† whilst mowing the lawn. His risk factors include ex-smoker ceasing in 1993, hypercholesteremia, and stress of brother dying 3 weeks previous. His current medications were aspirin 100mg daily, atorvastatin 20 mg daily and zoloft 200mg daily. Upon arrival to a Townsville Coronary Care Unit (CCU), Mr Smith was pain free. He was connected to continuous cardiac monitoring and admission workup was attended, this includes admission paperwork, ECG, vital signs, mobile Chest x-ray and pathology tests. He was ordered and given stat doses of aspirin, clopidigrel and IV lasix. Mr Smith had an IVT running in his Left hand and an IVC in his Right hand.

Connection of Social Responsibility and the Need of the Human Being Essay

Connection of Social Responsibility and the Need of the Human Being - Essay Example Ship management must be considered as part of the maritime industry (Donn, 1989), which is in turn, is a part of the transportation industry. It could thus be said that any development in the transportation industry could affect the social responsibilities (Massie, 1987) of those in the maritime industry which will also affect the social responsibilities of these in ship management business. Ship management although made specific must be deemed as still part of business management (Werhane,1999) For the purpose therefore of answering the question, efforts were exerted to focus on those closest to ship management business. Before proceeding further it is also proper to have a working definition of what is a social responsibility. Industry Canada (2007) defined social responsibility as â€Å"a concept with a growing currency within Canada and around the globe† that may assume â€Å"similar approaches such as corporate sustainability, corporate sustainable development, corporate responsibility, and corporate citizenship† and â€Å"many see it as the private sector’s way of integrating the economic, social, and environmental imperatives of their activities.† It also believed CSR to also involve â€Å"creating innovative and proactive solutions to societal and environmental challenges, as well as collaborating with both internal and external stakeholders to improve CSR performance.† Given the concepts, we could now clearly answer the questions. It is very evident that there is a need to collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to improve sustainable development. The stakeholders could include almost many people surrounding the business such as customers, employees, the government, and the general public. To illustrate, let us take the case V. Holdings (2007) which declared its pursuit of a strategy of corporate and social responsibility (CSR) as a business imperative. Making it imperative means that it has become very important for the company to implement and do the same if it wants to survive in business or wants to have sustainable development.

Preparing To Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector Assignment

Preparing To Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector - Assignment Example The teacher cannot judge the performance of students whereas, he or she has to ensure that all of the class passes the exams because failure will cause the pupils to lose heart and that will significantly hinder the journey of self directed and lifelong learning. The teaching staff is considered forbearers in regards with promoting equality and cultural sensitivity in societies. They have to understand each and every student’s cultural background before they can start the process of taking the classes. On the other hand, they had to develop impartial content for the class which may not appear offensive to any student. In international setting, organizations and educational institutions have to realize the fact that they are not expected to judge anyone on the basis of religion, ethnicity and caste. The core idea of self directed learning is to help the pupils in terms of finding their way in life all by themselves. The students must develop sense of strengthened confidence within themselves in order to find what they want to do in life and once they find the direction then they will keep moving forward in the direction of their goal in life. The teachers have to pour the love for their work in students and then they will eventually grow into successful professionals one day. Every learner is different from others and these divergences are there for a reason which belongs directly to will of God. The Mother Nature will always have a plan and it will need different type of people in order to complete its agenda. The teachers have to let the students do what appeals to them. However, the teachers have to facilitate the learning process by encouraging their students to take and follow the path which attracts them at a certain point in time. Teachers are anticipated to play the role of general facilitators in the lives of their students and develop a generalized skill of learning in them which in turn can assist

About smoking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

About smoking - Essay Example In the current society, many people smoke since it looks fashionable and outgoing. Therefore, in their personal perception, smoking looks cool. Such smoking practices lead to different effects that alter your daily activities. The most common effect is addiction. Scientific research shows that smoking one cigarette can lead to affection of smoking more and more cigarettes. This results into addiction and might become part of life of the victim. Furthermore, smoking has horrible effects on the human body. When an individual smokes a cigarette, they cause major health problems to themselves and the people around them. This activity shortens the lifespan of all the individuals affected by the cigarette smoke. That is why it can result into cancer, emphysema and heart diseases (Slovic, 2001). Smokers are unable to quit smoking cigarettes because it is addictive in nature. The cigarettes contain tobacco and nicotine that are highly addictive. Thus, the body and mind adapts the nicotine effect quickly leading to addiction. In conclusion, it is evident that smokers understand the consequences of puffing cigarettes, but find it hard to quit. Even though, it reduces stress, personal issues and pressure, it is not advisable to start smoking. Individuals should consider the harmful impact of smoking before adopting the new

Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 9

Case Study Example It would provide the functionality of Visitor Management System integrated with Social Security Cards. It is expected that the implementation of the ACS would be reliable and provide greater security for entry in the dormitory. It is identified that there are a total of hundred (100) dormitories in the hostel located near the college. The proposed system would be deployed at each dormitory of the college along with main entrance of the hostel. The modules of the project are based on the diverse fields include: the architectural, mechanical, information technology and electrical work. Moreover, the following table provides detailed work and equipment details with allied accessories required to deploy the ACS in dormitories (Case Western Reserve University, 2007). After gathering the requirements, the first task is to develop the plan for various components of the project. In this main task / process, the subtasks include development of project plan considering the cost and duration of the project (given below), resource plan, financial plan, and quality plan. The following figure shows the Project plan developed in Microsoft Project. The commencement date of the project is 12th May 2014; however, it would be completed on 10th July 2014. There are in total five major tasks, each with two-four (2-4) subtasks as given below: 2.3 The second task of the project is to procure all the equipment required for successful implementation of the project as prescribed above. The subtasks of the procurement include: the development of Request for Proposals (RFP), publish RFP, meetings for evaluation of technical and financial proposals received from different bidders. The same has been reflected in the project plan. 2.5 All the procured equipment would be installed in the dormitories of the hostel. The subtasks of the installation task of the project includes: installation of

No specific Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

No specific - Essay Example These definitions do not explain the concept of Jazz music clearly, because most people do not understand it. This was one of the early types of music in the United States back in the 1800’s since it had a unique way of improvising everything in music. Some of the best Jazz musicians of all time are part of our modern class discussions, and one of the most famous in courses is Amadeus Wolfgang Mozart. His jazz music is among the best types of Jazz music in the modern world since it has all the elements of music that music students need to learn such as melody, tempo, rhythm, and sound among others. One of the songs that we heard in the class reading on Jazz music is by Mozart, and it is very interesting with all the necessary fundamentals of music. Allegro is one of the most famous songs done by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The lyrics, tempo, and instrumentation in this song pull the attention of the listener, and make them want to hear it over, and again. Mozart Amadeus is one of the best opera, and orchestra conductors in the world of music. There are many musicians whose musical work has been appreciated all over the world for a long time now, but there are also others who are not much recognized   Mozart yet their work s are extra ordinary. The melody of the song is has a stepwise, modal that is simple. The rhythm of this song depicts the pace of its melody. The sound of the song is very soft and soothing. The instrumentals in the song bring out the touch of harmony in the song, and this is what makes the song more interesting to the listener. In conclusion, the song is melodious it entails all the fundamental constituents of music, which are; harmony, melody, rhythm, sound, and this contributes to its growth from one stage to another. The rhythm of the song is a little slow, and as the song progresses, there is heavier orchestra that brings out its growth because thicker strings and pads become louder with vocals that are more emotive. The style of

1.Identify one method and critically evaluate it paying attention to Essay

1.Identify one method and critically evaluate it paying attention to the underlying theoretical underpinnings - Essay Example For instance, there are high chances that if the social workers are conscious about cultural issues there will also be high chances that they will offer competent services that are culture based and are likely to improve the quality of health care to various users of the service provided. Culture is a complex phenomenon and it requires the service providers to view themselves, local communities, their workmates and the settings of their employment from different angles. Social workers are often face difficulties in dealing with different cultural issues (Laird, 2008). Social workers ought to be accommodative to different cultural values of the service users and they must adopt a neutral position when they deal with people from various cultural backgrounds. There is need for them to respect the values of people from all backgrounds in order to be effective in the dispensation of their duties. There is need for the social workers to liberate themselves from cultural conditioning that emanates from professional as well as personal training so that they can develop their own world views based on experience which can help them develop sound interventions when dealing with groups from a diverse cultural background (Sue, 2006). In this assignment, I will focus on the model for cultural competence by Purnell as shown in the appendix. This model is primarily descriptive and it focuses on individuals, families, communities as well as the global community at large. The model is an amalgamation of different theories and it can guide through development of planning strategies, tools for assessment as well as personal interventions. This model was specifically designed to work as a framework that can be used to assess culture used across various disciplines as well as settings of practice. Whilst this model can provide an excellent guide to professionals, social workers may not have ample time to go through it. However, the social workers can gather a lot of information

Employee competence & reward strategys - Read the provided case study Essay

Employee competence & reward strategys - Read the provided case study on UtilityCo then answer the questions set out in the Project Outline document - Essay Example An individual can be said to be competent if he possesses the skills, knowledge and abilities that are necessary to perform a particular task that the individual is given the responsibility of. With such a combination of traits, a person can be able to competently perform a task in any given situation or a working environment. In the same respect, one may lose competency without losing the skills, abilities or knowledge if the requirements for executing a particular task changes or the working conditions changes (Dickmann, 2008). Competency is also used as a general term when the requirements of people in communities and organizations whereby there are requirements for the people to perform various tasks for the community or organization. These can be described by the various requirements that organizations have put in a particular language for the employees to be considered competent or what educational institutes have put in a specific language for the students to graduate from them. One of the most important aspects of this kind of competence is that it has to be an action competence and this means that the people must show their competence in action (Armstrong, 1999). As far as human resources are concerned, it is more significant to have competence development policies especially for some general competences that an organization is dependent on to run its business. The general competences can be classified into levels and they include the novice whereby a person who can be classified as a novice has the behavior based on the rules of the organization and is very inflexible as well as very limited. The next level is the experienced beginner whereby this employee has the ability to incorporate aspects from a given situation. The third level is the practitioner who is capable of acting consciously in relation to any long term plans and

Genting Group Essay Example for Free

Genting Group Essay The Genting Group was founded by the late Tan Sri (Dr.) Lim Goh Tong in 1965. It is one of Malaysia’s top multinational corporations. The Genting Group involves in several different sectors such as the leisure hospitality, power generation, oil palm plantation, property development, biotechnology and oil gas sectors. Tan Sri (Dr.) Lim Goh Tong started his project with the building of a 20-kilometre private access road, across tough mountainous terrains from the foothills to the summit of Mount Ulu Kali, located at 2,000 metres above sea level and also the first highlands resort on the mountain in Malaysia which formerly named Genting Highlands Resort. For a corporation to grow, business objectives are important because objectives give direction to a business. The Genting Group had been operating for 47years till today and we can see it with our eye that it indeed grows from strength to strength. This is because The Genting Group had clearly stated out their goals and objectives and did well in achieving it. One of the goals of The Genting Group is â€Å"Care for the Community†. To achieve this goal, The Genting Group had set the objectives to help the community. The Genting Group done a great job in achieving the objective in the year 2011 by dedicated amount more than RM25 million to many charities and community. The organizations that benefit from The Genting Group are Malaysian Liver Foundation, MAA-Medicare Kidney Foundation, OrphanCare Baby Hatch Programme, Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation, Malaysia Diabetes Association and The Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia. As for the organizations in foreign country included The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund, The Business Times Budding Artists Fund, Heartware Network, Milk Fund and the Jane Goodall Institute in Singapore; the GREaT Foundation, BBC’s Children In Need and Cancer UK through Race for Life events, Cancer UK, Comic Relief, Marie Curie Cancer Care, Japanese Red Cross and also the Japanese Earthquake Relief. Besides that when the Sultanah of Pahang DYMM Sultanah Hajjah Kalsom binti Abdullah officially launched the Orang Asli Che Wong Cultural Building in Lanchang, Pahang on 19 November 2011, The Genting Group donated a 2,800-square-foot cultural building which consists of a classroom, an exhibition room and a hall for performances that cost a total of RM180, 000 and the Genting employees also lend a helping hand by volunteered in the landscaping and beautification  efforts. Furthermore in Malaysia, the Group participated in the Roti 1Malaysia charity project. This project is successful with the kind sponsored of bread from Resorts World Genting together with other hotels and bakeries in the Klang Valley and distribute to over 50 orphanages and homes weekly. Therefore from here we can see that The Genting Group had made their effort in helping the community generously and sincerely. This is shown when it is not only the corporation care the community but also the employees of Genting Group involve themselves too. Although The Genting Group had did well in their objectives, however I suggest that The Genting Group could set out another objective in order to achieve the goal, â€Å"maintaining long-term sustainable growth in our core businesses†. This objective is basically to care the customers, for example, â€Å"Provide the best environment and services to customers† and this can be achieved by improving the casino. If we compare between the Resort World Sentosa Casino and Genting Highlands casinos, we can obviously see that the Genting Highlands casinos are not so good than the other one. This is because of the environment and ventilation. The ventilation of Genting Highlands casino was poor and the air is stuffy. This may be cause of the casinos is not smoke free and therefore is full of cigarette smoke. The decoration of the Genting Highlands casinos are more in the 80s, it looks old and tradition. On the other hand, the Resort World Sentosa Casino is more clean and good ventilation. This is because the casino was divided into smoking area and non-smoking area. The decoration of the casino is grand and the environment is more comfortable and relaxing compare with Genting Highlands casinos. The Resort World Sentosa Casino is more strict compare with Genting Highlands Casinos. In The Resort World Sentosa Casino, the security will not let customers without passport to enter the casino but for Genting Highlands Casinos, the securities will not check every single customer, therefore there may be underage youngster enter the casinos. The Genting Highlands Casinos should immediately take action in order to provide a better environment for their customers to ensure customers loyalty that can increase the profit of the company. As a conclusion, The Genting Group did do well in overall. It provides an array of enjoyment and fun for all people, from children to senior citizen.

Employment and Delegation Essay Example for Free

Employment and Delegation Essay In the scenario given there were five behaviors of delegation used. They were: clarifying the assignment, specifying the employees range of discretion, allow the employees to participate, inform others that delegation has occurred, and establish proper feedback channels. In this paper, each behavior will be discussed as used in the scenario, and will give specific detail of how we as managers would have handled the delegation. Clarity of the assignment, is providing clear expectations of an assignment with details, deadlines, an audience, and the importance of the assignment being done on time. This is the first step in the delegation process of the project. If we ask someone to complete one of our assignments, we would want to be sure that the assignment is done the way we would have completed it. Theres a reason why we asked that particular person. If it was something anyone could do you can ask for volunteers. Informing others that delegation has occurred is essential behavior in the delegation process. Obviously Ricky has other employees that he manages. So it is important to inform those employees about the delegation as well. He chose Bill because of his three year experience in the contracts group. However, there isnt any mention of addressing Rickys other employees. Since he assigned Bill to this project what about Bills daily duties? Is Ricky going to provide Bill with help in regards to his daily work, or will he be required to complete both the project and his work? Thats what we do not know, but they were having a meeting in the morning to discuss the assignment. These are issues Ricky has to figure out now, along with informing his staff, because if Ricky did not inform his other employees, they may perceive it as favoritism and think he is trying to hide it from everyone. Ricky should also inform Bill of the reasons he chose him at their meeting in the morning, and also let him know he will be communicating the project to the rest of the team so they are aware Bill will be working on the assignment for the given time frame. Normally in those situations you look to the person who may be capable of doing the job based on previous experience. It is important to share the wealth when it comes to delegating task to the staff. I would assume that Bill is one of the go-to guys that can and is able to complete task with assigned deadlines. However, the behavior skills that stick out to me the most are clarify the assignment, inform others that the delegation has occurred, and establish feedback channel. It is important that Ricky clarifies with Anne what the guidelines for the new manual are so that he can clearly communicate them Bill. Setting up one-on-one sessions or a team meeting will be useful to inform all team members of the decision. Lastly, Ricky should set up periodic reviews with Bill to check on his progress and also see if any assistance is needed. agree that some of the delegation skills where used in this scenario, but not all were used fully. I like the point made earlier in the discussion that Ricky probably manages more then one employee, In the scenario I think Anne did a poor job for a few reasons. 1) Ricky already was working on a major project, and as his boss she should have been aware of that before she asked him to do it. She may have been, but this is what we dont know. 2) Anne asked Ricky to do the assignment. Obviously there was a reason why she asked him, so when he requested Bill to replace him why did she allow it? If I delegate an assignment to my employee I want the person to do what I asked. I feel that clarifying the assignment, specifying the employees range of discretion, allow the employee to participate were the delegation skills used the most in the scenario, while establishing feedback channels and inform others that delegation has occured wasnt as much if any. I remember an old saying form a manager I had who would say, inspect what you expect! We are tasked to ensure what we empower our workforce to accomplish is completed the way we expect it to be done. However, if we do not adequately communicate our expectations to the employee, than how will we be able to hold them reliable for the job. Now, am I saying we should micro-manage? Never! And im sure no body wants to spend time micro-managing. What we do want to ensure though is task completion and work from a decentralized form of management so the employee doesnt get frustrated in their job. Bottom line, we empower people everyday, the question is how much do we trust them? Allow the employee to participate. We have that found the employees participation is the best means to empower them not only in their job, but it gives them personal satisfaction. Now, this can be somewhat dangerous because you never want to give them an unchecked decision machine. As the section mention, you allow the employee to participate in that decision and then a set limit of authority is transferred to them for the project. We know, from experience that you must maintain that channel of communication with the employee so to keep them on the right direction. This will be training opportunities for managers with the employee in how to better make decisions without being biased. I know it can be challenging at times and personal matters may strive to cloud our decision process, but over time the employee will learn how to set aside personal reasoning.

Effects of Basel II Accord on Qatar’s Banking Sector

Effects of Basel II Accord on Qatar’s Banking Sector Chapter 1: Introduction International banking is increasingly vital for every country in order to create an image for itself in the international finance market. Alongside, the increase in globalisation and the upsurge in outsourcing by multinational companies in the west have created a lot of opportunities for growth in the Middle East and Far Eastern countries. This apparently requires a strong internationally stable financial organization to conduct transactions across the globe without any errors (i.e.) 100% accuracy.   This includes reliability and stability of the bank under extreme situations (like emergency for example), which is highly important to conduct international transactions. Also the potential to meet financial demands during crisis situations is a vital criterion that is considered while presenting themselves in the international market. In addition to the globalisation, outsourcing and export/import growth, there is also a tremendous growth in cross-border finance among the countries in the Middle East and Far East. Along with all these factors the developing nations in the Middle East face a mandatory requirement of a sable international banking system in order to attract foreign investment. The increase in cross border finance activity among the middle eastern countries is also a critical element to be considered for establishing a stable international bank within the nation in order to represent the country in the international finance market. The countries in the Middle East are actively participating in cross-border finance since the dawn of the 21st century. Being a producer of Oil which is a vital ingredient at all levels of life right from day-to-day driving up to power generation for the nation in order to run industries and serve domestic purposes, makes it critical for the nations in the Middle East to have a strong international banking system to conduct transactions across the globe accurately and effectively. Qatar is a growing nation in the Middle East with primary operations in oil and gas export as well increasing its potential in areas of development in technology focusing on IT and communication. The nation has efficient international operations and con ducts financial transactions between western nations as well as with eastern nations. Since the take over of the government by H.H. Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa in 1995, the country is making tremendous progress in deploying its hydrocarbon resources in order to penetrate in the international market and present itself as a financially stable nation in the international market. Further to the increase in the international operations by the countries in the Middle East and the Far East, the Bank for International Settlements developed a framework to co-ordinate the international financial operations as well as create a portfolio for the capital measurement and capital standards which every nation involving in international banking operations is expected to adopt in order to stabilise and put in order the international transactions between countries. The Basel II accord produced by Basel Committee on Banking Supervision aims at achieving International Convergence of Capital Measurement and Capital Standards. The arrangement aims to set a minimum standard to be met by its participating nations in order to achieve capital adequacy by the participating nations in the international market. This report aims at analysing the effects of Basel II accord on Qatar’s banking sector. The objectives of this report are stated below: To analyse the Basel II accord and it’s framework for measuring capital adequacy in the nations participating in the international banking transaction. To investigate the banking sector of Qatar and the effect of Basel II accord on its international operations and capital adequacy. To analyse the effect of Basel II accord on the nation’s two major banks having international operations in Qatar namely, Qatar Industrial Development Bank (QIDB) and Commercial Bank of Qatar (CBQ) and to analyse the impact of Basel II Accord on the Banking Sector of Qatar. Report Outline: The report comprises of the following chapters. Chapter 1: Introduction This chapter introduces the reader to the objectives of the report and presents a broad picture of the report to the reader. Chapter 2: Overview of Basel II Accord This chapter presents with an overview of the Basel II accord. The three pillars of Basel II accord namely Minimum Capital Requirements, Supervisory Review Process and Market Discipline are analysed in detail to provide the reader with a detailed understanding of the consent of Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. Chapter 3: Implications and Critical Analysis of Basel II Accord The literature review on the Basel II Accord in chapter 2 is followed by the critical analysis and its implications on nations (business and political) are presented to the reader before proceeding to present the overview of the Qatar Banking sector.    Chapter 4: Overview of Qatar and its Banking Sector This chapter presents the reader with an overview of Qatar as a nation and its business operations in the International market. Alongside, the chapter analyses the country’s growth in the banking sector and its internationally active banks. Chapter 5: Case Study This chapter conducts a case study analysis on Qatar’s two internationally active banks namely Qatar Industrial Development Bank (QIDB) and Commercial Bank of Qatar (CBQ). The effect of Basel II accord on the banks along with an overview of the bank is presented to the reader. The data used to present the case study is primarily obtained from secondary sources like journals, reports and white papers. This is apparently due the fact that the analysis is conducted on a foreign nation as well as the data available from the secondary sources are also reliable as they are published by legitimate organizations and popular journals.   Chapter 6: Results and Discussions The results of the case study analysis and discussions are carried out in this chapter. This chapter aims to present a clearer picture to the reader on the effects of the Basel II accord on the banks analysed. Chapter 7:   Conclusion and Recommendations The conclusions derived from the case results and discussions on the case study and the overall conclusion on the effect of Basel I accord on the Qatar Banking Sector is presented in this chapter. Alongside, this chapter presents a few constructive recommendations based on the results and discussion on the case study. Chapter 2: Overview of Basel II Accord This chapter begins with an overview of the Bank for International Settlements followed by a detailed analysis of the Basel II accord. The Basel II committee is also analysed alongside in order to provide a deeper insight to the readers. 2.1 Bank for International Settlements Overview and it’s Operations The Bank for International Settlements (Bank for International Settlements) is an international organization looking after international monetary and financial co-operation across the globe. This organization acts as the bank for all the central banks of countries participating in the international finance and banking. The Bank for International Settlements profile states that the bank achieves the aforementioned statement through acting as A forum to promote discussion and facilitate decision-making processes among central banks and within the international financial and supervisory community. A centre for economic and monetary research A prime counter party for central banks in their financial transactions and Agent or trustee in connection with international financial operations. Established in 17th Many 1930, it is the oldest financial organization at the international level. The Bank for International Settlements has three major decision making bodies within the bank to achieve its mission. They are The general meeting of member central banks This meeting is held before the end of four months of the end of the banks annual financial year. The meeting addresses all the issues related to business and the member central banks gather to approve the annual financial statement released by the bank. The Board of Directors The board of directors comprise the central bank governors elected from various participating countries. They monitor the overall operation of the bank and take responsibility for actions to be taken and address issues related to disputes and other major international financial cross border problems. The Management Committee The management committee is the first line representative of the Bank for International Settlements and addresses the day-to-day activities of the bank. This committee primarily manages the monetary and financial co-operation services. The services include Meetings: Apart from the Annual general meeting the Bank for International Settlements organizes meetings on a bimonthly basis. This meeting brings the member central banks together with the aim of monitoring the global economic and financial development and discusses issues on its policies in relation to the monetary and financial stability. Committees and Secretariats Bank for International Settlements has several committees to monitor specific problems and issues in the international finance and cross border loans. Alongside, several other committees and organizations focusing on international financial systems have their secretariats in the Bank for International Settlements and work closely with the bank in order to enhance the overall international banking and cross border finance. Basel committee of the Bank for International Settlements is the committee that laid the specifications for capital measurement and capital standard of the central banks participating in the international banking. Research and Statistics: In order to support its meetings and the activities of the organization’s Basel based committees the Bank for International Settlements carries out regular research on economic, monetary, financial and legal areas of the international banking and cross border finance. Investment services for central banks: Bank for International Settlements also provides security, liquidity and return for its central bank members. The three primary points with respect to this identified by the organization are To provide security, the Bank has built up a sizeable equity capital and ample reserves. It pursues an investment strategy focused on combining diversification benefits with intensive credit and market risk analysis. To ensure liquidity, the Bank stands ready to repurchase its tradable instruments at little cost to its customers and thus respond quickly and flexibly to their needs. The BIS offers an attractive and competitive return on the funds deposited by central banks and international organisations The Bank for International Settlements focuses on serving the financial needs of central banks of the member countries. Alongside, it also acts as a banker managing the funds for numerous international financial institutions. 2.2: Basel committee Overview The Basel committee was established the member central banks of the Bank for International Settlements in order to create a standard for the international banking and capital framework for crass border finance and lending. The committee was initially set up in 1970 and meets regularly four times a year to discuss the progress in international banking and address issues related to business in this context. The member nations of the committee include Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States. The country’s central bank and financial institutions that are not active in banking commercially but monitor the financial operations of the nation both at national and international levels represent the nations. The committee does no possess any authority over its member nations banking systems and the decisions of the committee are never intended to have a legal force on its member nations. The Central bank governors of the Group ten countries endorse the committee’s major initiatives. Also the committee reports to the group ten countries central bank governors. The committee first proposed he capital measurement system in 1988 commonly referred to as ‘Basel Capital Accord’. The committee aims in supervising the international banking operations of the nations across the globe. The decisions of the committee endorsed by the group ten countries address various financial issues in the international market outside the groups as well. The major aim of the committee is the ‘close the gaps in international supervisory coverage’ and to ensure that no foreign banking systems escapes the supervision in order to establish a harmony among the member nations of the Bank for International Settlements as well as in the international market. The committee has promoted supervisory standards in the past few years. Some of its major milestones include the following 1997: Cover Principles for effective banking supervision 1999: Core Principles methodology The committee also presented the Basel II accord with revision on international capital framework. This aims to standardise the capital framework of every bank participating in the international banking as well as sets slabs for minimum capital holdings to be met by the banks in order to qualify for international operations. The committee has numerous subgroups to perform specific tasks of the committee in order to achieve the overall motto of the committee. They are listed below Accord Implementation Group Accounting Task Force Capital Group Capital Task Force Core Principles Liaison Group (with 16 non-G10 countries) Cross-Border Banking Group Electronic Banking Group Joint Forum (with IAIS and IOSCO) Joint IOSCO BCBS Working Group on Trading Book Research Task Force Risk Management Group Securitisation Group Transparency Group The next section provides a detailed analysis of the Basel II accord and its various implications on international banking is discussed in chapter 3. 2.3 The Basel II Accord The Basel II accord was released in June 2004 further to the release of the Basel Accord in 2003. The Basel II is a revised edition of the initial Basel capital accord. It is a framework designed to derive the capital holdings of internationally active banks to meet the international standards and sets a minimum level of capital holding which is a primary criteria for the banks. The Basel II framework is aimed to be applied on a consolidated basis over internationally active banks in order to preserve the integrity of capital in the banks with subsidiaries. Also the framework eliminates the double gearing through this approach. The Basel II accord’s framework is also applied on a fully consolidated basis on any parent holding company which acts as a parent entity within a banking group in order to capture the risk on a consolidated basis without missing any element that contributes considerably to the risk of the overall banking system. Alongside, the framework is also applicable to all internationally active banks at every tier of the banking group. Apart from the aforementioned statements one of the principal objectives of the Basel II Accord is to protect the interest of the depositors essentially to ensure that capital recognised capital adequacy measures is readily available for the depositors. Apparently, these measures are aimed to establish a common platform for international banking and cross border finance across the globe. The scope of application extends to the following segments of the international banking and finance entities. Banking, securities and other financial subsidiaries Significant minority investments in banking securities Insurance entities Significant investment in commercial entities. Deduction of investment pursuant to this part The aforementioned entities are obtained from the Basel Committee report on International Convergence of Capital Measurement and Capital Standards, published in June 2004. The Basel II accord overview is based on this report. The illustration in the fig 1 gives a clear picture of the overall scope of application of the Basel II accord. The Basel II accord is split into three pillars. The first Pillar: Minimum Capital Requirements This is the very important pillar of the Basel II Accord. This pillar has very clear definitions of the Accord’s application on the credit risks and operational risk along with the Trading Book issues that are vital for international banking establishment. The layout in fig 2 reproduced from the Basel II report provides the inner picture of the First Pillar. The following subsections provide a detailed analysis on the elements shown in fig 2. 2.4: The First Pillar The First pillar lays down the minimum capital requirements that every internationally active bank should incorporate.   It is split into the following subsection. 2.4.1:   Calculation of Minimum capital requirements The minimum capital requirement is calculated as a measure of the capital ration. The capital ratio in turn is calculated using the regulatory capital and risk-weighted assets. The requirement of this criterion is that the capital ration must be a minimum of 8% or more in order to be eligible for the international activities. Also, in case of a two tier system the capital in tier 2 must not be greater than the tier 1 capital (i.e.) the tier 2 capital can be a maximum of 100% of the tier 1 capital. The capital is accounted from the following sources    Regulatory capital: The minimum accounting capital requirements for the financial institution encompasses the regulatory capital. The Basel II accord has withdrawn the provision to include general provisions in tire 2 capital, which was in effect in the 1988 Accord under the Internal Ratings-Based (IRB) approach.   Furthermore the accord has lain down that the banks using the Internal Ratings Based approach to their other assets mu st compare the amount of total eligible provision with the total expected losses amount to the bank. This eventually increases the capital holding of the bank in order to meet the criteria. Risk Weighted Assets: The Basel II Accord calculates the total risk-weighted assets by multiplying the capital requirement for market risk and operational risk by the reciprocal of the minimum capital ratio of 8% and adding the resulting value to the sum of risk weighted assets for credit risk. Even though this is subject to review the approach lays enormous burden on the bank to increase its minimum capital holdings. Apparently the Basel II Accord is aiming to establish that the internationally active banks must have enough capital to meet its short comings without depending on loans and cross border finance to address its immediate requirements and short comings. The idea though being novel is very intense for the banks to maintain the required minimum capital. Transitional Arrangements: The Accord has also stated that the banks following the Internal Ratings-Based approach or the Advanced Measurements Approach (AMA) that there will be a capital floor after the implementation of the Basel II framework. The adjustment factors used in both the internal ratings-based approach and the advanced measurements approach for calculating the capital floor as per the definition of the Basel II framework is shown in fig 3 below. 2.4.2: Credit Risk-The Standardised Approach Under this method the Basel committee provides the internationally active banks a choice for calculating their capital requirements for credit risk. The first approach is the standardised method of measuring the credit risk through support from external credit assessments. This method is approved by the Basel committee while the other method is yet to explicitly approved by the committee. Under the alternate method of calculating the credit risk, the bank supervisor can allow banks to use their internal rating systems for calculating the credit risk. Under both the methodologies one should not oversee the fact that the Basel committee is very keen in assessing the credit risk on the capital holdings of the internationally active banks. Even though this is appreciated, the rules are very stringent making it very difficult for the banks for adopt easily. 2.4.3 Credit Risk- Internal Ratings Based Approach The Basel II committee has given supervisory approval for banks to use the Internal Ratings-Based approach to determine their capital requirement for a given exposure subject to certain minimum conditions and disclosure requirements. The risk components considered include Measures of the probability of default (PD), Loss given default (LGD), The exposure at default (EAD), Effective maturity (M) The Basel II accord states that â€Å"The Internal Ratings Based Approach is based on the measure of unexpected loses (UL) and Expected Loses (EL). Under the Internal Ratings Based Approach, the committee expects the bank to categories their exposures in order to identify the different underlying risk characteristics. The categories include corporate, sovereign, bank, retail and equity. These are identified as the corporate asset classes and the approach further expects the bank to identify the subclasses associated with the asset classes in order to measure the credit risk associated with the exposure. The detailed analysis of every corporate class and its associated subclasses is beyond the scope of this report. In essence the Internal Ratings Based Approach gives the bank more liberty to calculate its credit-risk on the minimum capital requirement for a given exposure. But the producers laid by the Basel II Accord is very tedious to adopt and implement for every corporate class exposure and identifying the subclasses associated. 2.4.4: Credit Risk- Securitisation Framework The Basel Committee in its revised accord, has made it mandatory for the banks to apply the Securitisation Framework for determining regulatory capital requirements on exposure arising from traditional and synthetic Securitisation or similar structures that contain features common to both.   The Basel II accord also states that the capital treatment of the Securitisation exposure must be determined on the basis of the economic substance rather than the legal form of the structure. It is apparent that the securities can be structured in many different ways and the committee has approved the use of either the traditional Securitisation or the synthetic Securitisation framework. Also the Basel II accord expects the supervisor to look at the economic substance of transaction in order to determine whether it should be subject to Securitisation framework or not. This gives the discretionary power to the supervisor to decide on a specific transaction whether to include it in the framework or to eliminate it from the framework towards determining the regulatory capital framework. The traditional Securitisation and the synthetic Securitisation framework are discussed below. Traditional Securitisation: The Basel II Accord defines the traditional framework as â€Å"a structure where the cash flow from an underlying pool of exposures is used to service at least two different stratified risk positions or tranches reflecting different degrees of credit risk†. The advantage with this approach is that the payment to the investors is based on the performance of the specified underlying exposures rather than a derivation from an obligation of the entity originating those exposures. Synthetic Securitisation â€Å"A synthetic Securitisation is a structure with at least two different stratified risk positions or tranches that reflect different degrees of credit risk where credit risk of an underlying pool of exposures is transferred, in whole or in part, through the use of funded (e.g. credit-linked notes) or un-funded (e.g. credit default swaps) credit derivatives or guarantees that serve to hedge the credit risk of the portfolio†. This approach leaves the return to the investors in the hands of the performance of the underlying pool. Apparently, the risk associated is higher since the performance can be affected by numerous causes. From the above-mentioned approaches the Basel II accord’s stand for evaluating the capital and minimum capital requirements are evident. 2.4.5: Operational Risk The operational risk is defined by the Basel Committee as the risk associated with the loss resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes, people, systems or external events. This includes the legal risk with the exclusion of strategic and reputational risk. The Basel II Accord has approved three methods for calculating the operational risk and risk sensitivity with the implications on minimum capital requirements. They are: (i) The Basic indicator approach, (ii) the Standardised Approach and (iii) Advanced Measurement Approach. Basic Indicator Approach: In this case the banks should hold capital for the operational risk equal to the average over the past three years of a fixed percentage. This is expressed as a formula below KBIA = [ÃŽ £ (GI1†¦n x ÃŽ ±)]/n Where KBIA = the capital charge under the Basic Indicator Approach GI = annual gross income, where positive, over the previous three years n = number of the previous three years for which gross income is positive ÃŽ ± = 15%, which is set by the Committee, relating the industry wide level of required capital to the industry wide level of the indicator. This formula is obtained from the Basel II accord for the purpose of reader understanding. Standardised Approach: The standardised approach divides the bank’s activities into eight-business lines namely corporate finance, trading sales, retail banking, commercial banking, payment settlement, agency services, asset management, and retail brokerage. The likelihood of operational risk exposure is calculated from the gross income associated with each business line that serves as an indicator for the scale of business operations by the bank in that specific area of business or business line. This approach is very clumsy since the gross income associated with the business line varies due to numerous reasons both internal and external. Advanced Measurement Approach: The Advanced Measurement Approach equates the regulatory capital requirement with the risk measure generated by the bank’s internal operational risk measurement system using quantitative and qualitative criteria. The banks can use this method only after the approval by the Committee. The Basel II Accord sets the approach for the banks based on their international activity and significant operational risk exposures. Also, when a bank agrees to use a more sophisticated method, it cannot revert back to the easier method without approval from the supervisor. This eventually increases the burden on the banks to choose a sophisticated method. 2.4.6: Trading Book Issues The final segment of the first pillar is the trading book. Basel Committee defines the trading book as a container of both the financial instruments and commodities held either with trading intent or in order to hedge other elements of the trading book. The trading book forms a vital element for the bank since it is the record of the bank’s financial instruments as well as commodities. The Basel II Accord identifies four key principles for the supervisory process. They are listed below. The basic requirements for the eligibility to trading book capital treatment put forth by the Basel II Accord are as follows Clearly documented trading strategy for the position/instrument or portfolios, approved by senior management (which would include expected holding horizon). Clearly defined policies and procedures for the active management of the position Clearly defined policy and procedures to monitor the positions against the bank’s trading strategy including the monitoring of turnover and stale positions in the bank’s trading book 2.3: The Second Pillar- Supervisory Review Process Basel committee was initially set up for the supervising the internationally active banks and produce a common platform for the smooth transactions and cross border finance. The Basel II Accord has established Supervisory Process as one of the three pillars in order to emphasise its stand on supervisory process. The importance of supervisory process is described below. 2.3.1: Importance of Supervisory Process The supervisory review process of the Basel II Accord aims not only to ensure that banks have adequate capital to support all the risks in their business but also intends to encourage the banks to develop and use better risk management techniques in monitoring and managing risks. Alongside, the supervisory process by developing internal capital assessment process and setting capital targets that are commensurate with the bank’s risk profile recognises the importance for bank management in order to improve the atmosphere in the international banking and cross border finance. The Supervisory process evaluates the relationship between the amount of capital held by the bank against the risk, strength and effectiveness of the bank’s risk management eventually guiding the bank and supervising its activities in order to improve the performance of the banks in the international business market and cross border finance. 2.3.2 Four Key Principles of the supervisory review The four key principles identified by the Basel II Accord on the supervisory process is listed below. These principles emphasise on the committee’s focus on supervision and its aim to maintain harmony in the international banking and cross border finance. Principle 1: Banks should have a process for assessing their overall capital adequacy in relation to their risk profile and a strategy for maintaining their capital levels. Principle 2: Supervisors should review and evaluate banks’ internal capital adequacy assessments and strategies, as well as their ability to monitor and ensure their compliance with regulatory capital ratios. Supervisors should take appropriate supervisory action if they are not satisfied with the result of this process. Principle 3: Supervisors should expect banks to operate above the minimum regulatory capital ratios and should have the ability to require banks to hold capital in excess of the minimum. Principle 4: Supervisors should seek to intervene at an early stage to prevent capital from falling below the minimum levels required to support the risk characteristics of a particular bank and should require rapid remedial action if capital is not maintained or restored. 2.3.3: Issues to be addressed There are two specific issues to be addressed by the Supervisory-Review Process. They are Interest Rate Risk in the Banking book: Since it is clear that the Basel Committee’s primary focus is on identifying and preventing risk in the international b Effects of Basel II Accord on Qatar’s Banking Sector Effects of Basel II Accord on Qatar’s Banking Sector Chapter 1: Introduction International banking is increasingly vital for every country in order to create an image for itself in the international finance market. Alongside, the increase in globalisation and the upsurge in outsourcing by multinational companies in the west have created a lot of opportunities for growth in the Middle East and Far Eastern countries. This apparently requires a strong internationally stable financial organization to conduct transactions across the globe without any errors (i.e.) 100% accuracy.   This includes reliability and stability of the bank under extreme situations (like emergency for example), which is highly important to conduct international transactions. Also the potential to meet financial demands during crisis situations is a vital criterion that is considered while presenting themselves in the international market. In addition to the globalisation, outsourcing and export/import growth, there is also a tremendous growth in cross-border finance among the countries in the Middle East and Far East. Along with all these factors the developing nations in the Middle East face a mandatory requirement of a sable international banking system in order to attract foreign investment. The increase in cross border finance activity among the middle eastern countries is also a critical element to be considered for establishing a stable international bank within the nation in order to represent the country in the international finance market. The countries in the Middle East are actively participating in cross-border finance since the dawn of the 21st century. Being a producer of Oil which is a vital ingredient at all levels of life right from day-to-day driving up to power generation for the nation in order to run industries and serve domestic purposes, makes it critical for the nations in the Middle East to have a strong international banking system to conduct transactions across the globe accurately and effectively. Qatar is a growing nation in the Middle East with primary operations in oil and gas export as well increasing its potential in areas of development in technology focusing on IT and communication. The nation has efficient international operations and con ducts financial transactions between western nations as well as with eastern nations. Since the take over of the government by H.H. Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa in 1995, the country is making tremendous progress in deploying its hydrocarbon resources in order to penetrate in the international market and present itself as a financially stable nation in the international market. Further to the increase in the international operations by the countries in the Middle East and the Far East, the Bank for International Settlements developed a framework to co-ordinate the international financial operations as well as create a portfolio for the capital measurement and capital standards which every nation involving in international banking operations is expected to adopt in order to stabilise and put in order the international transactions between countries. The Basel II accord produced by Basel Committee on Banking Supervision aims at achieving International Convergence of Capital Measurement and Capital Standards. The arrangement aims to set a minimum standard to be met by its participating nations in order to achieve capital adequacy by the participating nations in the international market. This report aims at analysing the effects of Basel II accord on Qatar’s banking sector. The objectives of this report are stated below: To analyse the Basel II accord and it’s framework for measuring capital adequacy in the nations participating in the international banking transaction. To investigate the banking sector of Qatar and the effect of Basel II accord on its international operations and capital adequacy. To analyse the effect of Basel II accord on the nation’s two major banks having international operations in Qatar namely, Qatar Industrial Development Bank (QIDB) and Commercial Bank of Qatar (CBQ) and to analyse the impact of Basel II Accord on the Banking Sector of Qatar. Report Outline: The report comprises of the following chapters. Chapter 1: Introduction This chapter introduces the reader to the objectives of the report and presents a broad picture of the report to the reader. Chapter 2: Overview of Basel II Accord This chapter presents with an overview of the Basel II accord. The three pillars of Basel II accord namely Minimum Capital Requirements, Supervisory Review Process and Market Discipline are analysed in detail to provide the reader with a detailed understanding of the consent of Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. Chapter 3: Implications and Critical Analysis of Basel II Accord The literature review on the Basel II Accord in chapter 2 is followed by the critical analysis and its implications on nations (business and political) are presented to the reader before proceeding to present the overview of the Qatar Banking sector.    Chapter 4: Overview of Qatar and its Banking Sector This chapter presents the reader with an overview of Qatar as a nation and its business operations in the International market. Alongside, the chapter analyses the country’s growth in the banking sector and its internationally active banks. Chapter 5: Case Study This chapter conducts a case study analysis on Qatar’s two internationally active banks namely Qatar Industrial Development Bank (QIDB) and Commercial Bank of Qatar (CBQ). The effect of Basel II accord on the banks along with an overview of the bank is presented to the reader. The data used to present the case study is primarily obtained from secondary sources like journals, reports and white papers. This is apparently due the fact that the analysis is conducted on a foreign nation as well as the data available from the secondary sources are also reliable as they are published by legitimate organizations and popular journals.   Chapter 6: Results and Discussions The results of the case study analysis and discussions are carried out in this chapter. This chapter aims to present a clearer picture to the reader on the effects of the Basel II accord on the banks analysed. Chapter 7:   Conclusion and Recommendations The conclusions derived from the case results and discussions on the case study and the overall conclusion on the effect of Basel I accord on the Qatar Banking Sector is presented in this chapter. Alongside, this chapter presents a few constructive recommendations based on the results and discussion on the case study. Chapter 2: Overview of Basel II Accord This chapter begins with an overview of the Bank for International Settlements followed by a detailed analysis of the Basel II accord. The Basel II committee is also analysed alongside in order to provide a deeper insight to the readers. 2.1 Bank for International Settlements Overview and it’s Operations The Bank for International Settlements (Bank for International Settlements) is an international organization looking after international monetary and financial co-operation across the globe. This organization acts as the bank for all the central banks of countries participating in the international finance and banking. The Bank for International Settlements profile states that the bank achieves the aforementioned statement through acting as A forum to promote discussion and facilitate decision-making processes among central banks and within the international financial and supervisory community. A centre for economic and monetary research A prime counter party for central banks in their financial transactions and Agent or trustee in connection with international financial operations. Established in 17th Many 1930, it is the oldest financial organization at the international level. The Bank for International Settlements has three major decision making bodies within the bank to achieve its mission. They are The general meeting of member central banks This meeting is held before the end of four months of the end of the banks annual financial year. The meeting addresses all the issues related to business and the member central banks gather to approve the annual financial statement released by the bank. The Board of Directors The board of directors comprise the central bank governors elected from various participating countries. They monitor the overall operation of the bank and take responsibility for actions to be taken and address issues related to disputes and other major international financial cross border problems. The Management Committee The management committee is the first line representative of the Bank for International Settlements and addresses the day-to-day activities of the bank. This committee primarily manages the monetary and financial co-operation services. The services include Meetings: Apart from the Annual general meeting the Bank for International Settlements organizes meetings on a bimonthly basis. This meeting brings the member central banks together with the aim of monitoring the global economic and financial development and discusses issues on its policies in relation to the monetary and financial stability. Committees and Secretariats Bank for International Settlements has several committees to monitor specific problems and issues in the international finance and cross border loans. Alongside, several other committees and organizations focusing on international financial systems have their secretariats in the Bank for International Settlements and work closely with the bank in order to enhance the overall international banking and cross border finance. Basel committee of the Bank for International Settlements is the committee that laid the specifications for capital measurement and capital standard of the central banks participating in the international banking. Research and Statistics: In order to support its meetings and the activities of the organization’s Basel based committees the Bank for International Settlements carries out regular research on economic, monetary, financial and legal areas of the international banking and cross border finance. Investment services for central banks: Bank for International Settlements also provides security, liquidity and return for its central bank members. The three primary points with respect to this identified by the organization are To provide security, the Bank has built up a sizeable equity capital and ample reserves. It pursues an investment strategy focused on combining diversification benefits with intensive credit and market risk analysis. To ensure liquidity, the Bank stands ready to repurchase its tradable instruments at little cost to its customers and thus respond quickly and flexibly to their needs. The BIS offers an attractive and competitive return on the funds deposited by central banks and international organisations The Bank for International Settlements focuses on serving the financial needs of central banks of the member countries. Alongside, it also acts as a banker managing the funds for numerous international financial institutions. 2.2: Basel committee Overview The Basel committee was established the member central banks of the Bank for International Settlements in order to create a standard for the international banking and capital framework for crass border finance and lending. The committee was initially set up in 1970 and meets regularly four times a year to discuss the progress in international banking and address issues related to business in this context. The member nations of the committee include Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States. The country’s central bank and financial institutions that are not active in banking commercially but monitor the financial operations of the nation both at national and international levels represent the nations. The committee does no possess any authority over its member nations banking systems and the decisions of the committee are never intended to have a legal force on its member nations. The Central bank governors of the Group ten countries endorse the committee’s major initiatives. Also the committee reports to the group ten countries central bank governors. The committee first proposed he capital measurement system in 1988 commonly referred to as ‘Basel Capital Accord’. The committee aims in supervising the international banking operations of the nations across the globe. The decisions of the committee endorsed by the group ten countries address various financial issues in the international market outside the groups as well. The major aim of the committee is the ‘close the gaps in international supervisory coverage’ and to ensure that no foreign banking systems escapes the supervision in order to establish a harmony among the member nations of the Bank for International Settlements as well as in the international market. The committee has promoted supervisory standards in the past few years. Some of its major milestones include the following 1997: Cover Principles for effective banking supervision 1999: Core Principles methodology The committee also presented the Basel II accord with revision on international capital framework. This aims to standardise the capital framework of every bank participating in the international banking as well as sets slabs for minimum capital holdings to be met by the banks in order to qualify for international operations. The committee has numerous subgroups to perform specific tasks of the committee in order to achieve the overall motto of the committee. They are listed below Accord Implementation Group Accounting Task Force Capital Group Capital Task Force Core Principles Liaison Group (with 16 non-G10 countries) Cross-Border Banking Group Electronic Banking Group Joint Forum (with IAIS and IOSCO) Joint IOSCO BCBS Working Group on Trading Book Research Task Force Risk Management Group Securitisation Group Transparency Group The next section provides a detailed analysis of the Basel II accord and its various implications on international banking is discussed in chapter 3. 2.3 The Basel II Accord The Basel II accord was released in June 2004 further to the release of the Basel Accord in 2003. The Basel II is a revised edition of the initial Basel capital accord. It is a framework designed to derive the capital holdings of internationally active banks to meet the international standards and sets a minimum level of capital holding which is a primary criteria for the banks. The Basel II framework is aimed to be applied on a consolidated basis over internationally active banks in order to preserve the integrity of capital in the banks with subsidiaries. Also the framework eliminates the double gearing through this approach. The Basel II accord’s framework is also applied on a fully consolidated basis on any parent holding company which acts as a parent entity within a banking group in order to capture the risk on a consolidated basis without missing any element that contributes considerably to the risk of the overall banking system. Alongside, the framework is also applicable to all internationally active banks at every tier of the banking group. Apart from the aforementioned statements one of the principal objectives of the Basel II Accord is to protect the interest of the depositors essentially to ensure that capital recognised capital adequacy measures is readily available for the depositors. Apparently, these measures are aimed to establish a common platform for international banking and cross border finance across the globe. The scope of application extends to the following segments of the international banking and finance entities. Banking, securities and other financial subsidiaries Significant minority investments in banking securities Insurance entities Significant investment in commercial entities. Deduction of investment pursuant to this part The aforementioned entities are obtained from the Basel Committee report on International Convergence of Capital Measurement and Capital Standards, published in June 2004. The Basel II accord overview is based on this report. The illustration in the fig 1 gives a clear picture of the overall scope of application of the Basel II accord. The Basel II accord is split into three pillars. The first Pillar: Minimum Capital Requirements This is the very important pillar of the Basel II Accord. This pillar has very clear definitions of the Accord’s application on the credit risks and operational risk along with the Trading Book issues that are vital for international banking establishment. The layout in fig 2 reproduced from the Basel II report provides the inner picture of the First Pillar. The following subsections provide a detailed analysis on the elements shown in fig 2. 2.4: The First Pillar The First pillar lays down the minimum capital requirements that every internationally active bank should incorporate.   It is split into the following subsection. 2.4.1:   Calculation of Minimum capital requirements The minimum capital requirement is calculated as a measure of the capital ration. The capital ratio in turn is calculated using the regulatory capital and risk-weighted assets. The requirement of this criterion is that the capital ration must be a minimum of 8% or more in order to be eligible for the international activities. Also, in case of a two tier system the capital in tier 2 must not be greater than the tier 1 capital (i.e.) the tier 2 capital can be a maximum of 100% of the tier 1 capital. The capital is accounted from the following sources    Regulatory capital: The minimum accounting capital requirements for the financial institution encompasses the regulatory capital. The Basel II accord has withdrawn the provision to include general provisions in tire 2 capital, which was in effect in the 1988 Accord under the Internal Ratings-Based (IRB) approach.   Furthermore the accord has lain down that the banks using the Internal Ratings Based approach to their other assets mu st compare the amount of total eligible provision with the total expected losses amount to the bank. This eventually increases the capital holding of the bank in order to meet the criteria. Risk Weighted Assets: The Basel II Accord calculates the total risk-weighted assets by multiplying the capital requirement for market risk and operational risk by the reciprocal of the minimum capital ratio of 8% and adding the resulting value to the sum of risk weighted assets for credit risk. Even though this is subject to review the approach lays enormous burden on the bank to increase its minimum capital holdings. Apparently the Basel II Accord is aiming to establish that the internationally active banks must have enough capital to meet its short comings without depending on loans and cross border finance to address its immediate requirements and short comings. The idea though being novel is very intense for the banks to maintain the required minimum capital. Transitional Arrangements: The Accord has also stated that the banks following the Internal Ratings-Based approach or the Advanced Measurements Approach (AMA) that there will be a capital floor after the implementation of the Basel II framework. The adjustment factors used in both the internal ratings-based approach and the advanced measurements approach for calculating the capital floor as per the definition of the Basel II framework is shown in fig 3 below. 2.4.2: Credit Risk-The Standardised Approach Under this method the Basel committee provides the internationally active banks a choice for calculating their capital requirements for credit risk. The first approach is the standardised method of measuring the credit risk through support from external credit assessments. This method is approved by the Basel committee while the other method is yet to explicitly approved by the committee. Under the alternate method of calculating the credit risk, the bank supervisor can allow banks to use their internal rating systems for calculating the credit risk. Under both the methodologies one should not oversee the fact that the Basel committee is very keen in assessing the credit risk on the capital holdings of the internationally active banks. Even though this is appreciated, the rules are very stringent making it very difficult for the banks for adopt easily. 2.4.3 Credit Risk- Internal Ratings Based Approach The Basel II committee has given supervisory approval for banks to use the Internal Ratings-Based approach to determine their capital requirement for a given exposure subject to certain minimum conditions and disclosure requirements. The risk components considered include Measures of the probability of default (PD), Loss given default (LGD), The exposure at default (EAD), Effective maturity (M) The Basel II accord states that â€Å"The Internal Ratings Based Approach is based on the measure of unexpected loses (UL) and Expected Loses (EL). Under the Internal Ratings Based Approach, the committee expects the bank to categories their exposures in order to identify the different underlying risk characteristics. The categories include corporate, sovereign, bank, retail and equity. These are identified as the corporate asset classes and the approach further expects the bank to identify the subclasses associated with the asset classes in order to measure the credit risk associated with the exposure. The detailed analysis of every corporate class and its associated subclasses is beyond the scope of this report. In essence the Internal Ratings Based Approach gives the bank more liberty to calculate its credit-risk on the minimum capital requirement for a given exposure. But the producers laid by the Basel II Accord is very tedious to adopt and implement for every corporate class exposure and identifying the subclasses associated. 2.4.4: Credit Risk- Securitisation Framework The Basel Committee in its revised accord, has made it mandatory for the banks to apply the Securitisation Framework for determining regulatory capital requirements on exposure arising from traditional and synthetic Securitisation or similar structures that contain features common to both.   The Basel II accord also states that the capital treatment of the Securitisation exposure must be determined on the basis of the economic substance rather than the legal form of the structure. It is apparent that the securities can be structured in many different ways and the committee has approved the use of either the traditional Securitisation or the synthetic Securitisation framework. Also the Basel II accord expects the supervisor to look at the economic substance of transaction in order to determine whether it should be subject to Securitisation framework or not. This gives the discretionary power to the supervisor to decide on a specific transaction whether to include it in the framework or to eliminate it from the framework towards determining the regulatory capital framework. The traditional Securitisation and the synthetic Securitisation framework are discussed below. Traditional Securitisation: The Basel II Accord defines the traditional framework as â€Å"a structure where the cash flow from an underlying pool of exposures is used to service at least two different stratified risk positions or tranches reflecting different degrees of credit risk†. The advantage with this approach is that the payment to the investors is based on the performance of the specified underlying exposures rather than a derivation from an obligation of the entity originating those exposures. Synthetic Securitisation â€Å"A synthetic Securitisation is a structure with at least two different stratified risk positions or tranches that reflect different degrees of credit risk where credit risk of an underlying pool of exposures is transferred, in whole or in part, through the use of funded (e.g. credit-linked notes) or un-funded (e.g. credit default swaps) credit derivatives or guarantees that serve to hedge the credit risk of the portfolio†. This approach leaves the return to the investors in the hands of the performance of the underlying pool. Apparently, the risk associated is higher since the performance can be affected by numerous causes. From the above-mentioned approaches the Basel II accord’s stand for evaluating the capital and minimum capital requirements are evident. 2.4.5: Operational Risk The operational risk is defined by the Basel Committee as the risk associated with the loss resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes, people, systems or external events. This includes the legal risk with the exclusion of strategic and reputational risk. The Basel II Accord has approved three methods for calculating the operational risk and risk sensitivity with the implications on minimum capital requirements. They are: (i) The Basic indicator approach, (ii) the Standardised Approach and (iii) Advanced Measurement Approach. Basic Indicator Approach: In this case the banks should hold capital for the operational risk equal to the average over the past three years of a fixed percentage. This is expressed as a formula below KBIA = [ÃŽ £ (GI1†¦n x ÃŽ ±)]/n Where KBIA = the capital charge under the Basic Indicator Approach GI = annual gross income, where positive, over the previous three years n = number of the previous three years for which gross income is positive ÃŽ ± = 15%, which is set by the Committee, relating the industry wide level of required capital to the industry wide level of the indicator. This formula is obtained from the Basel II accord for the purpose of reader understanding. Standardised Approach: The standardised approach divides the bank’s activities into eight-business lines namely corporate finance, trading sales, retail banking, commercial banking, payment settlement, agency services, asset management, and retail brokerage. The likelihood of operational risk exposure is calculated from the gross income associated with each business line that serves as an indicator for the scale of business operations by the bank in that specific area of business or business line. This approach is very clumsy since the gross income associated with the business line varies due to numerous reasons both internal and external. Advanced Measurement Approach: The Advanced Measurement Approach equates the regulatory capital requirement with the risk measure generated by the bank’s internal operational risk measurement system using quantitative and qualitative criteria. The banks can use this method only after the approval by the Committee. The Basel II Accord sets the approach for the banks based on their international activity and significant operational risk exposures. Also, when a bank agrees to use a more sophisticated method, it cannot revert back to the easier method without approval from the supervisor. This eventually increases the burden on the banks to choose a sophisticated method. 2.4.6: Trading Book Issues The final segment of the first pillar is the trading book. Basel Committee defines the trading book as a container of both the financial instruments and commodities held either with trading intent or in order to hedge other elements of the trading book. The trading book forms a vital element for the bank since it is the record of the bank’s financial instruments as well as commodities. The Basel II Accord identifies four key principles for the supervisory process. They are listed below. The basic requirements for the eligibility to trading book capital treatment put forth by the Basel II Accord are as follows Clearly documented trading strategy for the position/instrument or portfolios, approved by senior management (which would include expected holding horizon). Clearly defined policies and procedures for the active management of the position Clearly defined policy and procedures to monitor the positions against the bank’s trading strategy including the monitoring of turnover and stale positions in the bank’s trading book 2.3: The Second Pillar- Supervisory Review Process Basel committee was initially set up for the supervising the internationally active banks and produce a common platform for the smooth transactions and cross border finance. The Basel II Accord has established Supervisory Process as one of the three pillars in order to emphasise its stand on supervisory process. The importance of supervisory process is described below. 2.3.1: Importance of Supervisory Process The supervisory review process of the Basel II Accord aims not only to ensure that banks have adequate capital to support all the risks in their business but also intends to encourage the banks to develop and use better risk management techniques in monitoring and managing risks. Alongside, the supervisory process by developing internal capital assessment process and setting capital targets that are commensurate with the bank’s risk profile recognises the importance for bank management in order to improve the atmosphere in the international banking and cross border finance. The Supervisory process evaluates the relationship between the amount of capital held by the bank against the risk, strength and effectiveness of the bank’s risk management eventually guiding the bank and supervising its activities in order to improve the performance of the banks in the international business market and cross border finance. 2.3.2 Four Key Principles of the supervisory review The four key principles identified by the Basel II Accord on the supervisory process is listed below. These principles emphasise on the committee’s focus on supervision and its aim to maintain harmony in the international banking and cross border finance. Principle 1: Banks should have a process for assessing their overall capital adequacy in relation to their risk profile and a strategy for maintaining their capital levels. Principle 2: Supervisors should review and evaluate banks’ internal capital adequacy assessments and strategies, as well as their ability to monitor and ensure their compliance with regulatory capital ratios. Supervisors should take appropriate supervisory action if they are not satisfied with the result of this process. Principle 3: Supervisors should expect banks to operate above the minimum regulatory capital ratios and should have the ability to require banks to hold capital in excess of the minimum. Principle 4: Supervisors should seek to intervene at an early stage to prevent capital from falling below the minimum levels required to support the risk characteristics of a particular bank and should require rapid remedial action if capital is not maintained or restored. 2.3.3: Issues to be addressed There are two specific issues to be addressed by the Supervisory-Review Process. They are Interest Rate Risk in the Banking book: Since it is clear that the Basel Committee’s primary focus is on identifying and preventing risk in the international b