Banks of India and Bank

Project Report On CUSTOMER SATISFACTION CORPORATE GUIDE FACULTY GUIDE Mr. Ravi Parmar Mr. Rajnish mallick Relationship Manager Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the requirement of Post Graduate Diploma in management Submitted By Ankur Singh PGDM-III, Semester Batch- 2008-10 Roll no. 014908005 Centre for Management Technology Knowledge Park I Gr. Noida AcknowledgementsIf words are considered to be signs of gratitude then let these words Convey the very same My sincere gratitude to ICICI BANK for providing me with an opportunity to work with BANK and giving necessary directions on doing this project to the best of my abilities. I am highly indebted to Mr. Remay Verma, Branch Manager and Mr. Ravi Parmar (RM) company project guide, who has provided me with the necessary information and also for the support extended out to me in the completion of this report and his valuable suggestion and comments on bringing out this report in the best way possible. I also thank Prof.Anant Jyoti,(HO D of PGDM), who has sincerely supported me with the valuable insights into the completion of this project. I am grateful to all faculty members of C-Mat and my friends who have helped me in the successful completion of this project. | CONTENTS| | Sr. No. | Subject Covered| Page No. | 1| Acknowledgements| 2| 2| Executive Summary| 4| 3| My Project Objective| 7| 4| Banking Structure in India| 8| 5| Introduction| 9| 6| History of Banking in India| 10| 7| Bank In India| 17| 8| Fact Files of Banks in India| 19| 9| Indian Banking Industries| 26| 10| ICICI Bank | 28| 11| ICICI Group | 33| 2| Technology used in ICICI Bank| 39| 13| Product and Customer segments | 41| 11| Product| 44| 14| SWOT Analysis | 55| 15| Research Methodology| 57| 16| Company Efforts To Ensure Customer Satisfaction | 59| 17| Data Analysis | 69| 18| Comparison With SBI| 79| 19| SWOT Analysis(comparative)| 87| 20 | Questionnaire | 93| 21| Finding | 98| 22 | Suggestion | 99| 23 | Conclusion| 102| 24| Bibliography| 103| | E XECUTIVE SUMMARY Private banking is a concept which is new and fast emerging in the world of banking where changes have become a necessity in order for banks to survive n this competitive environment vis-a-vis not only from the public and private sector banks but also from the foreign banks. The objective of the research is to explore the various products, which a private banker deals into and the systematic process involved to match client requirements with the right kind of product. Through this research one of the main objectives is to explore the reason why most of the banks are injecting private banking as business profile to their set of service offerings. Though private banking evolved in late 80’s in Asia, in India its not more than 5 years old.ICICI started it in Aug 2002 and since then it has been a remarkable success. Today there are enormous solutions to cater client needs but what suits best to a client is where private banking fits in. Every client will have dif ferent needs, liking and preferences. So a customized portfolio for every client is the need of the day. This research will highlight more on the product portfolio of ICICI Private Banking, how they have changed or innovatively structured to be attractive and competitive. Research objective 1. To draw the comparative analysis of ICICI BANK Ltd with SBI etc. 2.To identify the major attributes of customer satisfaction. 3. To study customer perception about ICICI BANK Ltd. 4. To identify and study the various ways of ensuring customer satisfaction adopted by ICICI BANK Vs HDFC & SBI. ————————————————- BANKING STRUCTURE IN INDIA Scheduled Banks in India (A) Scheduled Commercial Banks Public sector Banks| Private sector Banks| Foreign Banks in India| Regional Rural Bank| (28)| (27)| (29)| (102)| * Nationalized Bank * Other Public Sector Banks (IDBI) * SBI and its Associates| * Old Private Banks * New Private Banks| | | B) Scheduled Cooperative Banks Scheduled Urban Cooperative Banks (55)| Scheduled State Cooperative Banks (31)| Here we more concerned about private sector banks and competition among them. Today, there are 27 private sector banks in the banking sector: 19 old private sector banks and 8 new private sector banks. These new banks have brought in state-of-the-art technology and aggressively marketed their products. The Public sector banks are facing a stiff competition from the new private sector banks.The banks which have been setup in the 1990s under the guidelines of the Narasimham Committee are referred to as NEW PRIVATE SECTOR BANKS. introduction The banking section will navigate through all the aspects of the Banking System in India. It will discuss upon the matters with the birth of the banking concept in the country to new players adding their names in the industry in coming few years. The banker of all banks, Reserve Bank of India (RBI ), the Indian Banks Association (IBA) and top 20 banks like IDBI, HSBC, ICICI, ABN AMRO, etc. as been well defined under three separate heads with one page dedicated to each bank. However, in the introduction part of the entire banking cosmos, the past has been well explained under three different heads namely: * History of Banking in India * Nationalization of Banks in India * Scheduled Commercial Banks in India The first deals with the history part since the dawn of banking system in India. Government took major step in the 1969 to put the banking sector into systems and it nationalized 14 private banks in the mentioned year. This has been elaborated in Nationalization Banks in India.The last but not the least explains about the scheduled and unscheduled banks in India. Section 42 (6) (a) of RBI Act 1934 lays down the condition of scheduled commercial banks. The descriptions along with a list of scheduled commercial banks are given on this page. * HISTORY OF BANKING IN INDIA Witho ut a sound and effective banking system in India it cannot have a healthy economy. The banking system of India should not only be hassle free but it should be able to meet new challenges posed by the technology and any other external and internal factors.For the past three decades India's banking system has several outstanding achievements to its credit. The most striking is its extensive reach. It is no longer confined to only metropolitans or cosmopolitans in India. In fact, Indian banking system has reached even to the remote corners of the country. This is one of the main reasons of India's growth process. The government's regular policy for Indian bank since 1969 has paid rich dividends with the nationalization of 14 major private banks of India.Not long ago, an account holder had to wait for hours at the bank counters for getting a draft or for withdrawing his own money. Today, he has a choice. Gone are days when the most efficient bank transferred money from one branch to oth er in two days. Now it is simple as instant messaging or dial a pizza. Money have become the order of the day. The first bank in India, though conservative, was established in 1786. From 1786 till today, the journey of Indian Banking System can be segregated into three distinct phases. They are as mentioned below: * Early phase from 1786 to 1969 of Indian Banks Nationalization of Indian Banks and up to 1991 prior to Indian banking sector Reforms. * New phase of Indian Banking System with the advent of Indian Financial ; Banking Sector Reforms after 1991. To make this write-up more explanatory, I prefix the scenario as Phase I, Phase II and Phase III. Phase I The General Bank of India was set up in the year 1786. Next came Bank of Hindustan and Bengal Bank. The East India Company established Bank of Bengal (1809), Bank of Bombay (1840) and Bank of Madras (1843) as independent units and called it Presidency Banks.These three banks were amalgamated in 1920 and Imperial Bank of India wa s established which started as private shareholders banks, mostly Europeans shareholders. In 1865 Allahabad Bank was established and first time exclusively by Indians, Punjab National Bank Ltd. was set up in 1894 with headquarters at Lahore. Between 1906 and 1913, Bank of India, Central Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Indian Bank, and Bank of Mysore were set up. Reserve Bank of India came in 1935. During the first phase the growth was very slow and banks also experienced periodic failures between 1913 and 1948.There were approximately 1100 banks, mostly small. To streamline the functioning and activities of commercial banks, the Government of India came up with The Banking Companies Act, 1949 which was later changed to Banking Regulation Act 1949 as per amending Act of 1965 (Act No. 23 of 1965). Reserve Bank of India was vested with extensive powers for the supervision of banking in India as the Central Banking Authority. During those day’s public has lesser confi dence in the banks. As an aftermath deposit mobilization was slow. Abreast of it the savings bank facility provided by the Postal department was comparatively safer.Moreover, funds were largely given to traders. Phase II Government took major steps in this Indian Banking Sector Reform after independence. In 1955, it nationalized Imperial Bank of India with extensive banking facilities on a large scale especially in rural and semi-urban areas. It formed State Bank of India to act as the principal agent of RBI and to handle banking transactions of the Union and State Governments all over the country. Seven banks forming subsidiary of State Bank of India was nationalized in 1960 on 19th July, 1969, major process of nationalization was carried out.It was the effort of the then Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi. 14 major commercial banks in the country was nationalized. Second phase of nationalization Indian Banking Sector Reform was carried out in 1980 with seven more banks. T his step brought 80% of the banking segment in India under Government ownership. The following are the steps taken by the Government of India to Regulate Banking Institutions in the Country: * 1949: Enactment of Banking Regulation Act. * 1955: Nationalization of State Bank of India. * 1959: Nationalization of SBI subsidiaries. 1961: Insurance cover extended to deposits. * 1969: Nationalization of 14 major banks. * 1971: Creation of credit guarantee corporation. * 1975: Creation of regional rural banks. * 1980: Nationalization of seven banks with deposits over 200 crore. After the nationalization of banks, the branches of the public sector bank India rose to approximately 800% in deposits and advances took a huge jump by 11,000%. Banking in the sunshine of Government ownership gave the public implicit faith and immense confidence about the sustainability of these institutions. Phase IIIThis phase has introduced many more products and facilities in the banking sector in its reforms me asure. In 1991, under the chairmanship of M Narasimham, a committee was set up by his name which worked for the liberalization of banking practices. The country is flooded with foreign banks and their ATM stations. Efforts are being put to give a satisfactory service to customers. Phone banking and net banking is introduced. The entire system became more convenient and swift. Time is given more importance than money. The financial system of India has shown a great deal of resilience.It is sheltered from any crisis triggered by any external macroeconomics shock as other East Asian Countries suffered. This is all due to a flexible exchange rate regime, the foreign reserves are high, the capital account is not yet fully convertible, and banks and their customers have limited foreign exchange exposure. BANKS IN INDIA In India the banks are being segregated in different groups. Each group has their own benefits and limitations in operating in India. Each has their own dedicated target ma rket. Few of them only work in rural sector while others in both rural as well as urban.Many even are only catering in cities. Some are of Indian origin and some are foreign players. All these details and many more is discussed over here. The banks and its relation with the customers, their mode of operation, the names of banks under different groups and other such useful information’s are talked about. One more section has been taken note of is the upcoming foreign banks in India. The RBI has shown certain interest to involve more of foreign banks than the existing one recently. This step has paved a way for few more foreign banks to start business in India. Major Banks in India| ABN-AMRO Bank * Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank * American Express Bank * Andhra Bank * Allahabad Bank * Bank of Baroda * Bank of India * Bank of Maharastra * Bank of Punjab * Bank of Rajasthan * Bank of Ceylon * BNP Paribas Bank * Canara Bank * Catholic Syrian Bank * Central Bank of India * Centurion Ban k * China Trust Commercial Bank * Citi Bank * City Union Bank * Corporation Bank * Dena Bank * Deutsche Bank * Development Credit Bank * Dhanalakshmi Bank * Federal Bank * HDFC Bank * HSBC ICICI Bank * IDBI Bank * Indian Bank | * Indian Overseas Bank * IndusInd Bank * ING Vysya Bank * Jammu ; Kashmir Bank * JPMorgan Chase Bank * Karnataka Bank * Karur Vysya Bank * Laxmi Vilas Bank * Oriental Bank of Commerce * Punjab National Bank * Punjab ; Sind Bank * Scotia Bank * South Indian Bank * Standard Chartered Bank * State Bank of India (SBI) * State Bank of Bikaner ; Jaipur * State Bank of Hyderabad * State Bank of Indore * State Bank of Mysore * State Bank of Saurastra * State Bank of Travancore * Syndicate Bank * Taib Bank * UCO Bank * Union Bank of India * United Bank of India * United Bank Of India * United Western Bank * UTI Bank | Fact Files of Banks in India The first, the oldest, the largest, the biggest, get all such types of information’s about Banking in India in this section. The first bank in India to be given an ISO Certification| Canara Bank| The first bank in Northern India to get ISO 9002 certification for their selected branches| Punjab and Sind Bank| The first Indian bank to have been started solely with Indian capital| Punjab National Bank| The first among the private sector banks in Kerala to become a scheduled bank in 1946 under the RBIAct| South Indian Bank| India's oldest, largest and most successful commercial bank, offering the widest possible range of domestic, international and NRI products and services, through its vast network in India and overseas| State Bank of India| India's second largest private sector bank and is now the largest scheduled commercial bank in India| The Federal Bank Limited| Bank which started as private shareholders banks, mostly Europeans shareholders| Imperial Bank of India| The first Indian bank to open a branch outside India in London in 1946 and the first to open a branch in continental Europe at Pari s in 1974| Bank of India, founded in 1906 in Mumbai| The oldest Public Sector Bank in India having branches all over India and serving the customers for the last 132 years| Allahabad Bank| The first Indian commercial bank which was wholly owned and managed by Indians| Central Bank of India| | | Bank of India was founded in 1906 in Mumbai. It became the first Indian bank to open a branch outside India in London in 1946 and the first to open a branch in continental Europe at Paris in 1974. PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS Among the Public Sector Banks in India, United Bank of India is one of the 14 major banks, which were nationalized on July 19, 1969. Its predecessor, in the Public Sector Banks, the United Bank of India Ltd. , was formed in 1950 with the amalgamation of four banks viz. Camilla Banking Corporation Ltd. (1914), Bengal Central Bank Ltd. (1918), Camilla Union Bank Ltd. (1922) and Hooghly Bank Ltd. (1932).Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC), Government of India Undertaking offers Domestic , NRI and Commercial banking services. OBC is implementing a GRAMEEN PROJECT in Dehradun District (UP) and Hanumangarh District (Rajasthan) disbursing small loans. This Public Sector Bank India has implemented 14 point action plan for strengthening of credit delivery to women and has designated 5 branches as specialized branches for women entrepreneurs. The following are the list of Public Sector Banks in India * Allahabad Bank * Andhra Bank * Bank of Baroda * Bank of India * Bank of Maharastra * Canara Bank * Central Bank of India * Corporation Bank * Dena Bank * Indian Bank * Indian Overseas Bank * Oriental Bank of Commerce Punjab ; Sind Bank * Punjab National Bank * Syndicate Bank * UCO Bank * Union Bank of India * United Bank of India * Vijaya Bank List of State Bank of India and its subsidiary, a Public Sector Banks * State Bank of India * State Bank of Bikaner ; Jaipur * State Bank of Hyderabad * State Bank of Indore * State Bank of Mysore * State Bank of Saurastra * State Ban k of Travancore PRIVATE SECTOR BANKS: Private banking in India was practiced since the beginning of banking system in India. The first private bank in India to be set up in Private Sector Banks in India was IndusInd Bank. It is one of the fastest growing Bank Private Sector Banks in India.IDBI ranks the tenth largest development bank in the world as Private Banks in India and has promoted world class institutions in India. The first Private Bank in India to receive an in principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India was Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited, to set up a bank in the private sector banks in India as part of the RBI's liberalization of the Indian Banking Industry. It was incorporated in August 1994 as HDFC Bank Limited with registered office in Mumbai and commenced operations as Scheduled Commercial Bank in January 1995. ING Vysya, yet another Private Bank of India was incorporated in the year 1930. Bangalore has a pride of place for having the first bran ch inception in the year 1934.With successive years of patronage and constantly setting new standards in banking, ING Vysya Bank has many credits to its account. List of Private Banks in India * Bank of Punjab * Bank of Rajasthan * Catholic Syrian Bank * Centurion Bank * City Union Bank * Dhanalakshmi Bank * Development Credit Bank * Federal Bank * HDFC Bank * ICICI Bank * IDBI Bank * IndusInd Bank * ING Vysya Bank * Jammu & Kashmir Bank * Karnataka Bank * Karur Vysya Bank * Laxmi Vilas Bank * South Indian Bank * United Western Bank INDIAN BANKING INDUSTRY The Indian banking market is growing at an astonishing rate, with Assets expected to reach US$1 trillion by 2010.An expanding economy, middle class, and technological innovations are all contributing to this growth. The country’s middle class accounts for over 320 million People. In correlation with the growth of the economy, rising income levels, increased standard of living, and affordability of banking products are promi sing factors for continued expansion. The Indian banking market is growing at an astonishing rate, with Assets expected to reach US$1 trillion by 2010. An expanding economy, middle class, and technological innovations are all contributing to this growth. The Indian banking Industry is in the middle of an IT revolution, Focusing on the expansion of retail and rural banking.Players are becoming increasingly customer – centric in their approach, which has resulted in innovative methods of offering new banking products and services. Banks are now realizing the importance of being a big player and are beginning to focus their attention on mergers and acquisitions to take advantage of economies of scale and/or comply with Basel II regulation. â€Å"Indian banking industry assets are expected to reach US$1 trillion by 2010 and are poised to receive a greater infusion of foreign capital,† says Prathima Rajan, analyst in Celent's banking group and author of the report. â€Å"T he banking industry should focus on having a small number of large players that can compete globally rather than having a large number of fragmented players. † | |Type| Private, BSE & NSE, NYSE| Founded| 1955 (as Industrial credit and Investment corporation of India)| Headquarters| ICICI Bank Ltd. , ICICI Bank Towers, Bandra Kurla Mumbai, India| Key people| N Vaghul, K. V. Kamath, Chanda Kochhar, V Vaidyanathan, Madhabi Puri | Industry| Banking Insurance Capital Markets and allied industries| Products| Loans, Credit Cards, Savings, Investment vehicles, Insurance etc. | Revenue| ^ USD 5. 79 billion| Total assets| Rs. 3,997. 95 billion (US$ 100 billion) at March 31, 2008. | Overview ICICI Bank (formerly Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India).ICICI Limited was established in 1955 by the World Bank, the Government of India and the Indian Industry, for the promotion of industrial development in India by giving project and corporate finance to the industries in India . ICICI Bank has grown from a development bank to a financial conglomerate and has become one of the largest public financial institutions in India. ICICI Bank has financed all the major sectors of the economy, covering 6,848 companies and 16,851 projects. As of March 31, 2000, ICICI had disbursed a total of Rs. 1,13,070 crores, since inception. ICICI Bank Fact Files: Total assets: Rs. 146,214 crore (December 31, 2004) Network: 530 branches ATMs: Over 1,880 Abroad Subsidiaries: United Kingdom and Canada Abroad branches: Singapore and Bahrain Representative offices: United States, China, United Arab Emirates, and Bangladesh and South Africa.ICICI Bank is India's second-largest bank with total assets of about Rs. 2,513. 89 bn (US$ 56. 3 bn) at March 31, 2006 and profit after tax of Rs. 25. 40 bn (US$ 569 mn) for the year ended March 31, 2006 (Rs. 20. 05 bn (US$ 449 mn) for the year ended March 31, 2005). ICICI Bank has a network of about 614 branches and extension counters and over 2, 200 ATMs. ICICI Bank offers a wide range of banking products and financial services to corporate and retail customers through a variety of delivery channels and through its specialized subsidiaries and affiliates in the areas of investment banking, life and non-life insurance, venture capital and asset management.ICICI Bank set up its international banking group in fiscal 2002 to cater to the cross border needs of clients and leverage on its domestic banking strengths to offer products internationally. ICICI Bank (BSE: ICICI) ( Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India) is India's largest private sector bank in market capitalization and second largest overall in terms of assets. Bank has total assets of about USD 100 billion (at the end of March 2008), a network of over 1,491 branches, 22 regional offices and 49 regional processing centers, about 4,485 ATMs (at the end of September 2008), and 24 million customers (at the end of July 2007).ICICI Bank offers a wide range o f banking products and financial services to corporate and retail customers through a variety of delivery channels and specialized subsidiaries and affiliates in the areas of investment banking, life and non-life insurance, venture capital and asset management. (These data are dynamic. ) ICICI Bank is also the largest issuer of credit cards in India. ICICI Bank has got its equity shares listed on the stock exchanges at Kolkata and Vadodara, Mumbai and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, and its ADRs on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The Bank is expanding in overseas markets and has the largest international balance sheet among Indian banks. ICICI Bank now has wholly-owned subsidiaries, branches and representatives offices in 18 countries, including an offshore unit in Mumbai.This includes wholly owned subsidiaries in Canada, Russia and the UK (the subsidiary through which the hisave savings brand is operated), offshore banking units in Bahrain and Singapore, an adviso ry branch in Dubai, branches in Belgium, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka, and representative offices in Bangladesh, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Africa, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and USA. Overseas, the Bank is targeting the NRI (Non-Resident Indian) population in particular. ICICI reported a 1. 15% rise in net profit to Rs. 1,014. 21 crore on a 1. 29% increase in total income to Rs. 9,712. 31 crore in Q2 September 2008 over Q2 September 2007. The bank's current and savings account (CASA) ratio increased to 30% in 2008 from 25% in 2007.ICICI Bank currently has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Russia and Canada, branches in Singapore, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and Dubai International Finance Center and representative offices in the United States, United Arab Emirates, China, South Africa and Bangladesh. Our UK subsidiary has established a branch in Belgium. ICICI Bank is the most valuable bank in India in terms of market capitalization. ICICI Bank's equity shares are list ed in India on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited and its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). ICICI Bank has formulated a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics for its Directors and employees.At June 5, 2006, ICICI Bank, with free float market capitalization of about Rs. 480. 00 billion (US$ 10. 8 billion) ranked third amongst all the companies listed on the Indian stock exchanges. ICICI Bank was originally promoted in 1994 by ICICI Limited, an Indian financial Institution, and was its wholly owned subsidiary. ICICI's shareholding in ICICI Bank was reduced to 46% through a public offering of shares in India in fiscal 1998, an equity offering in the form of ADRs listed on the NYSE in fiscal 2000, ICICI Bank's acquisition of Bank of Madura Limited in an all-stock amalgamation in fiscal 2001, and secondary market sales by ICICI to institutional investors in fiscal 2001 and fiscal 2002.ICICI was form ed in 1955 at the initiative of The World Bank, the Government of India and representatives of Indian industry. The principal objective was to create a development financial institution for Providing medium-term and long-term project financing to Indian businesses. In the 1990s, ICICI transformed its business from a development financial institution offering only project finance to a diversified financial service group offering a wide variety of products and services, both directly and through a number of subsidiaries and affiliates like ICICI Bank. In 1999, ICICI become the first Indian company and the first bank or financial institution from non-Japan Asia to be listed on the NYSE.In October 2001, the Boards of Directors of ICICI and ICICI Bank approved the merger of ICICI and two of its wholly owned retail finance subsidiaries, ICICI Personal Financial Services Limited and ICICI Capital Services Limited, with ICICI Bank. The merger was approved by shareholders of ICICI and ICICI Bank in January 2002, by the High Court of Gujarat at Ahmadabad in March 2002, and by the High Court of Judicature at Mumbai and the Reserve Bank of India in April 2002. Consequent to the merger, the ICICI group's financing and banking Operations, both wholesale and retail, have been integrated in a single entity. Free float holding excludes all promoter holdings, strategic investments and Cross holdings among  Ã‚  Ã‚   public sector entities. BUSINESS OBJECTIVES Vision To be the leading provider of financial services in India and a major global bank. Mission We will leverage our people, technology, speed and financial capital to: be the banker of first choice for our customers by delivering high quality, world-class service. * Expand the frontiers of our business globally. * Play a proactive role in the full realisation of India’s potential. * maintain a healthy financial profile and diversify our earnings across businesses and geographies. * Maintain high standards of gov ernance and ethics. * Contribute positively to the various countries and markets in which we operate. * Create value for our stakeholders. * Product and Services Service and banking of ICICI bank categorized in to personal banking, business banking and NRI banking services. Personal banking- Deposit in form of saving, recurring, term deposit, senior itizen deposit and children depository account are there for individual customer can also avail of their housing, automobile, farm equipment, business or personal loan scheme. Personal client can also invest in mutual funds and participate in stock trading through ICICI bank. Business banking  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Business banking services of ICICI Bank are exhaustive. Project financing, deal assessment, and land evaluation are investment banking services offered to corporate clients. Global trade and cash management transaction services facilitate remittances and receipts across important cities. Capital market and custodial services enable busin ess houses to participate in equity trading and transfer across major stock markets of world.Customer ICICI bank targets all segment of customer with various types of products and services. I interacted with a a lot of customers and collect their feedback on the given services of company, and feedback are positive response from all point of view. Customers are beneficiary from both sides monetary as well as non monetary. The bank targets to add nearly 500,000 customers under the new scheme in the next one year and plans to offer auto loans through the new online channel in the future, ICICI Bank's Executive Director, V Vaidyanathan, said here. â€Å"As of now, nearly 24 per cent of our customer transactions are happening through internet.We are primarily targeting our urban customers, who constitute nearly 70 per cent of our total customer-base,† Vaidyanathan said. Customers, opting for the service can also benefit from the quantum optima facility, wherein if the balance exce eds Rs 5,000, the money will automatically be transferred to a fixed deposit scheme, he said. The facility, which also enable customers to transact between an ICICI Bank account and accounts in other banks, is being offered free of cost, he said ICICI bank, presently, has above 2 crore customers. The lender opened nearly 470 branches in the last fiscal. The lender has also plans to launch ‘SMS n Cash' scheme later this week under which ICICI account holders can transfer funds to those who do not have a bank account.ICICI bank is strongly committed to protecting the privacy of its customers and has taken all necessary and reasonable measures to protect the confidentiality of the customer information and its transmission through the world wide web and it shall not be held liable for disclosure of the confidential information when in accordance with this privacy commitment or in terms of the agreements, if any, with the customers. ICICI bank Endeavour’s to safeguard and en sure the security of the information provided by the customer. ICICI bank uses 128-bit encryption, for the transmission of the information, which is currently the permitted level of encryption in India.When the information provided by the customers is not transmitted through this encryption, the customer's system (if configured accordingly) will display an appropriate message ensuring the best level of secrecy for the customer's information. The customer would be required to cooperate with ICICI bank in order to ensure the security of the information, and it is recommended that the customers necessarily choose their passwords carefully such that no unauthorized access is made by a third party. To make the password complex and difficult for others to guess, the customers should use combination of alphabets, numbers and special characters (like! @, #, $ etc. ).The customers should undertake not to disclose their password to anyone or keep any written or other record of the password su ch that a third party could access it. * ICICI bank undertakes not to disclose the information provided by the customers to any person, unless such action is necessary to: * Conform to legal requirements or comply with legal process; * Protect and defend ICICI bank's or its affiliates rights, interests or property; * Enforce the terms and conditions of the products or services; or * Act to protect the interests of ICICI bank, its affiliates, or its members, constituents or of other persons. Competitor The main competitor of is ICICI bank is SBI because this bank is totally taken by government after this bank HDFC bank is the main competitor of ICICI bank .There are different types of segment operation semment, investment and services, demat and NRI services. The competitor from the operation segment are State Bank of India(SBI), Axis, Housing Development and Financial corporation(HDFC) etc. From the investment And service sector HDFC standard life insurance corporation, Bharati Axa life insurance ,Reliance Life Insurance Corporation, Max new work life insurance SBI Life insurance,Life Insurance Corporation of India. In demat section India bull,Anangram,SBI,HDFC,India Infoline are the main competitor of ICICI bank. In the NRI service section the Western Union bank is the main competitor of ICICI bank.There are some other company who also compete with the ICICI bank After the SBI the HDFC bank is the main competitor of ICICI bank. HDFC Bank Ltd. is a commercial bank of India, incorporated in August 1994, after the Reserve Bank of India allowed establishing private sector banks. The Bank was promoted by the Housing Development Finance Corporation, a premier housing finance company (set up in 1977) of India. HDFC Bank has 1,500 branches and over 2,890 ATMs, in 530 cities in India, and all branches of the bank are linked on an online real-time basis. As of September 30, 2008 the bank had total assets of INR 1006. 82 billion. State Bank of India is the largest bank in India.It is also, measured by the number of branch offices and employees, the second largest bank in the world. [citation needed] The bank traces its ancestry back through the Imperial Bank of India to the founding in 1806 of the Bank of Calcutta, making it the oldest commercial bank in the Indian Subcontinent. The Government of India nationalised the Imperial Bank of India in 1955, with the Reserve Bank of India taking a 60% stake, and renamed it the State Bank of India. In 2008, the Government took over the stake held by the Reserve Bank of India. SBI provides a range of banking products through its vast network in India and overseas, including products aimed at NRIs.With an asset base of $126 billion and its reach, it is a regional banking behemoth. SBI has laid emphasis on reducing the huge manpower through Golden handshake schemes and computerizing its operations. The State Bank Group, with over 16000 branches , has the largest branch network in India. It has a market share among Indian commercial banks of about 20% in deposits and advances, and SBI accounts for almost one-fifth of the nation’s loans. There are some other banks which gives challenging some how in the banking and service sectorthey are: * Allahabad Bank * Andhra Bank * Bank of Baroda * Bank of India * Bank of Maharashtra * Canara Bank * Central Bank of India Corporation Bank * Dena Bank * IDBI Bank * Indian Bank * Indian Overseas Bank * Oriental Bank of Commerce * Punjab & Sind Bank * Punjab National Bank * Syndicate Bank * UCO Bank * Union Bank of India * United Bank of India * Vijaya Bank Environment An employer the bank extends a lot of authority along with justified accountability to you. The working culture is very collaborative in nature. It can be owed to the fact that the bank is highly segmented with a lot of overlapping and mostly distinct roles and responsibility. ICICI Bank has established itself as a one stop solution (Universal Bank) for all financial need of indivi duals and institutions alike.The credit for the same can be attributed to its vast network, probably the largest among private sector banks. This makes the life of an employee a lot easier, especially for those who face the external customers. You do not have to justify your organization, it is only the product that has to be pitched. As far as employee benefits are concerned, ICICI Bank offers a lot of financial benefits ranging from your family health insurance to your kids school donations. The organization is sensitive to the needs of its employees as this quality is one of the building blocks (DNA) of the organizational culture. The organization will be giving you enough flexibility to innovate and come-up with new ideas.It will also exhibit its in terms of well laid systems, processes and infrastructure. It will extend a fast track growth for those with extraordinary talent at the same time offer stability to those who are able to deliver satisfactorily. Overall, I would say i t’s a lifetime experience to work with such a behemoth organization. It might not be the best paymaster but it definitely will impress you with its capability as the head master (Principal) of banking industry. there are huge competition between the eployee to achieve theo goal. BUSINESS OBJECTIVES: Vision To be the leading provider of financial services in India and a major global bank. Mission We will leverage our people, technology, speed and financial capital to: be the banker of first choice for our customers by delivering high quality, world-class service. * expand the frontiers of our business globally. * play a proactive role in the full realisation of India’s potential. * maintain a healthy financial profile and diversify our earnings across businesses and geographies. * maintain high standards of governance and ethics. * contribute positively to the various countries and markets in which we operate. * create value for our stakeholders. Product and Services Se rvice and banking of ICICI bank categorized in to personal banking, business banking and NRI banking services.Personal banking- Deposit in form of saving, recurring, term deposit, senior citizen deposit and children depository account are there for individual customer can also avail of their housing, automobile, farm equipment, business or personal loan scheme. Personal client can also invest in mutual funds and participate in stock trading through ICICI bank. Business banking  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Business banking services of ICICI Bank are exhaustive. Project financing, deal assessment, and land evaluation are investment banking services offered to corporate clients. Global trade and cash management transaction services facilitate remittances and receipts across important cities. Capital market and custodial services enable business houses to participate in equity trading and transfer across major stock markets of world.CUSTOMER ICICI bank targets all segment of customer with various types of products and services. I interacted with a a lot of customers and collect their feedback on the given services of company, and feedback are positive response from all point of view. Customers are beneficiary from both sides monetary as well as non monetary. The bank targets to add nearly 500,000 customers under the new scheme in the next one year and plans to offer auto loans through the new online channel in the future, ICICI Bank's Executive Director, V Vaidyanathan, said here. â€Å"As of now, nearly 24 per cent of our customer transactions are happening through internet.We are primarily targeting our urban customers, who constitute nearly 70 per cent of our total customer-base,† Vaidyanathan said. Customers, opting for the service can also benefit from the quantum optima facility, wherein if the balance exceeds Rs 5,000, the money will automatically be transferred to a fixed deposit scheme, he said. The facility, which also enable customers to transact between an ICICI Bank account and accounts in other banks, is being offered free of cost, he said ICICI bank, presently, has above 2 crore customers. The lender opened nearly 470 branches in the last fiscal. The lender has also plans to launch ‘SMS n Cash' scheme later this week under which ICICI account holders can transfer funds to those who do not have a bank account.ICICI bank is strongly committed to protecting the privacy of its customers and has taken all necessary and reasonable measures to protect the confidentiality of the customer information and its transmission through the world wide web and it shall not be held liable for disclosure of the confidential information when in accordance with this privacy commitment or in terms of the agreements, if any, with the customers. ICICI bank Endeavour’s to safeguard and ensure the security of the information provided by the customer. ICICI bank uses 128-bit encryption, for the transmission of the information, which is currently the p ermitted level of encryption in India.When the information provided by the customers is not transmitted through this encryption, the customer's system (if configured accordingly) will display an appropriate message ensuring the best level of secrecy for the customer's information. The customer would be required to cooperate with ICICI bank in order to ensure the security of the information, and it is recommended that the customers necessarily choose their passwords carefully such that no unauthorized access is made by a third party. To make the password complex and difficult for others to guess, the customers should use combination of alphabets, numbers and special characters (like! @, #, $ etc. ). The customers should undertake not to disclose their password to anyone or keep any written or other record of the password such that a third party could access it. ICICI bank undertakes not to disclose the information provided by the customers to any person, unless such action is necessa ry to: * Conform to legal requirements or comply with legal process; * Protect and defend ICICI bank's or its affiliates rights, interests or property; * Enforce the terms and conditions of the products or services; or * Act to protect the interests of ICICI bank, its affiliates, or its members, constituents or of other persons. COMPETITOR The main competitor of is ICICI bank is SBI because this bank is totally taken by government after this bank HDFC bank is the main competitor of ICICI bank . There are different types of segment operation semment, investment and services, demat and NRI services. The competitor from the operation segment are State Bank of India(SBI), Axis, Housing Development and Financial corporation(HDFC) etc.From the investment And service sector HDFC standard life insurance corporation, Bharati Axa life insurance ,Reliance Life Insurance Corporation, Max new work life insurance SBI Life insurance,Life Insurance Corporation of India. In demat section India bull, Anangram,SBI,HDFC,India Infoline are the main competitor of ICICI bank. In the NRI service section the Western Union bank is the main competitor of ICICI bank. There are some other company who also compete with the ICICI bank After the SBI the HDFC bank is the main competitor of ICICI bank. HDFC Bank Ltd. is a commercial bank of India, incorporated in August 1994, after the Reserve Bank of India allowed establishing private sector banks.The Bank was promoted by the Housing Development Finance Corporation, a premier housing finance company (set up in 1977) of India. HDFC Bank has 1,500 branches and over 2,890 ATMs, in 530 cities in India, and all branches of the bank are linked on an online real-time basis. As of September 30, 2008 the bank had total assets of INR 1006. 82 billion. State Bank of India is the largest bank in India. It is also, measured by the number of branch offices and employees, the second largest bank in the world. [citation needed] The bank traces its ancestry ba ck through the Imperial Bank of India to the founding in 1806 of the Bank of Calcutta, making it the oldest commercial bank in the Indian Subcontinent.The Government of India nationalised the Imperial Bank of India in 1955, with the Reserve Bank of India taking a 60% stake, and renamed it the State Bank of India. In 2008, the Government took over the stake held by the Reserve Bank of India. SBI provides a range of banking products through its vast network in India and overseas, including products aimed at NRIs. With an asset base of $126 billion and its reach, it is a regional banking behemoth. SBI has laid emphasis on reducing the huge manpower through Golden handshake schemes and computerizing its operations. The State Bank Group, with over 16000 branches , has the largest branch network in India. It has a market share among Indian commercial banks of about 20% in deposits and advances, and SBI accounts for almost one-fifth of the nation’s loans.There are some other banks w hich gives challenging some how in the banking and service sectorthey are: * Allahabad Bank * Andhra Bank * Bank of Baroda * Bank of India * Bank of Maharashtra * Canara Bank * Central Bank of India * Corporation Bank * Dena Bank * IDBI Bank * Indian Bank * Indian Overseas Bank * Oriental Bank of Commerce * Punjab & Sind Bank * Punjab National Bank * Syndicate Bank * UCO Bank * Union Bank of India * United Bank of India * Vijaya Bank ENVIRONMENT An employer the bank extends a lot of authority along with justified accountability to you. The working culture is very collaborative in nature. It can be owed to the fact that the bank is highly segmented with a lot of overlapping and mostly distinct roles and responsibility.ICICI Bank has established itself as a one stop solution (Universal Bank) for all financial need of individuals and institutions alike. The credit for the same can be attributed to its vast network, probably the largest among private sector banks. This makes the life of an employee a lot easier, especially for those who face the external customers. You do not have to justify your organization, it is only the product that has to be pitched. As far as employee benefits are concerned, ICICI Bank offers a lot of financial benefits ranging from your family health insurance to your kids school donations. The organization is sensitive to the needs of its employees as this quality is one of the building blocks (DNA) of the organizational culture.The organization will be giving you enough flexibility to innovate and come-up with new ideas. It will also exhibit its in terms of well laid systems, processes and infrastructure. It will extend a fast track growth for those with extraordinary talent at the same time offer stability to those who are able to deliver satisfactorily. Overall, I would say it’s a lifetime experience to work with such a behemoth organization. It might not be the best paymaster but it definitely will impress you with its capabili ty as the head master (Principal) of banking industry. there are huge competition between the eployee to achieve theo goal. TECHNOLOGY ICICI use many type of advance technological software like Pinnacle 7. 0 and Pinnacle7. 016.Among from this software ICICI bank uses the e-banking, core banking, mobile banking electronic display sy ICICI Bank was using Teradata for its data warehouse. However, due to its proprietary hardware, the cost of procurement, upgrades and administration was soaring. The closed box architecture of Teradata imposed restrictions on scalability. Secondly, querying and loading could not happen simultaneously. Queries could only be run during business hours because the loading of data had to take place during off-business hours. This meant that the refresh rate of EDW was delayed, so queries may not reflect the most current data. ICICI Bank was also dependent on Teradata for support and other activities: The bank was completely tied down to that solution.These iss ues compelled ICICI Bank to look for more efficient and flexible solutions. The solution would have to address not only current issues, but accommodate future growth expectations and business requirements. ICICI Bank evaluated numerous data warehousing solutions in the pursuit of solving its issues, and developed a shortlist of alternatives for its migration proof-of-concept: Sybase, SAS and Netezza. The primary criteria for evaluation was the price-to-performance ratio where Sybase IQ emerged the clear winner. During this rigorous testing, Sybase IQ delivered faster results on independent hardware and operating systems with minimum infrastructure.Commending the improvements achieved, Amit Sethi, Joint General Manager, ICICI bank says, â€Å"What impressed us wasthat even with overall lower costs, we could achieve significantly better query performanceafter implementing the Sybase enterprise warehouse solution. † ICICI Infotech today launched an enterprise resource planning ( ERP) solution for the small and medium enterprises. The ERP package – Orion Advantage – comes bundled with an HP dual processor Xeon server, Oracle 9i database, Windows 2003 server and costs about Rs 9. 90 lakh and has a 15-user license. An ERP package helps a manufacturer or any other business implementing it to manage all the important parts in the company such as product planning, parts purchasing, maintaining inventory and interacting with suppliers and customers.ICICI Infotech officials told a press conference here today that Orion Advantage offered a set of business practice solutions for industry segments such as engineering, auto ancillary, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and IT distribution. Besides the cost advantage, the ERP package also came pre-configured. ICICI Infotech had mapped the processes specific to each industry segment into the package. Mr. Manoj Kunkalienkar, Executive Director and President, ICICI Infotech, said that small and medium enterprises (SM Es) offered a good market and ICICI Infotech hoped to become a leading solution provider to this segment. Mr. R. K. Kanthi, Deputy General Manager, ICICI Infotech, said there was no ERP package for the SMEs that bundled the server, database and operating system right now.That was the advantage ICICI Infotech offered to SMEs as Orion Advantage came bundled and pre-configured. Besides the high cost of generic ERP packages, their implementation time as far as SMEs were concerned was also long. Orion Advantage could be installed in 45 days. ICICI Infotech had signed up six customers so far for the package and hoped to garner a 15 per cent market share of the SME segment, whose number in the country was estimated at 2. 30 lakh. Mr. K. S. Natarajan, Managing Director, Trident Pneumatics Pvt Ltd of Coimbatore, one of the companies that had installed Orion Advantage, said that the company had tried three other ERP packages, all of which had failed, before settling on Orion Advantage.Mr Kunk alienkar said that ICICI Infotech planned to move the two development centers in Chennai into a single location and double the staff strength from 300 now in the next two years. The Chennai centers were involved in research and development of Orion ERP solutions and Premia, an insurance package. ERP Systems Integration Pinnacle Software Solutions has the expertise and experience to assist you with your enterprise systems integration. From developing your strategy, through implementation and support, we bring the right combination of resources, management skillsets, and technical know-how. We will help you successfully integrate your  Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)  systems into your overall business and technology infrastructure.Whether you are planning an upgrade of an existing ERP system, or a complete replacement of a legacy application and platform, we can help you improve your financial, human resources, electronic mail, and other business systems. We work with the lead ing ERP systems, including the latest versions of the Oracle and PeopleSoft applications: ? General Ledger| ? Project Costing| ? Accounts Payable| ? Human Resources| ?   Accounts Receivable| ? Payroll| ? Purchasing| ? Benefits| ? Asset Management| ? Compensation| Our technology management solutions will help you migrate hardware platforms, improve network and database performance, develop or refresh policies and rocedures, and develop sound disaster recovery and backup solutions. Please contact us to learn how Pinnacle Software Solutions can help you develop â€Å"solutions that fit†Ã‚  your enterprise. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited ICICI Prudential life Insurance Company Limited was incorporated on 20th July 2000. The authorized capital of the company is Rs. 2300 million and the paid up capital is Rs. 1500 million. The company is joint venture of ICICI (74%) and UK based company Prudential Plc (26%). The company was granted certificate of registration for carrying business, by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority on 24th November 2000.It commenced commercial operation from 19th December 2000 and becoming a leading private sector life insurance company. The company recognizes that the driving force for gaining sustainable competitive advantage in this business is superior customer experience and investment behind the brand. The company aims to achieve this by striving to provide world class service level trough constant innovation in product, distribution channels and technology based delivery. Vision and Mission Their vision is to make ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company the dominant new insurer in the life insurance industry. This they hope to achieve through their commitment to excellence, focus on service, speed and innovation, and leveraging our technological expertise.The success of the organisation will be founded on its strong focus on values and clarity of purpose. These include: *   Understanding the needs o f customers and offering them superior products and service *   Building long lasting relationships with their partners *   Providing an enabling environment to foster growth and learning for their employees And above all building transparency in all our dealings. They believe that they can play a significant role in redefining and reshaping the sector. Given the quality of their parentage and the commitment of their team, they feel that tere will be no limits to their growth. Board of DirectorsThe ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited Board comprises reputed people from the finance industry both from India and abroad. Shri K. V. Kamath, Chairman Mr. Mark Tucker Smt. Lalita D. Gupte Mr. Danny Bardin Mrs. Kalpana Morparia Shri M. P. Modi Mr. John Caouette Shri S. P. Subhedar, (Alternate Director to Mr. Danny Bardin)   Mr. Derek Stott, (Alternate Director to Mr. Mark Tucker) Smt. Shikha Sharma, Managing Director Management Team Ms. Shikha Sharma, Managing Director Mr. Kevin Wright, Executive Vice President – Sales & Distribution Ms. Madhavi Soman, Chief – Strategic Initiatives Mr. V. Rajagopalan, Appointed Actuary Mr. Sandeep Batra, Chief Financial Officer & Company Secretary Mr.Saugata Gupta, Chief – Marketing & Service Mr. Shubhro J. Mitra, Chief – Human Resources Corporate Office: ICCI Prulife Towers, 1089, Appasahab Marathe Marg, Prabhadevi, Mumbai 400 025. Telephone Number: 022-462 1600 Website :  www. iciciprulife. com ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company ICICI Lombard  General Insurance Company Limited is a 74:26 joint venture between ICICI Bank Limited and Canada based  Fairfax Financial Holdings  Limited. ICICI Bank  is India's second largest bank, while  Fairfax Financial Holdings  is a diversified financial corporate engaged in general  insurance,  reinsurance, insurance claims management and  Investment management.Lombard Canada Ltd, a group company of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limit ed, is one of Canada's oldest property and casualty insurers. ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company received regulatory approvals to commence general insurance business in August 2000. Board Members * Mr K V Kamath, Chairman * Mr R Athappan, Director * Mr B V Bhargava, Director * Mr Dileep Choksi, Director * Mr James F Dowd, Director * Ms Lalita D Gupte, Director * Ms Kalpana Morparia, Director * Mr S Mukherji, Director * Mr Chandran Ratnaswami, Director * Mr H N Sinor, Director * Mr Sandeep Bakhshi, Managing Director & CEO Audit Committee * Mr. S Mukherji, Chairman * Mr. Dileep Choksi, Director * Mr. James F Dowd, Director * Mr. H. N. Sinor, Director Investment Committee * Mr.Chandran Ratnaswami, Chairman * Ms. Kalpana Morparia, Director * Mr. Sandeep Bakhshi,, Managing Director & CEO * Mr. S Gopalakrishnan, Head – Investments * Mr. Rakesh Jain, Head-Finance & Accounts * Mr. Liyaquat Khan, Appointed Actuary Board Governance Committee * Ms. Kalpana Morparia, Chairperson * M r. Chandran Ratnaswami, Director * Mr. H. N. Sinor, Director Retail Segment of ICICI Lombard General Insurance : ICICI Lombard's Retail Segment consists of personal insurance products – Health, Home, Motor and Travel insurances. Health Insurance ICICI Lombard is known to be a pioneer in introducing innovative concepts in the Indian health Insurance sector.Be it the floater concept, the critical illness cover or the tax gain policy, all these were first introduced by ICICI Lombard. It was also one of the first general insurance companies in India to have a robust online system in place for buying and renewing policies. The various plans offered by ICICI Lombard include  Family Floater Plan  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ where one policy covers the entire family,  Health Advantage Plus  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ where they cover OPD and dental expenses, also help save maximum tax under section 80D and  Critical Illness plan  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ a special policy covering a list of critical illnesses. They also have a basic  Personal Accident Plan  which covers against accidents. ICICI Lombard health plans also provide coverage against terrorism. Home InsuranceHome Insurance is actually one of the most neglected areas in the general insurance category. Simply, because people in general, especially in India, do not give much importance to it. However, in the recent years, due to the increase in awareness, and the great extent of damage caused to property due to natural calamities and terrorism, it has been gaining importance. The  Home Insurance Policyoffered by ICICI Lombard covers both the structure and the contents of the house. You can opt for either of the covers or both. Unlike other policies, it also covers damage due to terrorist activities, loss of cash, public liability, temporary resettlement and others. Motor InsuranceAs Motor Insurance is mandatory in India and is governed by the Motor Tariff Act, the policies offered by various companies are more or less the same. There is n ot much room for innovation in this category. ICICI Lombard too offers  Car Insurance  and  Two Wheeler Insurance. They are known to offer one of the best rates in the market. As the entire buying process is online and is instant, without any submission of documents or other formalities, people generally opt it for convenience. Travel Insurance Travel insurance is one of the most prominent sector of general insurance, especially overseas travel insurance and student medical insurance. ICICI Lombard offers various options in both the categories.The  Overseas Travel Plans  and  Student Medical Plans  offered cover medical and non-medical expenses, including compensation for flights hijacked and pre existing diseases in case of emergency. They charge on a per day basis if the travel is more than 7 days. ICICI Lombard has tied up with  United Health Group  to facilitate access to all its clinics while in U. S. The  Student Medical Plans  are accepted in almost univ ersities worldwide. They also have a section in their website,  University Search, where one can find specific plans for specific universities. All the above retail policies can be bought online, without any documentation through their website  www. icicilombard. com  . One can not only buy, but also manage and renew their insurance policies online. NRI ServicesICICI Lombard has developed insurance policies for  Non-resident Indians  that can be bought, renewed and tracked online. Parents' Health Insurance covers hospitalization and medical expenses incurred by parents of the policyholder in India. For parents' travelling outside India, ICICI Lombard offers a Parents' Overseas Travel Insurance policy. An  NRI  can insure his children/ dependents travelling abroad to study, under the Student Medical Insurance plan. Likewise, the Home Insurance and Car Insurance schemes enables an  NRI  to secure his assets in India. Channels Channel is the term used for the various approaches a company uses to tap its customers.ICICI Lombard uses a multi channel approach to ensure the sales, service and other allied activities are carried out in the most effective manner. Retail The Retail channel consists of sales executves, sales officers, brokers and agents. They are the one who are in direct contact with the customers and bring the innovative insurance solutions to their doorsteps. Online ICICI Lombard has developed a web-based system to meet all the pre and post-policy transaction. One can get quotes, buy, renew and track their policies onlin e through the website [www. icicilombard. com]. With the do-it-yourself architecture, the online channel is fast, convenient, easy to understand and operate. Technology ICICI use many type of advance technological software like Pinnacle 7. and Pinnacle7. 016. Among from this software ICICI bank uses the e-banking, core banking, mobile banking electronic display sy ICICI Bank was using Teradata for its data warehouse. However, due to its proprietary hardware, the cost of procurement, upgrades and administration was soaring. The closed box architecture of Teradata imposed restrictions on scalability. Secondly, querying and loading could not happen simultaneously. Queries could only be run during business hours because the loading of data had to take place during off-business hours. This meant that the refresh rate of EDW was delayed, so queries may not reflect the most current data.ICICI Bank was also dependent on Teradata for support and

Ice-Fili

Ice-Fili â€Å"A storied market leader facing competitive pressures† To: Senior Management, Ice-Fili February 12, 2012 Current Situation Ice-Fili was able to maintain its leading position in the Russian ice cream industry during volatile times. However, it now faces even tougher challenges that threaten its future prospects: reduction in ice-cream consumption, emergence of cost-efficient regional players, and the lack of a quality distribution system. After analyzing the situation, we recommend a strategy that aims to grow sales through the earning of market share, and improving the distribution network.Porter’s Five Forces’ Model Industry Rivalry Industry rivalry is high. The ice-cream industry is fragmented; 300 producers compete in the market. Ice-Fili is an industry leader with 5% market share. Regional producers threaten Ice-Fili with their significant cost advantage and flexible production system. In addition, foreign companies such as Baskin-Robbins and Ne stle are expanding through relatively untouched segments such as cafes and restaurants. Threat of Entry Threat of entry is high.Numerous frozen imports companies have emerged as regional ice-cream producers with their cold-storage and production capabilities in pursuance of relatively high profitability in the ice cream industry. Economies of scale are not required for those small regional players. In addition, new entrants can enjoy significant cost advantages over Ice-Fili through more cost efficient equipment. Threat of Substitute Products or Services Threat of substitute is high. Ice-cream is not perceived as a family product that people can enjoy at home as a dessert.Impulsive purchasing consists of a large portion of ice cream sales in Russia, mainly through kiosks or street stalls. In 2000, ice cream consumption declined 3. 5 % from the previous year; in contrast, its substitutes such as beer, soft drink and confectionery products experienced strong market demand growth indic ating a change in consumer behaviour on the back of strong advertising. Bargaining Power of Buyers Bargaining power of buyers is high. Since Ice-Fili contracted with dozens of small distribution companies, no single firm has a significant bargaining power.However, there is a potential downside risk due to the absence of exclusive contracts. For example, Service Fili, an independent affiliate, can carry its competitors’ products without restriction. No binding provision exists to enforce Service Fili to carry Ice-Fili’s products. A potential risk arises when competition becomes severe. Ice-Fili could lose distribution volumes if competitors offer more favourable deals to its distributors. Lastly, when thinking about the end consumer as a consumer of ice-cream, we see low switching costs. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Bargaining power of suppliers is low.For each of its major ingredients, Ice-Fili has 3~ 4 different suppliers and it is not hard to find new one. Thus, swi tching costs are low. Internal Environment Ice-Fili highly value employees, as shown by its financial director quoting Stalin’s â€Å"Human resource capital decides everything†. Ice-Fili understands its struggle in establishing itself in the open-market economy, so it actively seeks young and talented managers to help revive the company. Strategy & Key Success Factors Ice-Fili employs somewhat of a focus strategy as a few products make up a significant portion of revenues.However, they do have a very large product offering even though some products make up a very small portion of revenue. Thefore, Ice-Fili does not fully employ a focus strategy. Most of Ice-Fili’s ice cream products are priced at 6 rubles per portion, making it more expensive than products of regional producers and Nestle and at the same time a lot less than premium products which could be as much as 15 rubles per portion. Ice-Fili’s commitment to only using high-quality natural ingredien ts and eliminating the use of any artificial preservatives or colorants makes it clear its strategy is not low cost.Ice-Fili also does not directly compete with premium brands such as Baskin-Robbins and Haagen-Dazs which have twice the price and compete intensively in restaurants and cafes. To succeed in this strategy, Ice-Fili needs to do two things. First, it needs to broadcast its commitment to follow the legacy of the traditional Russian ice cream makers and inspire consumers to cherish and value traditional Russian ice cream making method, thus creating stronger brand equity. Second, Ice-Fili needs to restructure its current distribution system. Nestle already has its products twice as available as Ice-Fili. Summation of Key Problems ) Competition: Baskin & Robbins and Haagen-Dazs have already become incumbents in the premium ice cream space. Regional players have a big cost advantage so a price war or a move into a low cost strategy would be difficult. 2) Distribution: Ice-Fil i’s products have fairly limited availability. Distribution was also highlighted as a factor for the failure of other players in the Russian ice-cream market Reccomendation Possible Strategies The main goal of our recommendation is to stop the decline of Ice-Fili’s return on equity which has fallen from 27. 3% in 1996 to 14. 4% in 2001 (Figure 1, Appendix).We will look to do this through a combination of sales growth and margin expansion. We outline several possible options, and choose one which looks to be the most optimal: 1) Focus on a low cost approach to grow sales 2) Focus on restaurants and cafe’s to improve margins 3) Focus on a few key products and improved distribution system to grow sales Analysis of alternatives and final recommendation 1) Ice-Fili currently still has 25% of their products produced with old machinery which results in higher costs in relation to regional players who have recently emerged and structured their operations around more eff icient machinery.Ice-Fili could firstly invest in their equipment to modernize the rest of their machinery and improve the cost structure of their whole operation. They would then need to lower their pricing from the current 6 rubles closer to 1. 5 rubles to improve volumes. This could potentially be a lucrative strategy. However, the main problem we see with this is the possible reduction in margins that could emanate from this (although it could be made up through increased volumes and lowering of costs). Also, since almost 80% of sales come through Gastronoms and Kiosks with limited space, sacrificing price for volume may not be optimal. ) If Ice-Fili focus or even just expand into restaurants and cafes, they could potentially improve margins due to the higher price points seen in this space. Ice-fili is a market leader with the number one market share in the industry as a whole, and they have also been around for much longer than both regional players and foreign competitors. Th is bodes well for their ability to still sell significant volumes at higher prices. The downside to this strategy that we foresee is the fact that Ice-Fili is not the incumbent in this high end space with foreign competitors like Baskin-Robbins already fairly established.Secondly, we see that Baskin-Robbins’ factory utilization for 2001 was very low at 7%-12%. Although this may not be representative of the high end industry as a whole, it is still a concerning sign. 3) Our final alternative, and the one we recommend is the focus on a few key products, and the improvement of Ice-Fili’s distribution chain. Ice-Fili’s Lakomka was one of the three most recognized brands of ice-cream in Russia, but Ice-Fili was not able to trademark it. However, the industry has not historically spent much on advertising, and Ice-Fili is still a market share leader.This means there is still time to brand Lakomka as Ice-Fili’s product, just like how people think about Coke when thinking about Cola drinks or â€Å"Googling† something when thinking about doing an internet search. By focusing on a few key products, Ice-Fili can capitalize on their storied tradition, and take advantage of the limited space in their main distribution channel (kiosks). Along with this strategy to grow sales through taking of market share, we also recommend growing sales through improving availability.There are heavy capital requirements for building a strong distribution channel alone, but a joint venture with Baskin Robbins would be an efficient way to achieve this since these companies compete in different parts of the market, and a partnership with an international company will make foreign debt and equity investors more open to financing Ice-Fili. Appendix Figure 1. Financial Calculation (in thousands of U. S. dollars) Figure 2. Ice-Fili’s Current Market Position Price Price Brand Equity Brand Equity

Late payment/collections

Dear Sir/Madam, I found my credit rating to be really poor because of a few late payments and collections that happened on my accounts. Even though there were a few mistakes and over sights from my side, most of the recent late payments were due to technical difficulties faced by the concerned banks. I made payment arrangements for $3869 to clear the account with Citi Financial retail. But the payment was delayed since the concerned department could not locate my account in their system.I faced problems with payments to WEB Bank and Qwest, since I was out of town. However I had an arrangement to pay $100 per month to WEB Bank and settle the remaining amount by January 2011. I was never intimated by Qwest regarding any outstanding amount whatsoever despite updating them about the change of address. I am ready to settle with Telenational Communications, although I never maintained an account with them.I had rented out my house after clearing all the bills with Colorado Springs Utilitie s till July 2010. The outstanding amount of $55 was supposed to be settled by the tenant. I have missed few payment deadlines due to oversight. The PAID accounts to THD/CBSD, Colorado Springs Utilities and the credit card accounts with Chase and Service credit Union have been cleared and the recent late payment was in September 2008.The accounts with Service Credit Union, ENT Federal CU, USAA, Military star, Chase Mortgage and Capital One Note Loan have been settled completely and in many cases the payment was late by a couple of days. But the numbers of such instances are few and most of them have occurred during my re-deployment. Since all the above mentioned outstanding has been cleared and considering the circumstances under which many of the incidents happened, I request you to kindly re-evaluate my credit score and update my credit report with the relevant details.

Rebuttal of an Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Rebuttal of an Evaluation - Essay Example Leonard Pitts appeal to the logos of the audience through his ability to induce a logical response in the audience as he provided some reasonable analysis on how the 9/11 terrorist attack ultimately took the innocence of Americans away from them. Leonard Pitts’ ability to draw some historical comparison with the September 11 terrorist attack is another way that he appeals to the logos of the reader. Another way that the author persuaded the audience was in his appeal to their pathos. Pitts integrates some emotions in his article as he makes use of stunning and distinctive language that would appeal to the emotions of any audience any day any time. The author’s appeal to the emotions of the reader could be seen in the first paragraph, when he says that, â€Å"But there had not, since Watergate, been a true crisis, no event of the kind that shakes a nation, that stops it cold and takes its breath and makes it anxious about its future.† (Pitts par.1). This strong st atement brings the audience to the realization that the 2011 terrorist attack is one of the most devastating events in the history of the US in recent times. Thus, Leonard Pitts successfully appeals to the pathos of the reader as their emotions have been acted upon by Leonard Pitts as he evokes the fear of insecurity in them as he makes them know that their innocence has been taken away from them. Though, most of the things the author wrote about are known facts, but the fact that the author did not relate them to some credible sources shows his failure to the appeal to the ethos of the reader. Thus, for readers that do not know the ‘facts’ that the author presented, they might actually doubt the authenticity of his report. Thus, Leonard Pitts did not really appeal to the ethos of the reader. Rhetorical analysis on Timelines" by Lewis Lapham Timelines by Lewis Lapham is also an article that the author uses some strategies to persuade the audience by appealing to their l ogos, pathos and ethos. Lewis Lapham brilliantly appeals to the readership as he tries to persuade the audience on the need to learn more about the history of America. Lapham’s appeal to logos is clearly seen when he was trying to see the dearth of knowledge in the history of America as 22,000 students were questioned about the history of America. Lapham also gave succinct reasons to the students’ lack of knowledge in the history of America as he claims that the students of America had performed poorly in recent years. It is therefore not unusual for students that have performed poorly in other subjects to also perform poorly in the history of America. Lapham’s appeal to the emotions (pathos) of the reader could also be seen when he says that, â€Å"If we no longer hold the study of history in such passionate regard, it's because we like to think of our political institutions as monuments or museum pieces, completed works in a past tense, and if American school children believe that Squanto is a rock group, it's because they live in a society that thinks of history as ornament and stage design-a subject fit for interior decorators and best rendered as a theme park.† (Lapham par.4). Lapham also appeals to the pathos of the audience by claiming that the dwindling economic fortune of the country is due to the failure of Americans to learn their history as he

Buy USA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Buy USA - Essay Example This Commercial Service Trade professional helps the US companies across the globe to increase sales or start exporting in new emerging global markets. The services of Commercial Service include trade counseling, business matchmaking, and market intelligence. Trade data helps the US organizations to identify the potential global markets in order to target exporting efforts. The organization can measure the size of business market for their goods and services. Moreover, it helps the organizations to develop an effective pricing strategy to survive in the competitive global market. Industry pages are regularly updated by several potential commercial specialists around the globe. It helps the organizations to check the industry updates. On the other hand, webinars help the exporters to understand export regulations of several countries. Before starting of new business, it is important for the organization to develop an effective market entry plan. They need to conduct an effective marke t research. It will help them to learn about the potentiality of the specific products and services in a given international market place. The organizations can access the United States Commercial Service Market Research Library. ... Several trade events include seminars and webinars while the fundamental principles of exporting helps the organizations to organize face to face meeting with their business partners and customers. The United States government provides several important resources to the exporters. It helps them to identify potential business leads. This Export.gov Trade Guide Database includes time sensitive leads, pre-screened leads and government tenders. The MCC is a government corporation of United States. This Millennium Challenge Corporation was designed to work collaboratively with some underdeveloped countries. This Millennium Challenge Corporation depends upon a key principle that helps to provide global aid in order to reinforce economic freedom, effective governance and public investments. However, it has been identified that the Export.gov is trying to help the exporters to increase their business competencies in global market place. Discuss how you would leverage two (2) resources in the short term and two (2) that could be used for long-term planning. Influence of the United State government, vast global network and effective business contact will help the exporters to leverage their knowledge. The organization can use international sales and marketing strategies and international financial strategies as their short term resources. The US organizations can access online resources. It will help them to get customized counseling. The organization can develop their international business plan and strategy. This short term resources will help the organizations to target potential international market. Moreover, through this resource the organization can

The Case of Watsons and H&M Consulting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

The Case of Watsons and H&M Consulting - Essay Example The first and the foremost factor that affects an organisation in its smooth functioning is the structure that exists there. The organizational structure is â€Å"an externally caused phenomenon, an outcome rather than an artefact.† Different types of structures of organisations have been identified to exist. Classically, there are two kinds of structure— Hierarchical Structure and Flat structure. Hierarchical form of structure is referred to that organization where every entity except one, is a subordinate to one entity. Flat Structure is that organisation where there are very few or no levels of intervening management between staff and managers. Furthermore, new forms of structure have since evolved. They are Functional Structure, where employees within the functional divisions of an organization perform a particular set of tasks, leading to operational efficiencies in that group. However, it might result in lack of communication between the functional groups within t he firm, making it slow and inflexible. The other one is Product Structure where all the organizational functions are brought together into a division which contains all the required resources and functions. However, Matrix Structure groups employees by both function and product. It is evident from the case of ‘Watsons’ that their structure is strictly hierarchical with very low flexibility. The Managing Director Gordon Watson takes little interest of the activities on shop floor, and is set to be followed by current Operations Director John Smith, a long-standing friend of Gordon’s. Under this structure hardly any coordination exists between different functions of business. New and innovative ideas from Ahmed Khan, the production manager, are difficult to implement because of immobility of staff on the shop floor between different machines. Also, some of the staff is under-worked while the others are overburdened. Ahmed Khan’s proposed changes in favour o f new computerised production process and shop-floor activities to be organised into multi-skilled, self-managed teams are also lost in disrupted channels of communication. The Marketing Department that handle customer liaison hardly communicates with anyone

Swimming Pool Chemistry Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Swimming Pool Chemistry - Term Paper Example To be more specific, the regular use to which swimming pools are put requires that they be cleaned on a regular basis. Exposed as they are, and frequented by a lot of people, swimming pools are places that are especially prone to infection if neglected. This paper, then, is intended as an explanation of the various measures taken by operators of swimming pools as to how to keep their waters safe, as well as how the public can do their part. The Importance of Swimming Pool Sanitation As detailed in a report by the World Health Organization (2006), swimming pools are vulnerable to pollutants such as bird droppings or even the rain. And while indoor pools are much safer, even they need to be cleaned at least once in a while just to be absolutely sure. Either way, as noted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2009), pathological contaminants often abound in swimming pools, which can cause a myriad of conditions such as diarrhea. A pool that is cleaned regularly is in effect guaranteed to be safe for the public to enjoy – guaranteed safe for them to swim in. ...In the words of the Division for Environmental Health (2011), the only way to maintain safe and consistent swimming pool operation is through proper water chemistry. The exact process involved is often rather varied, not only in the chemicals that may be used but also in the methods employed. For one thing, disinfectants may be used to rid the water of harmful, objectionable or otherwise unwanted microorganisms. Alkalinity and pH adjusters may also be used to ensure that the pool’s pH and acidity levels remain stable, while algaecide and filter aids respectively kill any algae and prevent foreign material from spreading in the water. Swim King’s (2011) official website also tells us that the balance between these chemicals needs to be just right so as to keep the water free of any unwanted ‘lurkers’, yet still be safe for those of us who feel like taking a swim. For instance, free chlorine residual refers to the amount of chlorine which has yet to react with any other substance in the water besides the water itself, and should ideally be anywhere between 1-3 ppm. Secondly, combined chlorine refers to chlorine that fits the opposite description – that is to say, it has already reacted with a foreign substance. This kind of chlorine is no longer a help to the disinfection process, and indeed, only acts as an irritant. And finally, total chlorine residual is the sum of these two variants of chlorine. Besides chlorine, bromine can also be used to fulfill the function of disinfection. In fact, whereas the former is more prevalent in swimming pools (Sweazy, 2001), it is the latter that is the preferred substance among owners of spas and hot tubs (Wilson, 2002).

Schleiermachers and Nietzsches Opposition to Immanuel Kant Essay

Schleiermachers and Nietzsches Opposition to Immanuel Kant - Essay Example This essay discusses that Kant assumes that man must possess a certain â€Å"goodwill† and that whatever happens, one must know that he â€Å"ought to do the inexpedient good† (278). However, based on the views of Schleiermacher and Nietzsche, the ideas of Kant somehow imply that all human beings are the same no matter what and that they share the same moral values and systems of morality. Kant’s contemporary, Friedrich Schleiermacher, expressed his opposition to Kant’s categorical imperative by declaring that the imperative cannot presume at all that it should apply uniformly to all human beings because of the â€Å"value of diversity or individuality even in the human sphere† (Forster). Therefore, for Schleiermacher, all humans cannot be subjected under one moral law because individuals are distinct from their societies as societies are distinct from each other. Moreover, although the categorical imperative implies a commitment to all humanity, Schleiermacher believes that it is not the individual but religion that must possess this duty towards humanity. Schleiermacher also rejects Kant’s otherworldly basis of religion and at the same time, the former emphasizes that â€Å"religion can no more be based on morality than on metaphysics or science† (Forster). Therefore, for Schleiermacher, the basis of religion, since it cannot seem to be ascertained, is not as important as its purpose in taking care of humanity. Unlike Kant, Schleiermacher further stressed out the importance of Jesus Christ and his life as a basis for his salvation.

My Family Is My Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

My Family Is My Life - Essay Example The examples that show these lessons on virtues include kindness, care for others, and development of my good attitude in life towards people and the society, and patience. The second reason for the family is the main foundation of my life is my parents. My parents were the ones who taught me how to eat, build relations with others, how to write and behave making the family as important as ever. My parents also developed me in terms of providing better care, housing, and companionship.   The basis for the formation of life’s values. Many of the values I have were developed at the family unit. Family enabled the formation of basic life values including good mannerisms, morals that act the idea face in the society, development of character, and these all make family my life. I also learned the importance of respect, hard work, commitment to a given goal and the need to be assertive into to order succeed at the family unit. Without the strict guidelines and procedures set at th e family unit, I would not be in a position to achieve success yet maintain professionalism, humility and respect as I have today.  The family has always acted in my best interest with encouragement whenever I fail, appreciation when I succeed, care when ill, and protection from enemies, making family the best friends in life. Secondly, the family has always been there for me through provision of finances and other resources through lower education up to know showing that they have always wanted the best for me.  Ã‚  

Caring for Mentally Disordered Offenders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Caring for Mentally Disordered Offenders - Essay Example The abnormality in the brain functioning is evident in many people. World Health Organization (WHO) statistics show 33% of people living in most countries has this problem (Lindstedt et al. 2006, p.334). Mental disability leads people to commit crimes without their knowledge. Causes The main causes of mental disorder are not clear. Theories trying to explain the causes exist but the truth is that there is no one known cause. The circumstances under which people suffer from mental disorder cut across biological factors such as inheritance, psychological factors, for example, depression and the environment in which people live (Rodriguez et al., 2006). In order to control or effectively care for affected people in the society, it is essential to know the cause of the illness to the person. Understanding ones, psychology will ease the way one relates with the affected people. Therefore, it is essential to elaborate on the causes of mental illness. Biological factors Studies show that ab normal balance of some chemicals found in the brain known as neurotransmitters causes the illness (Rodriguez et al. 2006, p.413). The chemicals enable communication in the brain. Any kinds of injury to these essential devices lead to mental problems. The spread of mental disorder can pass down family generations. ... Other factors include prolonged substance abuse and poor nutrition (Mason et al., 2008). Psychological and environmental factors When a child is growing, proper care is necessary to prevent it from any form of physical abuse or emotional. Sexual abuse may also cause problems in the future. Neglecting the children at a premature age is not recommendable as this may make them not to relate with others. The environment the people live in is crucial (Mason et al. 2008, p.122). Mental illness may arise due to stress caused by death or divorce, family wrangles and any other condition that may lead to low esteem. Having high expectations may lead to depression if the expectations are not achievable. Stress arises due to failure to fulfill the societal high expectations. During pregnancy, the mother may expose the unborn child to the risks of having mental problems in his old age (Mason et al., 2008). If the mother has exposure to stress, trauma of any hardship lifestyle during pregnancy, th e effects may later cause mental illness to the child. Care for offenders Following the review of the causes for mental disorder, the care of the affected is necessary. The attendance to the victims depends on the initial cause and demand for different treatment. From the overview of the causes of mental illness, it is evident that a good number of the cases may not be the fault of the affected people (Bowring-lossock, 2006). It is, therefore, unfair to treat the offenders unfairly since they are under the effects of the illness they suffer. Studies show that most of the offenders face unfair treatment in many institutions. Implications arising from caring for mentally disordered offenders One of the areas to consider in understanding the treatment that mentally ill

Letter to relative requesting financial assistance to start a retail Article

Letter to relative requesting financial assistance to start a retail store - Article Example We intend to separate ourselves from the competition by utilizing both a brick and mortar storefront at the mall as well as a web presence. Therefore, our customer base will not be limited to local clients, but we will deal with a potential worldwide clientele. Our market research has indicated that there is a high level of dissatisfaction among gift recipients as a result of the lack of high- quality customized gifts that are also affordable. Our intention is to fill the gap between the high-end customized gifts and the lackluster generic gift market. The Gift Basket Company offers these people an alternative, providing them memorable and magical gift baskets. For example, we use highly detailed surveys to prepare our baskets, in which the customer gives details about such things as favorite colors, foods, hobbies, interests and other items of interest that help us build the most appropriate gift basket. Daily employee relations create an enormous opportunity for corporate gift baskets. Companies are experiencing more and more needs for gifts: congratulatory gifts for new births or marriages, sympathy gifts for bereaved family members and even smaller items to welcome a new employee or give thanks to a longstanding employee. In addition, the clientele for corporate gifts is wide open.

How Soccer Could Positively Affect America Essay Example for Free

How Soccer Could Positively Affect America Essay There is a sport out there that people can put aside their problems, hatred, and differences and instead put in all their passion and love for the sport on the field. This sport has changed the world in many ways and has now become more than a sport. It has become an instrument of peace, unity, and business. It has brought many positive cultural, business, and economic effects in this world. It’s the beautiful sport of soccer; the universal language of the world. Soccer reduces gang related violence and has become a tool of peace. Soccer for Peace is a non-profit organization aiming to unite children of war-torn nations in their shared love of soccer (Soccer for Peace). It was founded by a German graduate student Jurgen Griesbeck in 1996 and it is one of the most successful anti-violence organizations in war-torn cities (Lawrence). Originally conceived as a one-time fundraiser, benefiting the youth soccer team of Israel’s only Jewish-Muslim-Christian village, Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam, Soccer for Peace has since become an ongoing peace-building effort (Soccer for Peace). One of the places where one can observe the positive impact the Soccer for Peace organization has brought to is in Medellin, Colombia, South America. Soccer for Peace arrived in Medellin in 1996. Soccer for Peace is one of the most successful anti-violence organizations in this war-torn city of 1. 5 million, which suffers nearly 5,000 murders each year. Young players, who are or used to be part of a gang, meet every Sunday in San Blas, one of Medellin’s hillside slums. About 300 teams in Medellin wear Soccer for Peace uniforms, and each weekend there are 60 games. In Medellin, where gang rivalries pushed young people apart, most could still agree on only one thing, their love for soccer. Griesbeck says that before he here came to Medellin, he never would have thought of soccer as a tool for peace, but he says that for Medellin it is obvious (Lawrence).

The Cognitive Models Of Ocd Psychology Essay

The Cognitive Models Of Ocd Psychology Essay The study is aimed to investigate the Quality of Life of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder patients in relation to Severity of the symptoms and Cognitive Appraisal. The study will explore the predictors of Quality of life of OCD patients from variables of Symptom Severity dimensions and Cognitive Appraisal. It is hypothesized that patients having OCD with more Symptom Severity, and Cognitive Appraisal of obsessions will have impaired Quality of life. Correlational research design and purposive sampling will be used. 60 patients with primary diagnosis of Obsessive Compulsive disorder, with age range of 18 years and above will be recruited. For assessment, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Symptom Checklist (OCDSC), Stress Appraisal Measure (SAM), and WHOQOL-BREF will be used. Pearson Product Moment will be employed to find the relationship of Symptom Severity and Cognitive Appraisal with Physical health, Psychological health, Social and Environment related Quality of life. In addition, Multip le Regression Analysis will be used to explore the predictor of Quality of life of patients with Obsessive Compulsive disorder. Introduction The study investigates the Quality of Life (QoL) of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) patients in terms of Symptom Severity and cognitive appraisal. The severity of symptomology and clinically manifested psychological distress exacerbates the functional impairment of OCDs patients. The functional impairment debilitates and gradually leads to poor treatment compliance as psychotherapy include the dysfunction area in treatment plan. The present study is intended to understand the relationship of the associated factors that will help facilitate the better understanding on etiological and therapeutic grounds. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder According to American Psychiatric Association (2000), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder OCD) is an anxiety disorder classified into Obsessions and Compulsions. Obsessions are intrusive, unwanted thoughts, id, images, or impulses that and individual experienced as senseless yet anxiety evoking. Compulsions are desires to engage in behavioral or mental acts according to specified rules or in reaction to obsessions (i.e., to lower down obsessional anxiety). However, individuals are unaware of the trigger and may perform stereotyped acts according to idiosyncratic rules (Wells, 1997). Obsessions are persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that are experienced as intrusive and inappropriate. The most common obsessions concern thought about contamination, doubting, aggressive or horrific impulses and sexual imagery (Wells, 1994; Wells Morrison, 1994 as cited in Wells, 1997). A compulsion is a repetitive behavior that is overt or covert. Overt compulsions include hand washing, checking, ordering, or alignment of objects. Covert compulsions are mental acts such as praying, counting, or repeating words. The goal of these overt and covert compulsions is to reduce or prevent anxiety or distress (Wells, 1997). Symptom Severity Severe OCD is characterized by Substantial frequency of obsessions and compulsions (from 4 hours a day to every minute of the patients waking hours), Substantial impairment from the OCD (usually in all domains of life including social, work, and family), Poor insight into the symptoms (or how realistic the patient thinks their fears are), and/or Substantial co morbidity which complicates the presentation of the symptoms (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder or schizophrenia). Severity of symptoms, as characterized by high frequency of symptoms or significant distress, is often measured through self-report measures such as the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R; Foa et al., 2002). Obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms include both obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions often have themes of fear of contamination or dirt, having things orderly and symmetrical, aggressive or horrific impulses and sexual images or thoughts. However, compulsions typically have themes of washing and cleaning, counting, checking, demanding reassurances, performing the same action repeatedly, and orderliness (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2012). Studies indicate that there are clinically meaningful differences among these symptom-based subtypes. It was reported that OCD patients with compulsive hoarding report higher levels of anxiety and depression, greater impairment in occupational, family, and social functioning and poorer response to pharmacological and cognitive-behavioral treatment (Abramowitz, Franklin, Schwartz, Furr, 2003). Despite the documented detrimental effects of OCD on quality of life, evidence suggests that not all individuals with OCD are uniformly impaired. Masellis, Rector, and Richter (2003) found that severity of obsessions, but not compulsions, was related to lower overall quality of life. Similarly, Eisen et al., (2006) reported that severity of obsessions and comorbid depression predicted impairment across eight domains of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction, whereas compulsion severity was related only to impaired work functioning. In contrast, Stengler-Wenzke, Kroll, Riedel-Heller, Matschinger, and Angermeyer (2007) found obsessions to be unrelated to Quality of life ratings, but that severity of compulsions was associated with reduced physical and psychological well-being, as well as impairment in social and family life and leisure activities. Cognitive Appraisal Grinker and Spiegel (1945, as cited in Sincero, 2012), explained appraisal as a process that requires mental activity involving judgment, discriminating and choice of activity based largely on the past experiences of and individual. According to Lazarus (1984), cognitive appraisal occurs in reaction to stress. One is the threatening tendency of the stress to the individual, and second is the evaluation of the resources that is required to minimize, tolerate or eradicate the stressor and the stress it produces. According to Lazarus, appraisal takes two forms, Primary Appraisal and Secondary Appraisal. Primary appraisal has been distinguished into irrelevant, benign-positive and stressful. Irrelevant implies when experiences not stressful, it falls within the category of irrelevant (Lazarus Folkman, 1984). The appraisal of relevancies is not themselves of great concern, but the cognitive processes by which these events are appraised. Benign-positive appraisal occurs if the outcome of encounter is constructed as positive and enhances well-being. These appraisals are characterized by positive emotions. Stress appraisal includes harm/loss, threat and challenge. In harm/loss, damage to the person is suspected. Threat concerns are the anticipated harms or lose. Challenge appraisal focus on the potential for gain or growth inherent in an encounter and they are characterized by pleasurable emotions such as eagerness, excitement, and exhilaration, whereas threat centers on the potential harms and is characterized by negative emotions such as fear, anxiety, and anger (Lazarus Folkman, 198 4). The aim of secondary appraisal is to provide information about the individuals coping options in a situation. It has three components including problem focused coping, emotion focused coping and future expectancy. When an individual is deciding whether a situation is a threat or challenge, or he must do something to manage the situation, secondary appraisal becomes significant in order to figure out what might and can be done. Secondary appraisal activity is crucial feature of stressful encounter (Lazarus Folkman, 1984). When an individual is faced with adverse situation, something needs to be done to control it and avoid any subsequent consequences. Secondary appraisal follows primary appraisal of a situation. This necessarily includes evaluation of the situation and suitable reaction. The person than evaluate what can be done to cope with a particular situation. The reaction to the situation is decided by carefully analyzing what is at stake and what can be done to reduce negative consequences (Lazarus Folkman, 1984). Cognitive Models of OCD According to OLeary (2005), the number of cognitive models describing OCD phenomenon. These illustrate the rate of dysfunctions in general cognitive processing or dysfunction in cognitive appraisal and beliefs. Salkovskis Model (1985; Wells, 1997) based on cognitive and behavioral concepts in the formulation of obsessional problems. It theorized that the importance of appraisal of intrusion as the major source of distress, rather than the content of the intrusion itself. The appraisal of the significance of intrusions is determined by underlying beliefs. Once negative appraisals of responsibility occur, the second process of initiation of neutralizing responses which may be internal or external begins. When a person neutralized the intrusive thought he attempts to reduce responsibility and discomfort. Thus, the recurrences of intrusions become more likely because responses to them result in such cognitions acquiring greater salience. Studies have found significant correlations between responsibility and obsessive-compulsive behaviors in both clinical (e.g., OCCWG, 2001) and nonclinical participants (Freeston, Ladouceur, Thibodeau, Gagnon, 1992; as cited in OLeary, 2005). According to Rachman (1998; as cited in OLeary, 2005), the catastrophic misinterpretation about the importance of unwanted thoughts made by a person increases the range and seriousness of potentially threatening stimuli. In this way numbers of neutral stimuli that were insignificant are interpreted as threatening. This transfer of the neutral stimuli and situation to potentially threatening ones increases the range of threats and therefore increases the opportunities for the provocation of obsessions. This happens with both internal as well as external cues. In internal cues, the person deduces a threat from the fact of feeling anxious. Moreover, when the patient feel anxious he interpret it as if he is losing control of self and thus there is an increased likelihood that he will act upon the unwanted impulse. Hence, the catastrophic misinterpretation of ones anxiety can interact to increase the misinterpretation of the intrusion. Neutralizing prevents exposure to any disconfirming e vidence regarding the personal significance of the intrusive thoughts. This cycle remains until the catastrophic misinterpretation is changed or reduced and the internal or external stimuli are no longer interpreted as threatening. Quality of life The World Health Organization (1994) defines Quality of Life as an individuals perception of his/her position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which he/she lives, and in relation to his/her goals, expectations, standards and concerns. It is a broad-ranging concept, compromising of the persons physical health, psychological state, social relationships, and their relationship to salient features of their environment (Hollar, 2012, p.74). Obsessive compulsive disorder may significantly affect self-care, social relationships, occupational functioning, family and marital relationships, child-rearing capacities, and use of recreations or spare time (American Psychological Association, 2007). Bobes (2001) revealed that patients with obsessive-compulsive illness had definite impairment in all domains of quality of life other than physical functioning. Similar findings emerged from the studies of Moritz (2005) and Eisen (2006), also showed that as compared to general population, OCD patients have poor health related quality of life in all domains except physical health. Few studies, however, have examined whether OCD symptom dimensions are differentially associated with impairment in functioning and Quality of life. Only one study to date has evaluated the impact of different dimensions of OCD symptoms on Quality of life. Fontenelle et al., (2010) found that whereas depression severity predicted impairment across eight domains of functioning assessed by SF-36, only hoarding and washing, but not other OCD symptom domains, predicted impairment in other areas of functioning social functioning and limitations due to physical health problems, respectively. OCD sufferers generally recognize their obsessions and compulsions as irrational, and may become further distressed by this realization. Cummins (2000) suggest that it is difficult to define Quality of Life because it can be characterized in both objective and subjective terms (as cited in Barofsky, 2012). According to Spranger Schwartz (1999), Quality of life is a multidimensional and dynamic concept: perspective can change with the onset of major illness. With the onset of illness, individuals relevant cognitive or affective processes (e.g. in their health or lives) include making comparisons of ones situation, with others who are better or worse off. People may adjust to deteriorating circumstances because they want to feel as good as possible about themselves (Ayers, et al. 2007). According to Salkovskis (1985) the difference between the obsessive compulsive disorder patient who experience prominent distress and disturbance lies in the meaning they make out of their obsessions. However, normal individual tends to view these intrusions as meaningless and benign whereas OCD patient make catastrophic interpretation out to these cognitive intrusions. These maladaptive interpretations discriminates the OCD patients. Cognitive models of OCD implied that a thought will be distressing and repetitive depending on the meaning assigned to it, not because of the content of obsessional thoughts (Teachman, 2005). The Obsessive Compulsive Cognitions Working Group (OCCWG) has shown that symptom severity correlates with appraisals of intrusive thoughts among individuals with OCD. In comparison with individuals who do not have OCD, those with OCD appraise unwanted intrusive thoughts as more important to control and as conveying more responsibility for preventing harm related to the thought (OCCWG, 2001). Purdon and Clark (1994) suggested that high scores on measures of OCD suggest that the individual is more likely to believe that intrusive and unwanted thought will occur in real life and will experience more guilt in reaction to those thoughts. Appraisals that one could act on the intrusive thought as well as appraisals about control, responsibility and the significance of the thought for ones personality also correlate with the OCD symptoms (as cited in Corcoran and Woody, 2007). Thus, models of Obsessive compulsive disorder showed that cognitive appraisal of unwanted intrusive thoughts will produce significant distress in patients having OCD that in turn will affect quality of life. There is evidence suggesting a relationship between Cognitive Appraisal and Psychological and Physical well-being (Coyne, Aldwin Lazarus, 1981; Harris, Heller Braddock, 1988; Jerusalem, 1993; Nezu, 1986). There is a general Conesus among research that an individual appraisal of the significance of the situation in terms of personal well-being will be a major determinant of affect (Carver et al., 1989; Harris et al., 1988; Lazarus Folkman, 1987; Lazarus, 1991; Smith Ellsworth, 1985). The way a person evaluates the significance of an event for him/her produces different emotional reaction, making some people more vulnerable to adverse effect than other (Kessler et al., 1983; as cited in Kausar, 1994). Perceived control experienced by an individual has an effect on outcome (Partridge Johnston, 1989). Increased levels of perceived personal control are associated with more favorable psychological adjustment (Folkman, 1984) and perceived lack of control on the other hand predicts psyc hological symptoms (Prime-Emberry, 1972; as cited in Kausar, 1994). How an individual appraises and copes with the stress is important to his/her well-being (Antonovsky, 1979; Lazarus 1981). According to Lazarus and Folkman (1984), a fit between cognitive appraisal and coping strategies is postulated to produce a better outcome. Johnson and Kenkel (1991) concluded that appraisals of threat (Appraisal of self, holding self back) and use of coping strategies of detachment and seeking social support were associated with emotional distress. Moreover, Felsten (1991) suggested that appraisals of challenges and expectations of successful coping should be associated with lower distress and better well-being. Rassin et al. (2001; as cited in Yorulmaz, 2007) suggested that unwanted and intrusive thoughts are experienced by everyone and the difference between normal and abnormal lies in the appraisal process, frequency and distress. Therefore, the examination symptom severity and cognitive app raisal as the predictors of quality of life of OCD patients may facilitate the understanding if the distress and impairment faced by them. In OCD, primary appraisal occurs in conjunction with the intrusive thoughts associated with obsessions, and secondary appraisal leads to faulty coping (compulsions and avoidance). According to Carr (1971), patients with OCD typically overestimate the likelihood of an unfavorable outcome in the context of primary appraisal (during obsessions) (as cited in Stein, Hollander, Rothbaum, 2009) and they perform compulsive behaviors in order to reduce perceived threat. In term of cognitive domains, studies of patients with OCD have found an exaggerated sense of responsibility, overestimation of threat, perfectionism, over importance of thoughts, need for control and intolerance of ambiguity (Rachman, 1993; Salkovskis, 1985; as cited in Sten, Hollander, Rothbaum, 2009). Individuals with OCD report markedly reduced Quality of life and general well-being, diminished occupational attainment, impaired family functioning, and higher rates of suicidal thought attempts. According to Koran et al. ( 1996), severity of OCD is inversely correlated with social functioning (as cited in Simpson, Neria, Fernandaz Schneier, 2010). According to Teachman (2007), subjective cognitive complaints exacerbate the effects of obsessional beliefs, and promote maladaptive responses to intrusive thoughts thus increasing the severity of the OCD symptoms. In present study, it is intended to explore mediating role of Cognitive Appraisal on Quality of Life perceived by Obsessive Compulsive Disorder patients with Symptom Severity and Cognitive Appraisal of the disorder are expected to impair the patients functioning. Literature Review This section includes the review of the studies that investigated the studied variables that are Symptom Severity, Cognitive Appraisal and Quality of life. Kumar, Sharma, Kandavel Reddy (2012) examined the contribution of cognitive appraisals to the quality of life (QoL) in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder. In Cross sectional study, it was hypothesized that cognitive appraisals of obsession contribute to poor quality of life in OCD patients. Sample size was 31 consecutive patients from Behavioral Medicine Unit of the NIMHANS and 30 Normal controls. Exclusion criteria were patients having severe co morbid psychiatric, physical and neurological disorder. The assessment was done by using mini Internal Neuropsychiatry Interview (MINI), the YBOCS severity scale, Clinical Global Impression-severity, the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21, the Interpretation of Intrusive Inventory-31 and WHOQOL-BREF. Data was analyzed using independent t-test and chi-square test. Relationship between the domains of cognitive appraisal and the QoL after controlling for the duration of symptoms was analyzed by using Partial correlation. The resul ts indicated that all the domains of cognitive appraisal have strong negative relationship with psychological domain of QoL. Thought control and inflated personal responsibility also correlated negatively with the total QoL. Cognitive appraisal specifically contributes to poorer QoL in OCD so modification of beliefs and appraisal may be essential for better QoL. Main limitations were small size, patients were recruited from Behavioral Medicine Unit of major psychiatric hospital, and findings may not be easily generalized. Sample was predominantly male so its important to examine gender difference in cognitive appraisal and its relationship to QoL. Fontelle et al., (2010) in a study compared patients with OCD and normal on severity of different OCD dimensions and levels of QoL of patients with OCD. Further, it was also investigated the socio demographic variables and co occurring depressions and anxiety symptoms have significant contribution in impairment of QoL of OCD patient. They hypothesized that universal pattern of impairment in the physical, mental, and social aspects of quality of life of patient will be associated with more significant hoarding symptoms. The patients with the diagnosis of OCD were included; age between 18-80 years and without any other neurological, endocrinological or systematic disorder. The measures used were Saving inventory revised (SI-R), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Obsessive Compulsive Inventory- Revised (OCI-R), Medical Outcome Study 36-item short form health survey (SF-36). Chi-square and independent student t-test was used for the comparison of categorical a nd continuous variables respectively. The patient who met the inclusion criteria was 135 out of which 65 were patients, and 70 were controls. The result supported the hypothesize only partially, the decline in particular aspects of patients QoL was significantly associated with hoarding and washing symptoms for but co occurring symptoms, the most prominent determinant of the impairment of QoL of subject with OCD were depressive and anxious ones. The study had limitations that sample was taken from specialized institutions, second control group was of nonclinical individuals, rating on depression scale and QoL Instrument may be dependent on state and change during continuity of OCD, they applied generic tool for measuring QoL in OCD. Teachman (2007) studied subjective concerns about cognitive decline partially mediate this relationship between obsessional beliefs and OCD symptoms across young and older adult age group in a large community sample. The sample size was 335 including males and females. Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised, Obsessional Beliefs Questionnaire and Memory Functioning Questionnaire were used. This study attempted to evaluate the modification of cognitive model proposed by Rachman and Salkovskis. The results provide support to cognitive models of obsessions and suggest that obsessional beliefs that have been validated in younger adult samples are also important for older adults. It was shown that the relationship among subjective cognitive concerns, obsessional beliefs and OCD symptoms was consisted but older patients showed greater subjective cognitive concerns, Grant et al. (2006) carried out a study to find out the differences of OCD patients with primary OCD and sexual obsessions and OCD patients without sexual obsession on number of clinical variables. They included co morbidity, symptom severity, insight, quality of life, and social and occupational functioning under the clinical domains. 293 subjects, meting criteria for OCD, aged 19 years or older were included and interviewed. Clinical interview for DSM-IV Axis-I disorder, Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS) to assess OCD symptom severity, Subject Clinical Global Improvement scale was used to evaluate the response towards medication. Rating on the degree to which previous treatments have proved to be effective was taken on 7 point scale. Brown assessment of Beliefs Scale (BABS) was used to evaluate the insight and current Depressive symptom and QOL by were assessed by using 17-item Hamilton Rating scale for Depression and Quality of life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionn aire respectively. The findings supported the hypothesize that earlier age of OCD, presiding entry in treatment, increased rate of aggressive and religious obsession onset was related to having OCD with sexual obsessions, and also with increaser depressive symptoms, longer duration of treatment, and higher rates of impulse control disorder. Teachman, Woody and Magee (2006) attempted to evaluate cognitive theories of obsessions and they experimentally manipulated appraisals of the importance of intrusive thoughts. The design contained both experimental and quasi-experimental elements. Implicit Association Test was used to examine the influence of instructions about the importance versus meaninglessness of unwanted thoughts on reaction time. Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised, Beck Depression Inventory, Interpretation of Intrusions Inventory III, Obsessional Beliefs Questionnaire-Short Form, State Self-Esteem Scale, and Personal Significance Scale were the part of study. Results indicated that the manipulation shifted implicit appraisals of unwanted thoughts in the expected direction, but not self-evaluation of morality or dangerousness. Interestingly, explicit self-esteem and beliefs about the significance of unwanted thoughts were associated wit the measure of OCD beliefs, whereas implicit self-evaluations of danger ousness were better predicted by the interaction of pre-existing OCD beliefs with the manipulation. Libby et al., (2004) studied Cognitive Appraisals in young people with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. The study had two aims to investigate whether the same pattern of cognitive appraisal found in studies with adults will be observed in the younger population. A secondary aim of the study was to establish the relationship between cognitive appraisal and the extent these predict obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Three groups of young people aged between 11 and 18 years old were recruited for the study. First group were of patients with OCD, second was patient with anxiety disorder and third one was non clinical group. Leyton Obsessional Inventory-Child Version, Responsibility Attitude Scale, thought-Action Fusion Scale, and Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale was used n the study. The young people with OCD had significantly higher scores on inflated responsibility, thought-action fusion, and one aspect of perfectionism, concern over mistakes, than the other groups. In addition, inflated responsibility independently predicted OCD symptom severity. The results generally supported the cognitive appraisals held by adults with OCD to young people with the disorder. Saxena et al., (2010) conducted a research to compare compulsive hoarding and non compulsive hoarding OCD patients across variety of QoL domains. They hypothesized that hoarders would be older and have lower FAF scores than non hoarding OCD patients. Secondly, hoarding patients would be less satisfied with their living situations, given their amount of clutter, and hoarders would have greater victimization/ safety concerns and finally hoarders would have greater financial problems and receive more social service assistance than non-hoarding OCD patients. To study this171 adult patients were selected (84 males, 87 females) with age aged 18-72. They were diagnosed OCD and treated openly between 1998 and 2005. Out of these patient 34 met criteria of having compulsive hoarding syndrome. 137 patients didnt report any hoarding symptoms. Patient presented with a wide range of co morbid diagnosis. Those with active psychosis, mania, dementia, mental retardation or other cognitive impairment were excluded. Standardized rating scales were used to assess symptom severity and level of functioning. YBOCS was used to measure OCD symptom severity. Severity of depressive and anxiety symptoms were measured by 28 item Hamilton Depression rating scale (HDRS-28) and Hamilton Anxiety Scale (Ham-A) respectively. QoL was assessed with Lehman Quality of Life Interview Short. Obtained scores for QoL between 2 groups were compared using Analysis of Variance procedures. ANCOVA were performed with covariates and also for secondary analysis on individual items. Results showed that compulsive hoarders were significantly older that non hoarding OCD patients. QoL scores on victimization and safety factors differed significant between 2 groups. Hoarder felt less safe in streets and less satisfied with protection. Both groups had significant occupational impairment, unemployment and disability. Discrepancy in sample size between 2 patient groups and intensive patient setting were the limitation s of study. Eisen et al., (2006) conducted a study to assess multiple aspects of QoL in individuals with OCD. It was hypothesized that all aspects of QoL would be affected, and that severity of OCD symptoms and depressive symptoms would be associated with impairment in QoL. 5 years prospective naturalistic study was conducted on 197 participants with an age 18 years or older, primary OCD. An exclusion criterion was having an organic mental disorder. YBOCS, Brown assessment of Belief scale, Modified Hamilton rating scale for Depression, Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire, Social Occupational Functioning assessment scale, Medical outcome survey 36-item short form Health Pearson product moment correlation coefficient was conducted to assess relationship between clinical features of OCD and QoL. Results showed that YBOCS score of 20 appeared to be an inflection point where QoL becomes significantly more impaired, suggesting that functioning and QoL, may be preserved in individu als with OCD until threshold of severity is crossed. Limitations of the study were participants seeking treatment and therefore finding may not apply to those individuals who do not seek treatment. Moreover, subjects were evaluated only once. It was suggested that the role of treatment in improving QoL in OCD should be further investigated along with a need to assess which aspect of QoL and psychological functioning. Guraraj et al., (2008) conducted research in which they hypothesized that patients suffering from severe OCD may have comparable level of global functioning, family burden and QoL and disability with patient suffering from schizophrenia. 70 subjects from National Institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience gave informed consent. Inclusion criteria were (a) a primary diagnosis of DSM IV OCD/schizophrenia (b) continuous illness for the previous 2 year (c) Clinical Global Impression Severity (CGI-S) score of > 4 (d) availability of a primary care giver involved in patient care for 2 years Mini-international Neuropsychiatry Interview was conducted to confirm the diagnosis. Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), World Health Organization (WHO-Quality of life (QOL)(BREF Version), WHO Disability Assessment Schedule-II (WHO-DAS-II). Family Burden Schedule (FBS) were used to assess global functioning, quality of life and disability. ANCOVA was employed with age of onset and duration of illne ss as covariate for comparison of family burden, QoL and disability between 2 groups. Pearson correlation between socio demographic/ clinical variable, family accommodation and functioning with family burden were performed. The results demonstrated that severe OCD is associated with significant impairment in functioning and severe family burden and disability. QoL was poor and severe OCD and schizophrenia are often associated with comparable disability, family burden and poor QoL. Huppert et al., (2009) compared the QoL of OCD patients with functioning of matched healthy controls. They hypothesized that OCD patients in remission would report similar QoL and functioning matched healthy controls (HCs), while individuals with OCD would report poorer QoL and functional impairment. Additional prediction was that OCD patients and comorbid psychiatric disorder would report the worst QoL and functional impairment. Finally, Individuals with a history of OCD (current or past) increased severity of OCD would be related to decrease in QoL and increased functional impairment, even when controlling for depression. 66 comprised the current sample. 36 HCs were included. They were matched on age, sex and ethnicity. Stru