Introduction to Payment Systems in Banking System

Payment Systems encompass a set of instruments and means generally acceptable in making payments, the institutional and organizational framework governing such payments and the operating procedures and communications network used to initiate and transmit payment information from payer to payee and to settle payments. Payment system facilitates the exchange of goods and services between economic agents using an accepted medium of exchange. A modern payment system typically has a range of specialized subsystems developed to serve particular sets of customers; some of these clear and settle small payments, some large payments, while some cover both large and retail settlements. The Bank for International Settlements defines payment systems as “a set of instruments, procedures and rules for the transfer of funds among system participants”. The proposed Payment System legislation in our country defines a ‘payment system’ as “a system that enables payment to be effected between a payer and a beneficiary Continue reading

Reputation Risk in E-Banking

Reputation Risk in E-Banking is the current and prospective risk to earnings and capital arising from negative public opinion. A bank’s reputation can be damaged by Internet banking services that are poorly executed (e.g., limited availability, buggy software, poor response). Customers are less forgiving of any problems and thus there are more stringent performance expectations from the Internet channel. Hypertext links could link a bank’s site to other sites and may reflect an implicit endorsement of the other sites. Risk of damage to the bank’s reputation goes along with the other risks. It can arise, for example, from operational risk even if customers suffer no actual damage. If a hacker successfully breaks into a bank’s website and makes alterations, the bank concerned can suffer substantial damage to its reputation although customers’ balances are safe and the hacker has not obtained any financial benefit. This does not only affect the individual Continue reading

Good Governance – Meaning, Principles and Characteristics

In general,  good governance  is perceived as a normative principle of administrative law, which obliges the State to perform its functions in a manner that promotes the values of efficiency, no corruptibility, and responsiveness to civil society. It is therefore a principle that is largely associated with statecraft. While the government is not obliged to substantively deliver any public goods, it must ensure that the processes for the identification and delivery of such goods are concrete in terms of i) being responsive to public demands; ii) being transparent in the allocation of resources and; iii) being equitable in the distribution of goods. The principle of good governance has also been espoused in the context of the internal operations of private sector organizations. In this way, corporate decision-making strategies integrate the principle of good governance and ensure that shareholder interests (i.e. public limited companies) and employees are taken into account. The Continue reading

Price Discrimination – Meaning and Definition

Often do we come across situations when we find that a single producer sells his product at different prices to different buyers or in different markets. This practice of charging different prices to different buyers or in different markets for the same product is called Price discrimination. According to British economist  Joan Robinson, “the act of selling the same article, produced under a single control, at different prices to different buyers is called Price discrimination.” Price discrimination is a practice firms employ when they charge consumers different prices for the same good in order to earn higher profits. Price discrimination is made possible because of varying utility derived from the consumption of the same good and varying price elasticity of demand. There are 3 types of price discrimination, namely: first-degree price discrimination (perfect price discrimination), second-degree price discrimination and third-degree price discrimination. A firm is said to have practiced first-degree Continue reading

Strategic Human Resource Management in Health Care

Human resource has been recognized as the most important resource to which any business can have access. Previously, the exact role played by human resources in organizations was underrated due to limited research on the topic. However, with more research on the role played by the human resource, as well as analysis of successful firms, it became increasingly clear that human resource plays the greatest role as far as achievement of organizational goals is concerned. With the advent of globalization, various factors began influencing the business environment such as the use of the Internet, effects of competition, and others. Businesses began changing strategies to incorporate the input from the human resource, as this was the only way they could survive stiff competition brought by globalization and technological change. Strategic management of the human resource is therefore essential for the achievement of objectives and goals in any organization. There are various Continue reading

The Cultural Context of Business Negotiations

Considering the potential problems in cross-cultural business negotiations, particularly when you mix managers from relationship-oriented cultures with those form information oriented ones, it is a wonder that any international business gets done at all obviously, and the economic imperatives of global trade make much of if happen despite the potential pitfalls. But an appreciation of cultural differences can lead to even better international commercial transaction-it is not just business deals but highly profitable relationships that are the real goal of international business negotiation. For the efficient and effective international business negotiations few steps are important. Which includes: Selection of the appropriate negotiation team. Management of preliminaries, including training, preparation, and manipulation of negotiation settings. Management of the process of negotiations, that is, what happens at the negotiation and table; and Appropriate follow-up procedures and practices. 1. Selection of Negotiation Teams: One reason for global business successes is the large numbers Continue reading