Have North Americans Stopped Caring Essay Example for Free

Have North Americans Stopped Caring Essay In Chapter 7 of Interest-Group Participation in American Democracy, an online source, an intrigue bunch is characterized as a â€Å"organization or relationship of individuals with basic interests that takes part in governmental issues for the benefit of its members† (190). Since individuals can't straightforwardly take an interest in administration, they partner themselves with bunches that plan to change the political scene. As indicated by a similar source, the privileges of people to shape such gatherings are secured by the Constitution (213). Despite this, there is by all accounts a decrease in interest of these gatherings. This paper plans to clarify why. One of the components that caused the said decrease might be credited to the predominance of the world class in political crusades. Previously, residents who share a shared objective chipped in their time and vitality to these undertakings. Today, crusades require mammoth budgetary support up to finance battle exercises opening entryways for enormous companies and the well off to make powerful commitments. The primary concern in the political business is this: money related capital the fortitude for mass promoting has consistently supplanted social capital that is, grassroots resident systems as the coin of the domain. † (Putnam, 39 40) An expansion in pessimism is another reason for the decrease in investment. As per Morris P. Firiona, individuals feel that just the â€Å"extreme voices† are heard leaving the â€Å"moderate middle† two or three stages behind (395-425). Firiona additionally states that the straightforwardness in the activities of the legislature demonstrated individuals how muddled strategy making can get (Firiona, 395-425). Be that as it may, note that the disappointment isn't totally draining investment. Intrigue Group Participation in American Democracy contends that the headways in innovation permit people to get required without expecting to go out to the avenues to broadcast what they accept is correct (204). With only a couple of snaps on the web, recent developments unfurl before the perusers eyes. Conversation and blog locales are roads which individuals take to communicate their considerations and conclusions. These non-customary methods for cooperation are increasingly helpful and less vitality expending. These are mainstream particularly among the adolescent who, as indicated by Warren E. Mill operator and J. Merrill Shanks, have become detached contrasted with past ages (69). The predominance of specific gatherings, for example, the world class and the fanatics, the expansion in doubt in the legislature, and the melting away of youth contribution are just a portion of the reasons why there is a decrease in investment. This doesn't imply that residents have quit mindful. As referenced in the past section, non-customary methods for commitment is picking up energy in this cutting edge age.

Arguments for and Against Term Limits Essay Example for Free

Contentions for and Against Term Limits Essay My examination showed there is increasingly open help for term limits. The most well-known explanation was voters feel disappointed and distorted by the competitor in office. It is accepted that vocation lawmakers are elitists and don't have an away from of what â€Å"real† individuals are managing or need. Term cutoff points would make an in any event, playing field for newcomers permitting new thoughts and new masterminds in with the general mish-mash. Newcomers would be less affected by unique interests and decrease defilement. Those restricted as far as possible basically bolster the reason that supplanting prepared experienced government officials with unpracticed individuals that are new to the issues is adverse to pushing things ahead. It takes long periods of experience to find a good pace on the issues and the guidelines of government. Constraining terms would be prohibitive and take out the â€Å"good† fellow government officials that are working admirably speaking to the individuals. Usually term restricted government officials are not as submitted close to the finish of their term since they don’t need to stress over their record of achievements for re-appointment. At the point when I previously began to chip away at this task I was persuaded that I was agreeable as far as possible for governmentally chose authorities. I was persuaded that term limits were a smart thought so as to lessen defilement and produce new thoughts. In the wake of doing some underlying examination I understood that term limits are not the answer for government change. The individuals choose government authorities. It is dependent upon the voters to cast a ballot in change, get included, and bolster their competitor of decision. Casting a ballot is a common freedom for all made sure about by the penances of others. It is our resident duty to conjure our entitlement to cast a ballot and to be educated, instructed voters. References htttp://dbp.idebate.org/en/index.php/Debate:_Term_limits_for_legislators http://suite101.com/article/term-limits-are-set-at-the-surveys a214115

Three Great Essay Topic Ideas For Grade 8

Three Great Essay Topic Ideas For Grade 8There are many great story ideas in the contemporary world today that are able to make your grade 8 essay topics a winner. If you're looking for some ideas, then don't be afraid to find the link to these useful links below. These points will help you put your life story on the table.Life Story - This is definitely one of the most popular topics to use in grade 8, as a lot of people want to get out of their house and know the truth about their past. So, how do you do this? Look no further than your past that you have collected from friends, work colleagues, teachers, etc.Classic - This will also come in handy in helping you with your grade 8 essay topics. The term 'Classic' can be used for any of your stories that you have gathered or that you are just happy with. There is a lot of money to be made on this topic and it's very well accepted among writers. Most schools will consider this to be an aspect to the plot of the paper, so make sure you remember to incorporate this into your paper.Personal Experiences - This is also one of the most common choices you can make. There is not much to say about this one. Basically you are telling your life story and focusing on the emotional side of it.New Ways - One of the topics that we can all agree on and that is a must include into your paper. We are living in a very fast paced society and the idea of this topic is that we have to learn to get on with our life with new means and not with old methods. So, why not mention a few new ones?Many Different Directions - There are several ways to come up with new ways to come up with new ways to make your story exciting. But most writers feel that using this will be a smart thing to incorporate into the paper. It is a short sentence, but it tells you how you are.All of these three topics can help you be more creative with your grade 8 essay topics. One more point that you need to know is that you can use all of them at once or split them i nto two or three different essays. This will help you create something that stands out from the rest.

How the internal factors of the islamic banking affected their performance - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 25 Words: 7632 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? Chapter 1: Introduction Introduction to the Subject Background of the Subject General Objective The purpose of this study is to examine how the internal factors of the Islamic Banking affected their performance before, during and after the financial crisis in the GCC in comparison to the conventional banking in the same area. Research Questions This study aims to answer the following questions: How did the financial crisis affect the profitability of Islamic Banks in comparison to Conventional Banks? What are the internal factors (bank specific characteristics) that influence the profitability of Islamic banking for every year from 2006 2009? Did these factors have the same impact on the profitability of Islamic Banking before, during and after the financial crisis? Did these internal factors influence the profitability of Islamic Banking in the same manner as of the Conventional Banking? Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "How the internal factors of the islamic banking affected their performance" essay for you Create order Need for the Study Significance of the Study Assumptions of the Study Limitations of the Study Although we cannot neglect the importance of the external factors on the profitability of Islamic Banking, they were not included in this study. To understand the reason behind this decision, we need to go through the different types of external factors and how they are classified: Macroeconomic Factors Country Regulation Rules Bank Regulation Rules These factors were not included for the following reasons: Since we are examining the performance of 92 banks (27 Islamic Banks and 65 Conventional Banks) in 6 countries, the number of countries used in the study is not significant enough to study the impact of GDP and inflation accurately on Bank profitability especially when examining each year separately Country Regulation Rules as per the IMF Database, although it differs slightly for the selected countries, did not change over the period from 2006 to 2009. This means that for each bank, these factors remained constant. Data about Bank Regulation Rules cou ld not be obtained for GCC banks Delimitation of the Study This study was delaminated to the Islamic and Conventional Banks in the GCC whose data could be obtained in the Bankscope database. Chapter 2: Literature Review Overview of Islamic Banking Islamic Baking has established as an alternative to conventional interest-based banking. The first stirring of the Islamic Banking movement began in 1963 by Dr. Ahmed Alnajar in a small town in Egypt, called Mit Ghamar. Dr. Alnajar completed his education in Germany and found that it had many saving banks operating on interest. He took the idea from a savings bank in Germany and created his own small Islamic bank that was interest free. After Dr. Alnajars small bank proved successful, the establishment of other Islamic banks followed. In 1971, the Nasser Social Bank was founded in Egypt with the objective of lending out money as a charity on the basis of a profit and loss sharing system and helping people in need. And in 1975, the idea of Islamic banking spread to other Islamic regions such Dubai Islamic bank in United Arab Emirates and The Islamic Development (IDB) Bank in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (Wilson, 1990). Even though Islamic Banking has only been around for thirty years and is still in an evolving stage, Islamic Banking is the fastest growing segment of the credit markets in the Muslim countries. In 2009, Assets held by Islamic Banking banks rose by 28.6 percent to $822bn from $639bn in 2008, according to The Bankers â€Å"Top 500 Islamic Financial Institutions† survey while conventional banks posted annual asset growth of just 6.8 percent. Furthermore, GCC states accounted for $353.2bn or 42.9 percent of the global aggregate, while Iran remained the largest single market for Shariah-compliant assets, accounting for 35.6 percent of the total. Finally, Islamic banking operations are not limited to Islamic countries but are spreading throughout the world. One reason is the growing trend toward transcending national boundaries, and unifying Muslims into a political and economic entity that could have a significant impact on the pattern of world trade (Abdel-Magid, 1981). Islamic Banking Rules and Principles Islamic banking rules are according to the Islamic Shariah derived from the Quran and prophet Mohameds sayings. The three main practices that are clearly prohibited in the Quran and the prophets sayings are, Riba (Interest), Gharar (Uncertainty), and Maysir (Betting). Prohibition of Riba or any predetermined or fixed rate in financial institutions is the most important factor in the Islamic principles pertaining to banking. As stated in the Quran â€Å"Allah forbids riba†. Riba means an increase and under Shariah the term refers to the premium that must be paid by the borrower to the lender along with the principle amount as a condition for the loan (Omar and Abdel, 1996). Gharar occurs when the purchaser does not know what has been bought and the seller does not know what has been sold. In other words, trading should be clear by stating in a contract the existing actual object(s) to be sold, with a price and time to eliminate confusion and uncertainty between the buyers and the sellers. Mai sir is considered in Islam as one form of injustice in the appropriation of others wealth. The act of gambling, sometimes referred to betting on the occurrence of a future event, is prohibited and no reward accrues for the employment of spending of wealth that an individual may gain through means of gambling. Under this prohibition, any contract entered into, should be free from uncertainty, risk and speculation. Contracting parties should have perfect knowledge of the counter values intended to be exchanged as a result of their transactions. Therefore, and according to Ahmed and Hassan (2007), the principles of Islamic banking and finance enshrined from al-Quran and Prophet Mohamed‘s Sayings can be summed up as follows: Any predetermined payment over and above the actual amount of principal is prohibited. The lender must share in the profits or losses arising out of the enterprise for which the money was lent. Making money from money is not acceptable in Islam. Gharar (deception) and Maisir (gambling) are also prohibited. Investments should only support practices or products that are not forbidden or even discouraged by Islam. Islamic Banking Products Islamic Banking products have to be done according to Islamic rules and principles, based on profit and loss sharing as well as avoiding interest. According to BNM statistics 2007, Al Bai Bithaman Ajil financing is the most common in Islamic Banking. There are a lot of Islamic Banking products; however there are some famous Islamic products that will be discussed in this section. 1. Al Bai Bithaman Ajil /BBA This involves the credit sale of goods on a deferred payment basis. In BAA, the Islamic bank will purchase certain assets on a deferred payment basis and then sell the goods back to the customer at an agreed price including some margin or profit. The customer will make payment by installments over an agreed period. A fixed rate BBA is a powerful hedging tool against interest rates (Rosly, 1999). 2. Murabahah Murabahah is a contract of sale. The Islamic Bank acts as a middle man and purchases the goods requested by the customer. The bank will later sell the goods to the customer in a sale and purchase agreement, whereby the lender re-sales to the borrower at a higher price agreed on by both parties. These are more for short term financing 3. Mudharabah According to Kettel (2006), Mudharabah is a basic principle of profit and loss, where instead of lending money at a fixed rate return, the banker forms a partnership with the borrower, thereby sharing in a ventures profit and loss. Mudharabah is an agreement between the lender and entrepreneur, whereby the lender agrees to finance the project on a profit sharing basis according to a predetermined ratio agreed by both parties concerned. If there are any losses the lender will bear all the losses. 4. Musharakah Musharakah means partnership whereby the Islamic institution provides the capital needed by the customer with the understanding that they both share the profit and loss according to a formula agreed before the business transaction is transacted. In Musharakah all partners are ent itled to participate in the management of the investment but it is not compulsory. Musharakah can help in providing financing for large investments in modern economic activities 5. Al Ijarah Ijarah means meaning to give something on a rental basis. In Ijarah, the bank acquires ownership based on the promise and leases back to the client for a given period. The customer pays the rental but the ownership still remains with the bank or lender. As the ownership remains with the lessor (bank), it continues to give the service for which it was rented. Under this contract, the lessor has the right to re-negotiate the quantum of the lease payment at every agreed interval to ensure rental remains in line with the market rates (Hume, 2004). 6. Wadiah Wadiah is a trust contract and the bank provides gift (hibah) and various types of benefits to the customer. This is exactly like a normal conventional savings account. 7. Istisna Istisna allows one party buys the goods and the other party undertakes to manufacture them according to agreed specifications. Normally, Istisna is used to finance construction and manufacturing projects. 8. Salam Salam is defined as the forward purchase of specified goods with full forward payment. This contract is normally used for financing agricultural production. According to Hassan (2004), Salam based future contracts for agricultural commodities, supported by Islamic Banks, can help to overcome the agricultural financial problems Table 2.1 lists the products of conventional banking and their correspondent products in Islamic Banking. Deposit Services Current Deposit Wadiah Wad Dhamana / Qard Hasan Savings Deposit Wadiah Wad Dhamana / Mudaraba General Investment deposit Mudaraba Special Investment deposit Mudaraba Retail / Consumer Banking Housing Property Finance BBA / Ijara wa Iktina /Diminishing Musharaka Hire Purchase Ijara Thumma Al-Bai Share Financing BBA / Mudaraba / Musharaka Working Capital Financing Murabahah/ Bai Al-Einah/ Tawarruq Credit Card Bai Al-Einah/ Tawarruq Charge Card Qard Hasan Corporate Banking/ Trade Finance Project Financing Mudaraba / Musharaka / BBA / Istisna / Ijara Letter of Credit Musharaka/ Wakala/ Murabaha Venture Capital Diminishing Mudaraba/ Musharaka Financing Syndication Musharaka + Murabaha/ Istisna / Ijara Revolving Financing Bai Al-Einah Short-term Cash Advance Bai Al-Einah/ Tawarruq Working Capital Finance Murabaha/ Salam/ Istijrar Letter of Credit Murabaha Letter of Guarantee Kafala + Ujr Leasing Ijara Export/ Import Finance Musharaka/ Salam/ Murabaha Work-in-Progress, Construction Finance Istisna Bill Discounting Bai al-Dayn Underwriting, Advisory Services Ujr Treasury / Money Market Investment Products Sell buy-back agreements Bai al-Einah Islamic Bonds Mudaraba / Mushraka + BBA / Istisna / Ijara Government Investment Issues Qard Hasan/ Salam/ Mudaraba Other Products Services Stock-Broking Services Murabaha/ Wakala/ Joala Funds Transfer (Domestic Foreign) Wakala/ Joala Safe-Keeping Collection (Negotiable Instruments) Wakala/ Joala Factoring Wakala/ Joala/ Bai al-Dayn Administration of Property, Estates and Wills Wakala Hiring of Strong Boxes Amana/ Wakala Demand Draft, Travellers Cheques Ujr/ Joala ATM Service, Standing Instruction, Telebanking Ujr Source: Obaidullah, 2005 Financial Crisis and the Islamic Banking To be able to compete with conventional banks, Islamic banks have to offer financial products that are comparable to the ones offered by the conventional banks. This exposes the Islamic banks to similar credit, liquidity and risks driven by market instability. Despite that, Islamic banks managed to remain stable at the early phases of the crisis. That was driven by three main Factors. First, Islamic banks financing activities are strongly tied to the real economic activities than their conventional counterpart. Even though Musharakah and Mudharabah both provide better risk sharing while keeping strong link to the real sector, they are used minimally for different reasons. Most financing activities are done through Murabah and Ijarah followed by Istinsa. In the GCC and during 2007, Murabaha comprised of 65.4%, Ijarah 12.78% and Istinsa 2.83%. Both Murabaha and Ijrah transactions require the Islamic bank to know the clients purspose and use of finance as well the ownership of the asset by the bank. This help in ensuring that the funds are used for their stated purposes. On the other hand, conventional banks do not require disclosing the use of funds as long as the client is believed to creditworthy or can post suitable collateral. Second, Islamic banks avoid direct exposure to exotic and toxic financial derivative products. Since Shariah prohibits riba and gharar, the asset portfolio of Islamic banks did not include any CDOs, CMBSs, and CDSs which turned out to be highly toxic for conventional banks and amplifying factor for the crisis. These derivative products, initially used for hedging purposes, became device for highly speculative investments among conventional financial institutions. Unavailability of hedging instruments for Islamic financial institutions, which was perceived as weakness before the crisis, became a strengthening factor for them. However, exposure to other investment risks driven from equity markets, sukuk, real-estate and ownersh ip stakes in other businesses remain a source of concern when overdone or undertaken purely for speculative gains. Third, Islamic banks in general have a larger proportion of their assets in liquid form than their conventional counterparts. This is driven by two main reasons: (1) there is no lender of last resort (LOLR) facility available to Islamic banks, and they do not have access to market liquidity in the form of the interbank market, high liquidity was maintained for risk management purpose. (2) Excess liquidity is required due to lack of interest-free short-term investment opportunities as real economic investments require some development period. As the global financial crisis became a global economic crisis, it started to affect Islamic banks in an indirect manner. The financial crisis has triggered a chain reaction whereby the slowdown in the real economies of the developed countries has started to affect economic growth and investment activities in export driven eco nomies of the developing countries through lower trade in goods and services as well as through the declining commodity prices including that of oil. The economic downturn is not only affecting the investment and financing activities of financial institutions including those of Islamic banks, it is also reducing the funding of these banks through lower personal savings and declining corporate profits. It should be noted that most of the Islamic banking industry comprises of commercial banks whose major funding source are retail deposits, investment banking constitutes only a small portion of the industry. Islamic banks in some regions may face risk on their financing and investment side of the balance sheet due to the crisis induced volatility of equity markets where these banks have large positions. Downturn in the real estate markets where these banks have large direct and indirect exposures is also another source of risk. Similarly, the changing wealth position of their high-net- worth (HNW) clients who also hold financial exposure in the hard-hit conventional financial sector of the West and therefore are now postponing any investment plans is also a factor. The relative importance of each of these factors varies by the region. For example, the banks in the GCC and particularly in the UAE are more exposed to real estate market risk, followed by risk of international equity markets. For the banks in Asia, their investments in domestic and international equity markets are a source of concern as equity markets are showing higher volatility. In some of the countries, the existing fiscal imbalance which has widened after the crisis is also a factor in the increased volatility of the markets Previous Literature The study of bank profitability is an important tool to evaluate bank operation by examining the different factors affecting bank profitability and using these factors for management planning and strategic analysis. In the last four decades, many studies have been conducted to study both bank profitability and the determinants of bank profitability either for particular country or for a panel of countries. These studies normally divide these factors into internal factors and external factors. Internal factors represent the bank-specific characteristics such as bank size, liquidity structure; liabilities†¦etc while external factors can be macroeconomic factors such as inflation and GDP growth or Country-specific regulations rules and practices. In the area of banking profitability, many studies have been conducted to investigate the profitability of conventional banks while only few were conducted in the field of Islamic banking. In this chapter, we will review these studies for conventional banking first and then will focus on studies in the Islamic banking field. Then we will cover the conceptual framework of this research. Conventional Banking Different studies have been conducted in the field of conventional banking profitability. Short (1979), Bourke (1989), Molyneux and Thornton (1992), Goddard, Molyneux, and Wilson (2004), Peters et al. (2004) are some of the researchers in the field. Short (1979) is one of the early scholars who studied the relationship between banking profit rates and concentration for sixty banks in Canada, Western Europe and Japan during the 1970s and he included independent variables including government ownership and concentration by using H index to quantify concentration. Results showed that the government ownership impact on profitability varied throughout the countries studied but expressed an overall negative relationship. He also found evidence that indicated higher concentration rates lead to higher profit rates (Short, 1979). Bourke (1989) also compared concentration to bank profitability but included other determinants. Bourke (1989) covered ninety banks in Australia, Europe, and North America between 1972 and 198 and examined different internal and external factors: internal factors such as staff expenses, capital ratio, liquidity ratio, and loans to deposit ratio; external factors such as regulation, size of economies of scale, competition, concentration, growth in market, interest rate, government ownership, and market power. His results show that increase in government ownership leads to lower profitability in banking. He also found that concentration, interest rates, and money supply are positively related to profitability along with capital and reserves of total assets as well as cash and bank deposits of total assets. Bourke adds that well capitalized banks enjoy cheaper access to sources of funds as they are less risky than less capitalized banks (Bourke, 1989). Later, Molyneux and Thornton (1992) studied the determinants of European banks profitability. The paper examined eighteen counties in Europe between 1986 and 1989. This paper replicated B ourkes (1989) work by using internal and external determinants of bank profitability. However, Molyneux and Thornton (1992) results showed that government ownership expresses a positive coefficient with return on capital (profitability) which contradicts with Bourkes findings. Other results were similar to Bourkes, showing that concentration, interest rate, and money supply were positively related to bank profitability (Molyneux and Thornton, 1992). In one of the recent papers on bank profitability on European banks, Goddard, Molyneux, and Wilson (2004) shows similar findings to the paper by Molyneux and Thornton (1992). It investigates the determinants of profitability in six European countries and it covered 665 banks between 1992 and 1998. The study used cross-sectional and dynamic panel models. The variables used in the regression analysis were ROE, the logarithmic of total assets, Off Balance Sheet (OBS) dividends, Capital to Asset Ratio (CAR). The results from both models w ere similar: evidence reveals that there is a positive relationship between size (total assets) and profitability. Meanwhile, OBS appears to have a positive relationship with profitability for UK but neutral or negative for other European countries. Moreover, results also state that CAR has a positive relationship with profitability. Furthermore, the paper touched on ownership type by indicating that there is high competition in banking due to the fact that there is foreign bank involvement in domestic banks, and that profitability is not linked to ownership (Goddard, Molyneux, and Wilson, 2004). Peters et al. (2004) studied the characteristics of banks in post-war Lebanon for the years 1993 to 2000 and compared the results to a group of banks from five other countries in the Middle East including UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman for the years 1995 through 1999. They used Return on Equity (ROE) measure profitability and leverage and they employed regression models that relate b ank profitability ratios to various explanatory variables. This study tests the relationships between bank profitability and size, asset portfolio composition, off-balance sheet items, ownership by a foreign bank, and the ratio of employment to assets. The results show a strong association between economic growth and bank profitability, whether measured by ROE or ROA. They found that Lebanese banks are profitable, but not as profitable as a control group of banks from five other countries located in the Middle East. Islamic Banking In the area of Islamic Banking, Bashir (2000) assessed the performance of Islamic banks in eight Middle Eastern countries. He analyzed important bank characteristics that affect the performance of Islamic banks by controlling economic and financial structure measures. The paper studied fourteen Islamic banks from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Sudan, Turkey, and United Arab Emirates between 1993 and 1998. To examining profitability, the paper used Non Interest Margin (NIM), Before Tax Profit (BTP), Return on Assets (ROA), and Return on Equity (ROE) as performance indicators. There were also internal and external variables: internal variables were bank size, leverage, loans, short-term funding, overhead, and ownership; external variables included macroeconomic environment, regulation, and financial market. In general, results from the study confirm previous findings and show that Islamic banks profitability is positively related to equity and loans. Consequently, if loans an d equity are high, Islamic banks should be more profitable. If leverage is high and loan to assets is also large, Islamic banks will be more profitable. The results also indicate that favorable macro-economic conditions help profitability (Bashir, 2000). Hassoune (2002) examined Islamic bank profitability in an interest rate cycle. In his paper, compared ROE and ROA Volatility for both Islamic and conventional banks in three GCC region, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. He states that since Islamic banking is based on profit and loss sharing, managements have to generate sufficient returns for investors given that they are not willing accept no returns (Hassoune, 2002). Bashir and Hassan (2004) studied the determinants of Islamic banking profitability covers 43 Islamic Banks between 1994 and 2001 in 21 countries. Their figures show Islamic banks to have a better capital asset ratio compared to commercial banks which means that Islamic banks are well capitalized. Also, their pap er used internal and external banks characteristics to determine profitability as well as economic measures, financial structure variables, and country variables. They used, Net-non Interest Margin (NIM), which is non interest income to the bank such as, bank fees, service charges and foreign exchange to identify profitability. Other profitability indicators adopted were Before Tax Profit divided by total assets (BTP/TA), Return on Assets (ROA), and Return on Equity (ROE). Results obtained by Bashir and Hassan (2004), were similar to the Bashir (2000) results, which found a positive relationship between capital and profitability but a negative relationship between loans and profitability. Bashir and Hassan also found total assets to have a negative relationship with profitability which amazingly means that smaller banks are more profitable. In addition, during an economic boom, banks profitability seems to improve because there are fewer nonperforming loans. Inflation, on the oth er hand, does not have any effect on Islamic bank profitability. Finally, results also indicate that overhead expenses for Islamic banks have a positive relation with profitability which means if expenses increase, profitability also increases (Bashir and Hassan, 2004). Alkassim (2005) examined the determinants of profitability in the banking sector of the GCC countries and found that asset have a negative impact on profitability of conventional banks but have a positive impact on profitability of Islamic banks. They also observed that positive impact on profitability for conventional but have a negative impact for Islamic banking. Liu and Hung (2006) examined the relationship between service quality and long-term profitability of Taiwans banks and found a positive link between branch number and long-term profitability and also proved that average salaries are detrimental to banks profit. Masood, Aktan and Chaudhary (2009) studied the co-integration and causal relationship bet ween Return on Equity and Return on Assets for 12 banks in KSA for the period between 1999- 2007. For their research, the used time series model of ADF unit-root test, Johansen co-integration test, Granger causality test and graphical comparison model. They found that there are stable long run relationships between the two variables and that it is only a one-direction cause-effect relationship between ROE and ROA. The results show that ROE is a granger cause to ROA but ROA is not a granger cause to ROE that is ROE can affect ROA input but ROA does not affect the ROE in the Saudi Arabian Banking sector. Conceptual Framework Theoretical framework is a basic conceptual structure organized around a theory. It defines the kinds of variables that are going to be used in the analysis. In this research, the theoretical framework consists of seven independent variables that represent four aspects of the Bank Characteristics. Theses aspects are the Bank Size (Total Assets), Capital Structure (Equity and Tangible Equity), Liquidity (Loans and Liquid Assets) and Liabilities (Deposits and Overheads). Bank profitability is the dependent variable and two measures of bank profitability are used in this study, namely return on average equity (ROAE) and return on average assets (ROAA). In this section we develop the hypothesis to be examined in this research paper. Development of Hypotheses This paper attempts to test seven hypotheses. A hypothesis is a claim or assumption about the value of a population parameter. It consists either of a suggested explanation for a phenomenon or of a reasoned proposal suggesting a possible correlation between multiple phenomena. According to Becker (1995), hypothesis testing is the process of judging which of two contradictory statements is correct. Hypothesis 1: Profitability has a positive and significant relationship with the total assets (ASSETS). Total Assets of a company represents its valuables including both tangible assets such as equipments and properties along with its intangible assets such as goodwill and patent. For banks, total assets include loans which are the basis for bank operations either through interest or interest-free practices. Total assets is used as a tool to measure the bank size; banks with higher total assets indicate bigger banks. Molyneux and el (2004) included total assets in their study and found a positive significant relationship between total assets and profitability. Therefore, total assets are expected to have positive relation with profitability which means that bigger banks are expected to be more profitable. Total assets are converted logarithmic to be more consistent with the other ratios Hypothesis 2: Profitability has a positive and significant relationship with equity to asset ratio (EQUITY). Total equity over total assets measures banks capital structure and adequate. It indicated bank ability to withstand losses and handle risk exposure with shareholders. Hassan and Bashir (2004) examined the relationship between EQUITY and bank profitability and found positive relationship. Therefore, EQUITY is included in this study and it is expected to have a positive relation with performance because well capitalized banks are less risky and more profitable (Bourke, 1989) Hypothesis 3: Profitability has a positive and significant relationship with Tangible Equity to total liabilities ratio (TNGEQTY). Tangible Equity represents the subset of shareholders equity that is not common shares and not intangible asset. Tangible Equity became very popular after the financial crisis as a measure of bank viability since it indicates of how much ownership equity owners of common stock would receive in the event of a companys liquidation. Beltratti and Stulz (2009) examined tangible equity to liabilities in their study to examine why some banks perform better during the financial crisis and found positive and insignificant relationship between TNEQTY and bank profitability. Therefore, TNEQTY is included in this study and it is expected to have positive relationship since banks with better capital structure in since of more equity seems to perform better. Hypothesis 4: Profitability has a positive and significant relationship with the loans to assets ratio (LOANS) Total loans over total assets a liquidity ratio used that indicates how much of bank assets are tied to loans. For banks, the higher LOANS ratio means less liquidity. Demirguc-Kunt and Huizinga, (1997) found positive relationship between LOANS and bank profitability. LOANS is included in this study and anticipated to have positive relationship with profitability. Furthermore, conventional banks rely on interest-based loans while Islamic banks rely on profit and loss sharing interest-free lending. Therefore, this ratio is also used to compare the performance of interest-based loans and interest-free lending. Hypothesis 5: Profitability has a positive and significant relationship with the liquid assets to total assets ratio (LIQUID). Liquid assets include currency, deposit accounts, and negotiable instruments that can be converted easily into cash. Liquid assets to total assets ratio is a liquidity ratio that measure how easily the banks assets can be converted into cash. Beltratti and Stulz (2009) found that LIQUID has positive and significant relation with profitability as banks with more liquid assets tend to perform better. Therefore, LIQUID is included in this study and expected to have positive relationship with profitability. Hypothesis 6: Profitability has a reverse and significant relationship with the deposits to assets ratio (DEPOSITS). Deposits to total ratio is another liquidity indicator but is considered a liability since they measure the impact of liabilities on profitability. Bashir and Hassan (2004) examined deposits in their study and found a negative relationship with profitability. Therefore, we expect that DEPOSITS to have negative relationship with profitability. Hypothesis 7: Profitability has a positive and significant relationship with the overhead to assets ratio (OVERHEAD). Overhead costs represent all bank expenses excluding interest expenses as they are considered as operations expenses. Overhead over total assets is a liability ratio that measures the operation efficiency of the bank. Alkassim (2005) included OVERHEAD in his research and found positive relationship to profitability. Therefore, OVERHEAD is included in this study and expected to have positive relationship to profitability. Chapter 3: Methods Data Sample Since the main objective of this research is study how the financial crisis affected the profitability of Islamic Banking in the GCC region in comparison to the conventional banking in the same region, a time-series cross-sectional data is used for the period of 2006 to 2009. Cross-sectional data provide information on variables for a given period of time while time-series data give information about variables over a number of periods of time. The financial data for all GCC banks used in this study were extracted from Bankscope database. Bankscope database has many advantages: it has information for over 30,000 banks, plus the accounting information is presented in a standardized format. Therefore, the accounting information of Islamic Banking is adjusted to be comparable with accounting information of conventional banks. After removing all records with missing data, a total of 92 banks were included in this study for the years from 2006 to 2008 (27 Islamic Banks and 65 Conve ntional Banks). As for 2009, out of these 92 banks, only 38 banks have their financial reports published by the time of data extraction. Therefore, 2009 data sample was limited to those 38 banks (9 Islamic Banks and 29 Conventional Banks). Most of previous researches that studied bank profitability used panel data as it combines cross-sectional and time-series data in the regression model. The advantage of using panel data is that more observations on the explanatory variable are available. Since we are trying to study how the bank profitability was affected by the financial crisis over the years, we use the regression model to examine the data of each year separately. This help to understand how profitability measures and determinants vary over the period from 2006 to 2009. Goodness of fit To ensure the fit distributions of observations in the sample data, chi-square test was applied. Chi-square is a statistical model that is used to determine if the distribution of observations in the sample data closely matches the hypothetical distribution of the population. In our case, the distribution of the population is represented by the total number of Islamic banks and conventional banks in the GCC. For years 2006 2008: Type Frequency Sample Percent population Percent Conventional 65 70.65 68 Islamic 27 29.35 32 Chi-Square: 0.2974 Degree of Freedom: 1 Pr ChiSq: 0.5855 For year 2009: Type Frequency Sample Percent population Percent Conventional 29 76.32 68 Islamic 9 23.68 32 Chi-Square: 1.2076 Degree of Freedom: 1 Pr ChiSq: 0.2718 The results of chi-square test indicate whether the observed proportions from our sample differ significantly from the hypothesized proportion. In our case, the Islamic to conventional banks ratio does not differ significantly from the distribution of the population. Variable Definition A total of nine variables are used in the regression model. The variables are divided into two dependent variables representing the profitability measures of Islamic banking and they are Return on Average Assets (ROAA) and Return on Average Equity (ROAE), and seven independent variables which are Total Assets, Equity, Tangible Equity, Loans, Liquid Assets Deposits and Overheads. These seven variables represent four bank-specific internal factors which are Bank Size, Capital Structure, Liquidity and Liabilities. The table below summarizes the variables used in this study and the expected result. Dependent Variables ROA Return on Assets Net Income / Total Assets ROE Return on Equity Net Income / Equity Independent Variables Bank Size ASSETS Total Assets Log (Total Assets) Positive (+) Capital EQUITY Equity Equity / Total Assets Positive (+) TNGEQTY Tangible Equity Tangible Equity / Total Liabilities Positive (+) Liquidity LOANS Loans Loans / Total Assets Positive (+) LIQUID Liquid Assets Liquid Assets / Total Assets Positive (+) Liabilities DEPOSITS Deposits Deposits / Total Assets Negative (-) OVERHEAD Overhead Costs Overhead Costs / Total Assets Positive (+) Profitability Measures There are many ratios that have been used by researchers to measure bank profitability but the two most often used ratios are the return on assets (ROA) and the return on equity (ROE) (Iqbal et al., 2005). Return on Assets (ROA) Return of Assets ROA of a bank is the net after-tax income divided by its total assets (Rose, 2002). The return on assets (ROA) is the most important single ratio in comparing the efficiency and operating performance of banks since it indicates the return generated from the assets financed by the bank. Average assets are being used in this study, in order to capture any differences that occurred in assets during the fiscal year. Return on Equity (ROE) ROE is the ratio of a banks net after-tax income divided by its total equity capital (Rose, 2002). The return on equity (ROE) indicates how effectively the management of the enterprise (bank) is able to turn shareholders? funds (i.e. equity) into net profit. It is the rate of return flowing to the banks shareholders (Samad, 1999). The higher ROA and ROE reflect higher managerial efficiency of the bank and vice versa. Determinants of profitability Previous studies categorize determinants of profitability into internal factors and externals factors. Internal factors are basically the bank-specific characteristics such as bank size, concentration, liquidity, liabilities†¦etc. External factors can include macroeconomic such as inflation and GDP growth, and bank regulation rules and policies including restrictions and degree of independence from regularity authority. Total Assets Equity Tangible Equity Loans Liquid Assets Deposits Overhead Costs Methodology In line will the previous literature, Multiple Regression Equation will be used to examine the determinants of profitability in the Islamic Banking and compare the results with those of the conventional banking: Model 1 ROA ROA = ?1 + ?1 ASSET + ?2 EQUITY + ?3 TNGEQTY + ?4 LOANS + ?5 LIQUID +?6 DEPOSITS + ?7 OVERHEAD + ? Model 2 ROE ROE = ?2 + ?1 ASSET + ?2 EQUITY + ?3 TNGEQTY + ?4 LOANS + ?5 LIQUID +?6 DEPOSITS + ?7 OVERHEAD + ? Where: Independent Variables: ROA: Return on Assets ROE Return on Equity Dependent Variables: ASSETS: log (Total Assets) EQUITY: Equity / Total Assets TNGEQTY: Tangible Equity / Total Liabilities LOANS: Loans / Total Assets LIQUID: Liquid Assets / Total Assets DEPOSITS: Deposits / Total Assets OVERHEAD: Overhead Costs / Total Assets Data and Variables Descriptive statistics on the variables used in this study are provided in the tables below for both Islamic banks and conventional banks classified by year from 2006 to 2009. These descriptive information includes mean, maximum, minimum and standard deviation. These tables show some facts on the Islamic and conventional banking in the GCC. For example, looking at the ROAA, we can see that for the year 2006 and 2007, ROAA of Islamic banking was higher than for conventional banking. In the 2008, both Islamic banking and conventional banking has negative ROAA but conventional banking managed to turn it to positive in 2009 while Islamic banks could not. DEPOSITS ratio seems to be lower for Islamic banking than for conventional banking while EQUITY, TNGEQTY and OVERHEAD ratios are higher for Islamic banking. Descriptive Statistics Islamic Banks 2009 Variable N Mean Std Dev Minimum Maximum ROAA 9 -1.91444 10.23591 -28.41 4.96 ROAE 9 -4.86444 39.11601 -104.04 24.27 EQUITY 9 21.68 7.69115 13.19 36.56 ASSETS 9 3.82222 0.56597 3.1 4.66 LOANS 9 47.15778 24.11311 1.77 65.72 DEPOSITS 9 64.88667 23.51866 14.95 83.54 LIQUID 9 21.12 10.66565 3.96 30.96 TNGEQTY 9 28.78 13.73087 14.42 57.69 OVERHEAD 9 5.90333 11.95335 0.96 37.74 2008 Variable N Mean Std Dev Minimum Maximum ROAA 27 2.09926 6.92912 -30.07 10.19 ROAE 27 13.06037 12.53575 -32.08 31.62 EQUITY 27 25.30593 18.32378 6.34 92.32 ASSETS 27 3.52259 0.58526 1.98 4.64 LOANS 27 48.59185 25.39087 1.7 88.32 DEPOSITS 27 59.4037 24.60383 7.26 83.44 LIQUID 27 20.4963 13.30896 0.03 57.47 TNGEQTY 27 78.05333 227.56642 6.75 1201 OVERHEAD 27 3.11741 2.96539 0.34 14.45 2007 Variable N Mean Std Dev Minimum Maximum ROAA 27 5.15296 4.72983 -7.23 18.33 ROAE 27 20.48407 11.53482 -7.62 48.02 EQUITY 27 26.97037 17.2038 7.83 94.75 ASSETS 27 3.42037 0.5604 2.14 4.52 LOANS 27 46.58407 23.43044 2.34 82.81 DEPOSITS 27 58.54407 23.06997 5.03 82.97 LIQUID 27 23.71333 18.21896 0.26 81.09 TNGEQTY 27 100.49407 341.46581 8.53 1805 OVERHEAD 27 2.76074 1.92776 0.42 8.31 2006 Variable N Mean Std Dev Minimum Maximum ROAA 27 6.23 6.82785 -0.65 35.1 ROAE 27 20.65815 15.56718 -5.9 73.18 EQUITY 27 30.88 21.69757 7.63 95 ASSETS 27 3.24593 0.59087 2.17 4.45 LOANS 27 47.51926 25.52218 3.31 87.09 DEPOSITS 27 54.91407 24.9323 4.86 86.9 LIQUID 27 25.31519 19.19956 0.24 74.75 TNGEQTY 27 123.47296 361.45561 8.32 1899 OVERHEAD 27 2.83704 1.82051 0.62 7.53 Descriptive Statistics Conventional Banks 2009 Variable N Mean Std Dev Minimum Maximum ROAA 29 0.90793 3.97936 -18.62 4.68 ROAE 29 8.71724 18.09252 -73.23 29.78 EQUITY 29 14.9731 5.16499 8.6 26.18 ASSETS 29 4.09655 0.53291 2.65 4.84 LOANS 29 58.20172 17.37435 2.22 78.46 DEPOSITS 29 72.68069 16.93623 10.72 86.92 LIQUID 29 22.55172 9.11762 10.29 56.71 TNGEQTY 29 16.55138 6.94827 9.33 35.49 OVERHEAD 29 1.45724 0.75628 0.62 4.36 2008 Variable N Mean Std Dev Minimum Maximum ROAA 65 -0.61185 6.44206 -25.33 7.75 ROAE 65 2.97031 28.92545 -135.99 34.8 EQUITY 65 18.59492 12.67793 0.77 58.04 ASSETS 65 3.77046 0.67367 2 4.89 LOANS 65 51.28046 23.67111 0.27 82.01 DEPOSITS 65 67.40108 21.09781 2.1 87.45 LIQUID 65 20.20646 11.44084 3.79 75.84 TNGEQTY 65 25.90185 27.86691 0.74 138.23 OVERHEAD 65 2.19554 2.27083 0.21 11.04 2007 Variable N Mean Std Dev Minimum Maximum ROAA 65 4.514 4.11481 -2.77 20.43 ROAE 65 20.88708 13.08376 -36.87 88.04 EQUITY 65 21.11846 15.06605 6.59 69.91 ASSETS 65 3.73154 0.62688 2.22 4.84 LOANS 65 45.45323 21.72181 0.44 74.47 DEPOSITS 65 66.08862 19.94167 0.23 86.81 LIQUID 65 27.89123 12.72405 1.3 78.86 TNGEQTY 65 33.13277 40.9337 7.1 232.36 OVERHEAD 65 1.82338 1.41553 0.17 7.88 2006 Variable N Mean Std Dev Minimum Maximum ROAA 65 3.97323 3.81081 -6.76 19.4 ROAE 65 20.49815 12.11583 -11.08 57.34 EQUITY 65 21.05015 13.29398 7.59 74.16 ASSETS 65 3.60123 0.60934 2.13 4.62 LOANS 65 45.53354 23.21159 0.21 79.78 DEPOSITS 65 66.96662 19.32375 0.01 87.32 LIQUID 65 26.85492 15.27206 2.2 79.75 TNGEQTY 65 31.79769 39.7111 6.61 287.05 OVERHEAD 65 1.95 1.50485 0.16 9.25 Finally, by examining the total assets, we can see that the mean of total assets of the Islamic banks in the data sample grow from USD 4,375 to USD 13,654 over the last 4 year while for conventional banks, it grow from USD 8,664 to 21,323. Therefore, conventional banking in the GCC continue to be more significant in terms total assets as it continue to be around double the size of Islamic banks. 2009 2008 2007 2006 Islamic Banks 13,654 7,259 5,855 4,375 Conventional Banks 21,323 14,001 12,176 8,664 Mean of total assets from 2009 to 2006 Chapter 4: Results The objective of this thesis is to answer four different questions in the field of Islamic profitability. These questions are: How did the financial crisis affect the profitability of Islamic Banks in comparison to Conventional Banks? What are the internal factors (bank specific characteristics) that influence the profitability of Islamic banking for every year from 2006 2009? Did these factors have the same impact on the profitability of Islamic Banking before, during and after the financial crisis? Did these internal factors influence the profitability of Islamic Banking in the same manner as of the Conventional Banking? In this chapter we will cover the Pearson Correlation Coefficient and Multiple Regression results for the data sample and then we will address these questions and will evaluate the results of our model to answer these questions. Pearson Correlation Coefficient Multiple Regression Results: Multiple Regression Islamic Banking 2009 2008 2007 2006 Variable ROAA ROAE ROAA ROAE ROAA ROAE ROAA ROAE Constant -13.41662 (0.4556) -68.12575 (0.3232) -2.05837 (0.6674) -8.62794 (0.665) -0.90111 (0.8827) 13.32692 (0.5689) -4.69693 (0.4099) -22.51153 (0.2948) EQUITY -1.97496 (0.1753) -11.22477 (0.0822) 0.13918 (0.0309) 0.33912 (0.1847) 0.30097 (0.0005) 0.41231 (0.1418) 0.08089 (0.0581) -0.02646 (0.8612) ASSETS 0.56295 (0.6389) 5.63096 (0.2661) 1.6763 (0.1242) 9.3132 (0.0457) 2.35517 (0.098) 11.06649 (0.0455) 0.74877 (0.639) 9.72965 (0.1159) LOANS 0.22008 (0.248) 1.02925 (0.1699) -0.04436 (0.1955) -0.16085 (0.2562) -0.10047 (0.0105) -0.42275 (0.0055) 0.00102 (0.9785) -0.09114 (0.5237) DEPOSITS 0.01174 (0.7796) 0.05017 (0.74) -0.00065347 (0.9762) 0.01488 (0.8705) 0.00604 (0.8096) -0.01077 (0.9103) 0.00132 (0.9675) -0.0012 (0.9921) LIQUID 0.21807 (0.1201) 1.18075 (0.0583) -0.02457 (0.5638) -0.23683 (0.1909) -0.13613 (0.0012) -0.51207 (0.0014) 0.01464 (0.7246) 0.06183 (0.6913) TNGEQTY 1.38133 (0.157) 7.61263 (0.0764) 0.03772 (0.1142) 0.08201 (0.3954) -0.01262 (0.6752) -0.03393 (0.7674) 0.04259 (0.0964) 0.19132 (0.05) OVERHEAD -0.57273 (0.0903) -1.84497 (0.1084) -0.71891 (0.0089) -2.71259 (0.0157) -0.46159 (0.2363) -2.51031 (0.098) 1.13651 (0.0117) 2.62272 (0.0999) R-Square Adj R-Sq F Value 0.993 0.9684 40.46 (0.0243) 0.9938 0.9723 46.14 (0.0214) 0.5867 0.4058 3.24 (0.0243) 0.5182 0.3074 2.46 (0.0446) 0.7306 0.6196 6.59 (0.0007) 0.5246 0.3289 2.68 (0.0459) 0.6515 0.508 4.54 (0.0051) 0.5075 0.3047 2.5 (0.058) Multiple Regression Conventional Banking 2009 2008 2007 2006 Variable ROAA ROAE ROAA ROAE ROAA ROAE ROAA ROAE Constant -10.88633 (0.0139) -91.83821 (0.0297) -10.67959 (0.1406) -132.16843 (0.0163) -3.77033 (0.3214) -0.31186 (0.9891) 7.27075 (0.0612) 32.97334 (0.0588) EQUITY 0.33083 (0.03) 2.39759 (0.0964) -0.00521 (0.9454) 1.25524 (0.0303) 0.17778 (.0001) 0.12709 (0.5596) -0.03245 (0.3994) -0.55738 (0.002) ASSETS 0.78281 (0.1739) 7.73299 (0.168) 0.38106 (0.7189) 9.01256 (0.2563) 0.82674 (0.1558) 1.24962 (0.7203) -0.05295 (0.9303) 2.18287 (0.4232) LOANS -0.00133 (0.9465) -0.08544 (0.6581) 0.09645 (0.0007) 0.55782 (0.0074) -0.01068 (0.4705) 0.03734 (0.6759) -0.05022 (0.0027) -0.19802 (0.0077) DEPOSITS 0.05068 (0.0043) 0.5118 (0.0033) 0.06176 (0.1168) 0.63715 (0.0318) 0.00038022 (0.9856) 0.10103 (0.4279) -0.0126 (0.6311) 0.02699 (0.8186) LIQUID 0.04603 (0.2447) 0.51275 (0.1857) 0.0377 (0.3812) 0.2446 (0.4458) -0.01352 (0.4871) -0.05074 (0.6659) -0.03675 (0.0669) -0.26966 (0.0035) TNGEQTY -0.0743 (0.4851) -0.93751 (0.3678) -0.00109 (0.7013) -0.00828 (0.6955) 0.00553 (0.3401) 0.00522 (0.8811) -0.00049447 (0.6286) -0.00277 (0.547) OVERHEAD 0.83202 (0.0026) 6.30294 (0.014) -0.5853 (0.0548) 0.38398 (0.8634) 1.16224 (.0001) 3.53925 (0.0072) 0.81043 (0.0002) 2.85144 (0.0032) R-Square Adj R-Sq F Value 0.7743 0.6865 8.82 (.0001) 0.5862 0.4253 3.64 (0.0127) 0.5856 0.5298 10.5 (.0001) 0.2851 0.1889 2.96 (0.0109) 0.8172 0.7925 33.2 (.0001) 0.1667 0.0545 1.49 (0.1929) 0.5474 0.4865 8.98 (.0001) 0.4378 0.3621 5.78 ( .0001) Question 1 The first question to be addressed in the research is how the financial crisis affected the profitability of Islamic Banks in comparison to Conventional Banks. Since we are mainly focusing on ROAA and ROAA as measures of profitability, the most appropriate approach would be to evaluate how these ratios fluctuate during the financial crisis. Looking at the mean value of ROAE and ROAA from 2006 to 2009, we can find that although Islamic banks performed better in 2006 and 2007 in terms of ROAA while had almost similar value for ROAE, 2008 can be considered to be the worst in term of profitability for both Islamic and conventional banks. However the values for ROAA and ROAE were much lower for Islamic banks (ROAA: -1.91, ROAE: -4.86) than for conventional banks (ROAA: -0.61, ROAE: 2.97). 2006 2007 2008 2009 Islamic Banks ROAA 6.23 5.15 -1.91 2.10 ROAE 20.66 20.48 -4.86 13.06 Conventional Banks ROAA 3.97 4.51 -0.61 0.91 ROAE 20.50 20.89 2.97 8.72 Mean value for ROAA and ROAE for Islamic and conventional banks For 2009, Islamic banks managed to turn these ratios back to positive figures as well as the conventional banks. Furthermore, Islamic banks had higher ROAA and ROAE ratio than the conventional banks. The two figures below show the ROAA and ROAE for Islamic and conventional banks in GCC from 2006 and 2009. ROAA and ROAE for Islamic Banks ROAA and ROAE for Conventional Banks Question 2 The second question in this thesis has to deal with the internal factors (bank specific characteristics) that influence the profitability of Islamic banking for every year from 2006 2009. In the Literature Review chapter, and in order to evaluate the different aspects of bank characteristics, we classified the internal factors to be examined into four categories. These categories are Bank Size, Capital Structure, Liquidities and Liabilities of the Bank. Bank Size In our study, we used the Total Asset to measure bank size. ROAA and ROAE continue to positive relationship with ASSETS for the period from 2006 to 2009 despite the crisis which agrees with Molyneux and el (2004). However, our results show positive significant relationship between both ROAA and ROAE with ASSETS in year 2007 only. For years 2006, 2008 and 2009, the relationship is positive but not significant to reject the null hypothesis. Capital Structure Two factors were used to evaluate the Capital Structure in relation to profitability: EQUITY and TNGEQTY. EQUITY has positive significant relationship with ROAE in years 2006 and 2007. Also, EQUITY has positive relationship with ROAE in 2008 and negative relationship in 2009 but both are not significant to reject the null hypothesis. Also, EQUITY has significant positive relationship with ROAA in years 2006, 2007 and 2008 but positive and not significant for year 2009. Therefore, our results agree with Hassan and Bashir (2004) for years 2006 and 2007. As for the TNGEQTY, it continue to have negative relationship with ROAA and ROAE for the period from 2006 to 2009 except with ROAE for year 2009 where we have negative but not significant relationship. The relationship is positive and significant with ROAE in years 2007 and 2008 and with ROAA in years 2006, 2007 and 2008. Liquidities LOANS and LIQUID both were used in this study to understand the relationship between profitability and Liquidities of the Islamic banking. LOANS have negative relationship with ROAE and ROAA in years 2006, 2007 and 2008 but positive and not significant in year 2009. The relationship is significant negative in years 2007 and 2008. This contradicts with our hypothesis and with Demirguc-Kunt and Huizinga, (1997) who found positive relationship between LOANS and bank profitability. As for LIQUID, it has negative relationship with ROAE and ROAA in all years expect for 2009 and the relationship is only significant in year 2007. This again contradicts with our hypothesis and with Beltratti and Stulz (2009) who found that LIQUID has positive and significant relation with profitability. Liabilities DEPOSITS and OVERHEAD were used as determinants for Liabilities. DEPOSITS have negative relationship with ROAE and ROAA in years 2006 and 2007 but positive in years 2008 and 2008 but none is significant. Therefore, the null theory cannot be rejected and our results dont agree with Bashir and Hassan (2004) who found a negative relationship with profitability. As for the OVERHEAD, the relationship with ROAE and ROAA is negative for the period from 2006 to 2009 but only significant in year 2008. This contradicts with Alkassim (2005) who included OVERHEAD in his research and found positive relationship to profitability. Question 3 The third question in the study is to understand if these factors have the same impact on the profitability of Islamic Banking before, during and after the financial crisis? Bank Size ASSETS continue to have positive relationship with ROAE and ROAA. This means that despite the crisis, bigger banks continue to be more profitable than smaller banks Capital Structure EQUITY always has positive relationship with ROAE and ROAA throughout the period expect for ROAE in year 2009. Also, TNGEQTY always has negative relationship with ROAE and ROAA before, during and after the crisis except for ROAE in year 2009. This means that banks with better capital structure are in general less risky and more profitable but this seems to be changed after the crisis. Liquidates Both LOANS and LIQUID have negative relationship with ROAE and ROAE before and during the crisis (2006 to 2008) but positive relationship after the crisis (2009). This means that before and during the crisis, the banks with less assets are tied to loans and with less liquid assets tend to be more profitable. But this reverse after the crisis. Liabilities OVERHEAD always has negative relationship with ROAE and ROAA before, during and after the crisis. As for DEPOSITS, it has negative relationship in years 2006 and 2007 and it turns positive in years 2008 and 2009. This means that bank with more deposits tend to be more profitable during and after the crisis. Question 4 Last question in this study has to deal with Conventional Bank if the same internal factors influence the profitability of Islamic Banking in the same manner as of the Conventional Banking. Bank Size ASSETS has a positive relationship with ROAE and ROAA for both Islamic Banking and Conventional Banking which means that for both Banking and Conventional Banking, bigger banks tend to be more profitable despite the crisis. Capital Structure For the Conventional Banking, EQUITY has positive relationship with ROAE and ROAA for the period from 2006 to 2008 but negative relationship in year 2009. TNGEQTY has a negative relationship from 2006 to 2008 but positive in year 2009. As for the Islamic Banking, EQUITY always has positive relationship with ROAE and ROAA expect for ROAE in year 2009. Also, TNGEQTY always has negative relationship with ROAE and ROAE except for ROAE in year 2009. This means that EQUITY and TNGEQTY has the same impact on profitability for both Islamic and Conventional Banking before, during and after the crisis Liquidities For Conventional Banking, LOANS always has positive relationship with ROAE and ROAA expect for year 2006 while LIQUID always has negative relationship with ROAE and ROAA except for year 2008. For Islamic Bank, both LOANS and LIQUID have negative relationship except for year 2009. This means that the LOANS have different relationship with profitability for Islamic and Conventional Banking as it is positive for Conventional Banking (except for year 2009) and negative for Conventional Banking (except year 2006) While LIQUID has negative relationship for both Islamic Banking (except year 2009) and Conventional Banking (except year 2008) Liabilities For Conventional Banking, DEPOSITS and OVERHEAD both have positive relationship with profitability except for DEPOSITS in year 2006 and OVERHEAD for year 2008. For Islamic Banking, DEPOSITS has negative relationship for years 2006 and 2007 but positive relationship for year 2008 and 2009 while OVERHEAD has always negative relationship. Chapter 4: Conclusion

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HR departments are expanding in companies regardless of their size. Due to state and federal law, human resource departments have to adapt and grow. These HR laws are in place to help both the employee and the employer. This paper will discuss the Family and Medical Leave Act and what it is able to provide for employees. The Law PublicRead MoreHuman Resource Management And The Hr Department1532 Words   |  7 Pages Although Human Resource Management did begin as a administrative job, advancements in technology has increased a business’s resources to the point of needing this department to take on a more strategic role. The HR Department is or all intend and purposes the center point for the employees needs ranging from - payroll, benefits, vacation, as well as staying up to date with the legal matters. The roles the HR department have always been aimed at meeting the needs of the employee, with a strategic

Development of Large Set Woolworths Limited †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Development of Large Set Woolworths Limited. Answer: Introduction This report depicts the importance of developing Information System for a business organization called Woolworths Limited. Information systems will help the company to gain competitive advantages and measurable structural revenue. With the incrimination of technologies, the chances of error occurrence are also increasing. These errors are strictly needed to be mitigated. To resolve these issues, it has become necessary for the business organization to implement an Information System for large a set of data management. Woolworths Limited is serving different operational excellence to their consumers. Operational excellence has been able to enhance the number of consumers. With the increase of employee information and consumer details, the process of information management is becoming complex. To access the consumer details, data authentication is important. Due to inadequate management approaches, the company was facing many issues. Based on the requirement of the project, proper time and project schedule is developed in this report. The tools and techniques that are needed for demonstrating the project details are also elaborated in this report. Woolworths Limited is one of the major Australian retail companies which serve their business operation throughout Australia and New Zealand. It is a public type company that was founded in the year of 1924, headquartered in Belle Vista, New South Wales, Australia. The business is willing to build an integrated service experience for their consumers. Woolworths Group has more than 3,000 stores which hire more than 205,000 employees for serving more than 29 Million of consumers. The main aim of Woolworths Limited is to serve the best quality, high level user-friendly service to the consumers with proper customer values. Woolworths is a trusted brand which is partnered with thousands of manufacturers and farmers. The goal of the company is to give the consumers highest level priority. It helps to build good relation with the customers and maintain the cultural norms of the company. In addition to this, it helps to generate sustainable sales momentum in their food delivery service. With their end processes and system excellence, it has become one of the lean retailers of Australia. For providing the most measurable values to the stakeholders, the company is willing to empower their business regarding pursuing different high level strategies. The company resolves to deliver hard work and integrity. The business outline of the company is completely focused towards their consumers and their requirements. Three leading ideas of the company are illustrated below: The freedom to share the point of view of all the project team members and the project manager To develop project brand values To deliver sustainable business frame and project outlines to the consumers Outline of the project objective The objectives set for this particular project are as follows: To develop a team with low cost and improve the processes To develop cohesive brand by updated and advanced product offerings To implement an Information system for enhancing the supermarket loyalty program Operational excellence: To gain higher level business profitability the company should improve their operational efficiency. For satisfying the consumers, the company should store available stock of products so that they could get the desired products on expected time regardless of their location. Improved product service and business models: To develop new products and services, Information System needs to be adopted by the company. New business models will enhance the features of the products and help the customers to get useful information about the products and items. Customer relationship management: The Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is a type of information system that helps in increasing the revenue of the business organization. Organizations will be able to enhance its operational efficiency by adopting and implementing CRM. Improvement in decision making: While making a proper decision for any business organization it is necessary to use real time data. It would consume less time. To gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace, proper business models and a strategic outline is needed to be developed by the company. Security: Security is an important aspect that is needed to be developed by any business organization. If cloud based ERP system is implemented by the company, then the IS would be able to provide three different components such as disaster recovery, application resilience and information backup. In case of data management, if any information is lost from the server then with the help of proper security policy, unauthorized users would not be able to access the information without permission. Sustainable survival: To deliver sustainable business outcome to the consumers, it is important to store up-to-date business survival plan. It would help the project team members to make the job responsibilities easier. Detail overview and analysis of the use of relevant project management concept, tools and techniques for demonstrating knowledge The traditional information management system lacks many features that might affect the organisational revenue model and organizational structure. In case of manual information management, the employees have to access information manually. This is not a feasible process. Therefore, it is beneficial for Woolworths Limited to develop an automated system which would reduce the rate of human error and will also improve the business processes. Different project management tools and technologies are used by the companies to deliver service and products as per the requirement of the consumers. To meet the requirements of the consumers, proper tools and project management technologies are needed to be adopted by the management authority. It would help the project manager to gain effective project revenues and competitive advantages. From the analytical diagnosis of Information System (IS) which is going to be developed for Woolworths Limited, it is necessary for the company to adopt proper tools and technologies. For the adoption of cloud based Information System (IS), it is necessary for the company to divide the workload among the project team members. It would help the project associates to earn competitive advantages and measurable revenue value from the market. The tools associated with this project are discussed below. Project management is referred to as one of the most complex and challenging tasks that assist the project manager to accomplish the task within estimated time and budget. Based on the project style, the project manager should select the most suitable project management tool for their business organization. Some of the companies need supporting software whereas some other companies require manual software. For this particular project, the two most suitable tools that are used are the Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT) chart and Gantt chart. For the available project management software, these project management tools could be produced either annually or commercially. PERT chart can be defined as a control and planning tool. Again interchangeably both of these tools could be used by the project managers. PERT chart: Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT) helps to improve and revise the project planning and activity scheduling approach. The required resources for the evaluation of the project are also forecasted with the help of PERT chart. To simplify the project processes, repetitive planning pattern must be used accordingly. For reflecting the dependencies of the inter-projects and the limitation with project resources, the project activities could be rescheduled with the help of the PERT chart application. Profitability could be gained after the completion of the project; project completion time and specified date also become available with the usage of PERT chart as a tool. Gantt chart: Gantt chart is a tool that can be used to display the calendar time task assignment in days, weeks or months. To show the project commencement and completion details, a graphical representation can be shown with the help of the Gantt chart. Schedule time and activity tasks can be visually and graphically represented with the help of Gantt chart. The what if scenario is also developed easily with this tool and it promotes a clean and clear communication approach to the project managers and project team members. An accurate comparison between the planned schedule and project progress can be done. In addition to this, for determining the risks associated with the project and resource allocation, a comparison between multiple projects can be done with the project management approach. Gantt chart can be considered to be a negotiation tool. Project management Technologies Project management technologies help the project manager to improve the performance of the existing stakeholder and each project team members. After analysing the needs of Woolworths Limited, the technologies, processes and skills that are selected are as follows: Data backup and information redundancy: The most important software that is needed by the project managers is the backup software. Regular backup of data will help the managers to retrieve sensitive information in case of an emergency situation like a technical failure. For this particular project, the backup storage is cloud storage and not any local server. Communication: Communication skill is the most important skill that helps the project manager and the project team members to share their perspectives with the other project team members like the operation manager, application programming manager and the financial manager. For this particular company, the chosen communication channels are emails and web conferencing. Project team members face difficulty in sharing their thoughts and ideas with one another. Regular meetings and group discussions will help to overcome the communication gap that is prevailing in this company. Diagramming: Flowcharts are used for presenting a diagrammatic representation of the IS implementation. Woolworths Limited should use proper diagramming software to improve the existing workflow and timing of the project. Microsoft Visio and OmniGraffle software are used by most of the companies for flowchart representation. PM platform: To design the project management task specifically, certain project management platform is needed. This is a collection of different tools that help to manage the project timing as well as scheduling. Project planning schedule WBS Task Name Duration Start Finish Predecessors 0 Schedule development 269 days Tue 11/14/17 Fri 11/23/18 1 Project initiation 27 days Tue 11/14/17 Wed 12/20/17 1.1 Understanding operational details of Woolworths Limited 3 days Tue 11/14/17 Thu 11/16/17 1.2 Adoption of Information System 4 days Fri 11/17/17 Wed 11/22/17 2 1.3 Feasibility study 5 days Thu 11/23/17 Wed 11/29/17 3 1.4 Understanding details of project management tools and technologies 12 days Thu 11/30/17 Fri 12/15/17 4 1.5 Risk management 3 days Mon 12/18/17 Wed 12/20/17 5 2 Project planning 62 days Thu 12/21/17 Fri 3/16/18 2.1 Project risk management plan development 10 days Thu 12/21/17 Wed 1/3/18 6 2.2 Analysing new products and service details 14 days Thu 1/4/18 Tue 1/23/18 8 2.3 Implementation of PERT chart 16 days Wed 1/24/18 Wed 2/14/18 9 2.4 Implementation of Gantt chart 12 days Thu 2/15/18 Fri 3/2/18 10 2.5 Contract with the cloud server 10 days Mon 3/5/18 Fri 3/16/18 11 3 Project execution 168 days Mon 3/19/18 Wed 11/7/18 3.1 Quality management plan development 48 days Mon 3/19/18 Wed 5/23/18 3.1.3 Change management policy consideration 14 days Mon 4/23/18 Thu 5/10/18 5,9,16 3.1.1 Time management implementation 15 days Mon 3/19/18 Fri 4/6/18 12 3.1.2 Cost management planning 10 days Mon 4/9/18 Fri 4/20/18 15,4,12 3.1.4 Procurement planning 9 days Fri 5/11/18 Wed 5/23/18 17 3.2 Field execution of ERP based Information System 69 days Thu 5/24/18 Tue 8/28/18 3.2.1 Development of project maintenance plan 10 days Thu 5/24/18 Wed 6/6/18 18 3.2.2 Project development 8 days Thu 6/7/18 Mon 6/18/18 20,17 3.2.3 Concept designing 6 days Tue 6/19/18 Tue 6/26/18 21 3.2.4 Hiring design engineer 9 days Wed 6/27/18 Mon 7/9/18 22 3.2.5 Approaches adoption for 10 days Tue 7/10/18 Mon 7/23/18 23,18 3.2.6 Protection or privacy process adoption 12 days Tue 7/24/18 Wed 8/8/18 24 3.2.7 Project leverage 14 days Thu 8/9/18 Tue 8/28/18 25 3.3 Final evaluation 51 days Wed 8/29/18 Wed 11/7/18 3.3.1 IS testing 10 days Wed 8/29/18 Tue 9/11/18 22,26 3.3.2 Unit testing 15 days Wed 9/12/18 Tue 10/2/18 28 3.3.3 Integrated testing 12 days Wed 10/3/18 Thu 10/18/18 29 3.3.4 Competency testing 14 days Fri 10/19/18 Wed 11/7/18 30 4 Project closure 12 days Thu 11/8/18 Fri 11/23/18 4.1 Stakeholders signoff 3 days Thu 11/8/18 Mon 11/12/18 31 4.2 Final documentation 4 days Tue 11/13/18 Fri 11/16/18 33 4.3 Post project evaluation 5 days Mon 11/19/18 Fri 11/23/18 34 Project resources Resource Name Type Initials Max. Units Std. Rate Ovt. Rate Cost/Use Accrue At Base Calendar Project manager Work P 100% $20.00/hr $15.00/hr $0.00 Prorated Standard Finance manager Work F 100% $18.00/hr $15.00/hr $0.00 Prorated Standard Application programming manager Work A 100% $18.00/hr $16.00/hr $0.00 Prorated Standard Information system manager Work I 100% $18.00/hr $15.00/hr $0.00 Prorated Standard HR manager Work H 100% $20.00/hr $12.00/hr $0.00 Prorated Standard operational manager Work O 100% $20.00/hr $16.00/hr $0.00 Prorated Standard Members of IS project team Work M 100% $10.00/hr $5.00/hr $0.00 Prorated Standard IS tester Work I 100% $15.00/hr $12.00/hr $0.00 Prorated Standard IS developer Work I 100% $15.00/hr $12.00/hr $0.00 Prorated Standard To implement Information System (IS) in Woolworths Limited, Australia, proper cost management approaches are needed to be made by the project manager and IT manager. Cost management plan is referred to as a budget control approach that helps the project head to predict impending expenditure for reducing the chances of over growing budget. Cost management plan helps the manager to identify the cost allotted for each of the resources to ensure that the expense to get approval before purchasing. It is necessary for the project manager to ensure that, the rate of project investment lower than the project outcome. On the other hand, if the project output is higher than the investment then it would lead the project towards failure o loss. After the implementation of accurate cost management plan, it would allow determining that the expense is adequate for the project and the rate of extra expense is reduced. The proposal for this particular project is completely dependent on the operational and functional features of the Information System. Organizations are adopting information systems for increasing their operational efficiency. Manual data management approaches are not feasible in case of large sets of data. To manage large sets of data, the company needs to adopt an automated system with online support and E-commerce business model. After analyzing the operational details of this organization, it can be said that the implementation of IS regarding ERP software is important. The reasons for which the ERP system has been proposed are as follows: ERP system will be able to streamline the processes and integrate information from various functional departments It will help to increase the competitive advantage It will increase the operational efficiency of the business It will help to enhance the collaborative power The cost required for implementing an ERP system will be less The scalability, mobility, flexibility and productivity will also be increased Conclusion From the overall discussion, it can be concluded that for managing a large set of data implementation of Information System is highly required. Information systems will be able to inter relate the sequential activities in an effective and proper manner. Based on the background of the project, it can be said that different tools and technologies play a significant role in enhancing the productivity of the company. For this particular project, the PERT chart and Gantt chart tools are used. The technologies that are used for this project include data backup, communication, and diagramming and PM platform. On the other hand, for reducing the project workload from the project team members, a project schedule, resource list and cost management details are also elaborated in this report. Woolworths Limited will be able to manage its costs and resources by adopting Information System. References Beringer, C., Jonas, D. and Kock, A., 2013. Behavior of internal stakeholders in project portfolio management and its impact on success.International Journal of Project Management,31(6), pp.830-846. Bresnen, M., 2016. Institutional development, divergence and change in the discipline of project management.International journal of project management,34(2), pp.328-338. Heldman, K., 2015.PMP project management professional exam deluxe study guide: updated for the 2015 Exam. John Wiley Sons. Hwang, B.G. and Ng, W.J., 2013. Project management knowledge and skills for green construction: Overcoming challenges.International Journal of Project Management,31(2), pp.272-284. Joslin, R. and Mller, R., 2015. Relationships between a project management methodology and project success in different project governance contexts.International Journal of Project Management,33(6), pp.1377-1392. Kerzner, H., 2013.Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley Sons. Kerzner, H., 2017.Project management metrics, KPIs, and dashboards: a guide to measuring and monitoring project performance. John Wiley Sons. Kucharska, W. and Kowalczyk, R., 2016. Trust, Collaborative Culture and Tacit Knowledge Sharing in Project Managementa Relationship Model. Larson, E.W. and Gray, C., 2013.Project Management: The Managerial Process with MS Project. McGraw-Hill. Leach, L.P., 2014.Critical chain project management. Artech House. Martinsuo, M., 2013. Project portfolio management in practice and in context.International Journal of Project Management,31(6), pp.794-803. Nicholas, J.M. and Steyn, H., 2017.Project management for engineering, business and technology. Taylor Francis. Phillips, J., 2013.PMP, Project Management Professional (Certification Study Guides). McGraw-Hill Osborne Media. Portny, S.E., 2017.Project management for dummies. John Wiley Sons. Schwalbe, K., 2015.Information technology project management. Cengage Learning. Serra, C.E.M. and Kunc, M., 2015. Benefits realisation management and its influence on project success and on the execution of business strategies.International Journal of Project Management,33(1), pp.53-66. Sharbatoghlie, A. and Sepehri, M., 2015. An Integrated Continuous Auditing Project Management Model (CAPM). In4th International Project Management Conference. Teller, J., Kock, A. and Gemnden, H.G., 2014. Risk management in project portfolios is more than managing project risks: A contingency perspective on risk management.Project Management Journal,45(4), pp.67-80. Todorovi?, M.L., Petrovi?, D.?., Mihi?, M.M., Obradovi?, V.L. and Bushuyev, S.D., 2015. Project success analysis framework: A knowledge-based approach in project management.International Journal of Project Management,33(4), pp.772-783. Verzuh, E., 2015.The fast forward MBA in project management. John Wiley Sons.

The Artist The Hatred of Sound Essay Example For Students

The Artist The Hatred of Sound Essay In 2011 director, Michel Hazanavicius, decided to make a tribute to early cinema. The Artist was his vision to express a love for the silent film era. The story is based around a silent film star who was struck down from his pedestal. He refused to move forward into the â€Å"talkie† film style. In true movie fashion there is a underlining love story. The characters move around each other lives all the while never really connecting. The director brings out the very best in the actors, score, and set. You are drawn in even if like me, you absolutely cannot stand silent films. We will write a custom essay on The Artist The Hatred of Sound specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now The beginning of the film has no dialog, and a musical score that sets the emotion for the scene. Most music is playful and lighthearted as to match the personality of the lead, Valentin. The actor gives an outstanding performance to relay this carefree likeable man. As the story unfolds the music matches seamlessly with the darkness in which the film has taken. I am a huge fan of movie soundtracks, but I never truly understood the power they hold until there is no dialog to move you to the emotion of the character. I applaud the director and the composer for such a moving experience. I did a little research in order to under stand how the cinematographer decided to shoot this film. His camera angles seemed true to the silent film style. His use of lenses, film speed, and ratio gives an authentic look. I was a little disappointed to learn they shot in color and then went to the editing room. However, as a photographer I never shoot in black and white unless I am using film. I understood the process, but I have to wonder how it would have looked if they would have gone with the film. There is a powerful scene in the movie that shows just how much, Valentin, actually fears the sound. A nightmare of profound importance to the lead, that starts off simple enough. Just the setting down of a glass emits a sound that seems to have never been heard. More and more sounds start to overwhelm the, Valentin, until he is clutching his ears in agony. This is the only common sounds in the movie until the very end when hear the actor finally speak. The nightmare itself was such a powerful seen as we realize that it isn’t pride that the actor has, but more so fear. Fear of change or fear of the future; perhaps fear of loosing his thrown. Although things are made clear later on that scene makes me feel confused and invested in seeing the film though with my full attention. I could not really find any information about the gaffer, which made feel as though no one realized the lighting, was flawless. The set up of every scene gave the same feel of the silent era lack of lighting style. I am certain the gaffer kept to old Hollywood lights, which no doubt was hard to come by. I believe the lighting crew should always be acknowledged, simply because it is a true art. I greatly enjoyed the fact the actors where somewhat unknown (at least to me). Although John Goodman is a wonderful actor, his presence took away from the authenticity. Had I not seen his face I could have completely been engulfed in this story line and time era. Star power always draws a crowd, but to stay true to the art and use all not so well known actors would have given the film more depth. It was very powerful how each character had a distinct roll that revolved around the lead. .u82b84673e47e9c3e8c9179fb6e6080bb , .u82b84673e47e9c3e8c9179fb6e6080bb .postImageUrl , .u82b84673e47e9c3e8c9179fb6e6080bb .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u82b84673e47e9c3e8c9179fb6e6080bb , .u82b84673e47e9c3e8c9179fb6e6080bb:hover , .u82b84673e47e9c3e8c9179fb6e6080bb:visited , .u82b84673e47e9c3e8c9179fb6e6080bb:active { border:0!important; } .u82b84673e47e9c3e8c9179fb6e6080bb .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u82b84673e47e9c3e8c9179fb6e6080bb { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u82b84673e47e9c3e8c9179fb6e6080bb:active , .u82b84673e47e9c3e8c9179fb6e6080bb:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u82b84673e47e9c3e8c9179fb6e6080bb .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u82b84673e47e9c3e8c9179fb6e6080bb .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u82b84673e47e9c3e8c9179fb6e6080bb .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u82b84673e47e9c3e8c9179fb6e6080bb .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u82b84673e47e9c3e8c9179fb6e6080bb:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u82b84673e47e9c3e8c9179fb6e6080bb .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u82b84673e47e9c3e8c9179fb6e6080bb .u82b84673e47e9c3e8c9179fb6e6080bb-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u82b84673e47e9c3e8c9179fb6e6080bb:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The film X-Men-the Movie EssayThe loyal butler, the love interest that also was the main demise of, Valetin, even the dog had a full-fledged roll. The depth in which, Hazanavicius took each character seem to round out the film. Each actor seemed to put their all into the scenes making the film truly moving. I am in awe of the sheer magnitude of acting style that was used. The use of the entire body and facial expression to relay the content of the scene, which is usually done with dialog, was flawless. Peppy (the love interest) had a deep caring for Valentin, and it showed in such subtle ways. The actress took a great deal of effort to show the progression of a crush to a full-blown love. It is no surprise to me that this movie won so many awards. Overall, this movie has truly given me a respect, and even love for a film style that my generation has never embraced. I am a true fan of movies, and I like to think of myself as a connoisseur of films. I am ashamed to have never known that this film existed. It has opened my eyes to an entire genre of movies that I will embrace. I am excited to take a new journey down an old and somewhat forgot road.