Impact Of Product Bundling In Indian Retail Banking Marketing Essay

Impact Of Product Bundling In Indian Retail Banking Marketing Essay The retail banking is the growth trigger of the banks. Even though there is a phenomenal opportunities for growth in retail banking, the challenges are also daunting. Banks are struggling to retain its customers through retail banking. According to Reichheld research, a 5 per cent increase in customer retention can increase profitability by 35 per cent in banking business. The pervasive practice of bundling the products by banks, have built up so much momentum over the past few years in Europe, Asia and Pacific countries. The concept of product bundling is not widely used by Indian banks, since it is not legally accepted by RBI guidelines. Private sector banks are having this type of retailing products in non-core areas of banking. For example, ICICI bank is providing home loan insurance cover exclusively to its home loan customers with tie-up with ICICI Lombard insurance. Previous researches proved that bundling strategies not only retain the customers but also reduces the variable cost of the products. The primary purpose of the research is to find out the cause and effect of product bundling in financial quality system of banking. The retail marketing factors are measured with service marketing factors ie, product, price, promotion, place, process, physical evidence and person. The financial quality system is identified based on the CAMELS system ie., Capital, Asset quality, Management quality , Earning quality , Liquidity and Sensitivity to market risk. Primary data were collected from the 200 customers of ICICI Bank home loan borrowers. Cluster analysis is used to group them. The effect on financial quality is measured based on interview conducted among the 25 regional managers of the same bank. The results show that the retail marketing factors are having high impact on financial quality system. Hence product bundling concept balances the operational and financial risk to have financial sustainability in retail banking. Key words: Product bundling, CAMELS, Core banking. Introduction The banking sector has witnessed wide ranging changes under the influence of the financial Sector reforms initiated during 2009. The approach to such reforms in India has been one of gradual and non-disruptive progress through a consultative process. The emphasis has been on deregulation and opening up the banking sector to market forces. The Reserve Bank has been consistently working towards the establishment of an enabling regulatory framework with prompt and effective supervision as well as the development of technological and institutional infrastructure. Persistent efforts have been made towards adoption of international benchmarks as appropriate to Indian conditions. While certain changes in the legal infrastructure are yet to be effected, the developments so far have brought the Indian financial system closer to global standards. Banks are now moving towards Universal Banking, which is a combination of commercial banking, investment banking and various other activities includi ng insurance. Banks will need to create value in new ways, notably through differentiation on offers and services. Banks have to strengthen the added value they bring to clients by personalizing their customer approach and developing their advisory capacities.By international standards, however, there is still much scope for retail banking in India. After all, retail loans constitute less than seven per cent of GDP in India vis-à  -vis about 35 per cent for other Asian economies South Korea (55 per cent), Taiwan (52 per cent), Malaysia (33 per cent) and Thailand (18 per cent). is a likelihood that the growth numbers seem to get somewhat exaggerated. Hence there is a need of constant innovation in retail banking. This requires product development and differentiation, innovation and business process reengineering, micro-planning, marketing, prudent pricing, customisation, technological upgradation, home / electronic / mobile banking, cost reduction and cross-selling. Service bundling offers one me thod of cross-selling that places less of the burden on the bank employee who, despite training, often simply lacks the skills and/or motivation to be an effective salesperson, and more on the design and promotion of the product. Due to bundling of services and delivery channels, the areas of potential conflicts of interest tend to increase in universal banks and financial conglomerates. A product bundle as a bilateral contract must guarantee a possibility to obtain extra profit /or saving/ for each partner /bank versus customer/ at agreed price level /or discount/, but as well as both of them must accept some uncertainty or risk of lost. Bundling means offering two or more products together as a package.. Bundled accounts have built up so much momentum over the past few years that they have become a dominant focus of the retail operations at many banks. The practice is pervasive in the banking industry. Application of bundling strategies in retail banking reduces a banks variable cost for selling, secures both stable and higher income by periodical fees for covering high fix running costs as well. The biggest opportunity for current retail banking is building a strong relationship with customer by cross- selling extra bundled products, which leads to a higher retention and loyalty of customers. Empirical findings prove the paradox, that product bundles with discounted price for customer generate extra profit for bank, hand in hand with a still increasing customer satisfaction. Clever construction of bundles and bounded rationality decision making of customer offers a solution of profitable discounts not only for a banking sector, but at least for sector of services. According to a research by Reichheld and Sasser in the Harvard Business Review, 5 per cent increase in customer retention can increase profitability by 35 per cent in banking business, 50 per cent in insurance and brokerage, and 125 per cent in the consumer credit card market. Thus, banks need to emphasise retaining customers and increasing market share. Review The Dynamic Pricing and Product Bundling application standardizes a banks pricing and product bundling processes and allows the bank to reduce maintenance costs and increase its cross-sell opportunities(Morphy, 2006). The easiest way to retain the bank customers is to test the market by shuffling the existing product mix and creating new bundled offerings to optimize deposit growth (Barham, 2007). Clever construction of bundles and bounded rationality decision making of customer offers a solution of profitable discounts not only for a banking sector, but at least for sector of services.(Peter). The result is that customers generally get a superior annual percentage yield (APY), while the bank gets higher profit and volume. The secret by-product of bundling is the superior APY; it is what customers seek, it has the potential to drive balance with profitability, and it is a strategy largely overlooked by community banks. Concept of Product Bundling Product bundling is an intelligent strategy that is becoming increasingly popular in the banking sector. Banks offer multiple financial products and services to customers as a package. Bundling is generally recognized as a potentially appropriate means to tackle competition, to acquire new customers, to cross-sell new services to the existing customers and to retain the existing customers, who are getting increasingly savvy and sophisticated. Bundling helps to boost profits substantially by increasing the opportunity to cross-sell. It is also a great method for increasing the sales volume of products that are not in high demand. Bundling is not a new concept in retail banking. It has been existing for more than a decade-and-a-half, but there is a shift in focus now, as a result of which, it has gained popularity. Earlier, banks were mostly concerned with increasing the effectiveness of the use of its core banking products like current accounts and daily transaction-based activities. In the last few years, the priority has shifted to actively improving product penetration into the existing customer base, increasing sales by attracting new customers, innovating the product offerings, and lastly but most importantly, retaining and enhancing customer relationships and basing price reductions on the total volume and/or desired use of services. STANDARD CHARTERED Bank (SCB) is giving its Priority Banking customers up 12 per cent interest earnings through its latest wealth management offerings.In its new exclusive promotion, SCB Priority Banking customers will enjoy attractive interest rates on a Brunei Dollar fixed deposit when they invest in a unit trust at the same time. An intelligent pricing strategy that is becoming more and more popular in banking is bundling. One example is the NatWest package Advantage Gold. This bundle costs  £6 per month and combines a current account with lower interest rates for loans, rebates in certain insurance policies as well as various additional services such as lowest price guarantees for different articles, discounts for videos and DVDs, a customer magazine, commission-free traveller cheques, rebates for hotel stays, etc. In the Dutch market most cross selling in the consumer market is of a soft variety, that is, price inducements are offered to accept a bundle of services rather that exclusive tying arrangements. More often, bundle design decisions are based upon short term objectives such as attracting new customers, increasing fee income, or merely matching competitive offerings. There are two basic forms of bundling, pure and mixed. In pure bundling, the products or services cannot be purchased separately. They are available only in bundled form. In contrast, mixed bundling allows the consumer to purchase one or more of the services individually or to purchase the bundle Some examples of retail product bundles being offered by banks: If a customer maintains a defined amount of savings and has taken a defined amount of loan, then discounts are offered on interest rates, auto loans, free phone banking, counseling once-a-year, etc. Here again, there can be a tiered approach i.e. when balances/loan amounts increase, more discounts and additional free services are provided. Cluster analysis is used for classifying the consumer satisfaction variables into relatively homogeneous groups. The respondents were clustered on the basis of satisfaction level sought from the different attitudes under seven service marketing mix. The variables satisfaction levels are measured through five pointss summated rating scale i.e., strongly dissatisfied, dissatisfied, neutral, satisfied and strongly dissatisfied. The ratings are made as 1,2,3,4 and 5 respectively for each point. Product level satisfaction level is measured with the variables quality, scalability, multiplicity, reliability and security. Price level satisfaction is measured with the variables fair pricing, interest and transaction charges. Promotion level satisfaction is measured with the variables informative, awareness, receptive and attentive. Place level satisfaction is measured with the variables accessibility, convenience and diversified place. Process level satisfaction is measured with the variable s bundling, integration, processing time, and error-free process. Physical evidence (Documentation) level satisfaction is measured with the variables easy to go through, less documentation, unambiguous and legality. Person level satisfaction is measured with the variables involvement, technical support, friendliness and trust. The measure of similarity is measured by euclidean distance model. The reliability and validity of cluster analysis was done by making multiple runs using different order of cases. The clustering criterion was the Akaikes Information Criterion. The number of clusters was determined based on the minimum six-cluster solution. Based on the cluster group centroids of each service marketing mix, the level of satisfaction are labeled as impressive (>4), stirring (3.5 to 4.0), striking (3.0 to 3.5), modest (2.5 to 3.0,) un-impressive (2.0 to 2.5) and mediocre ( Two-group discriminant analysis is used to find out the disriminant factor among the existing customer and new customers using the product bundling . The independent variables are customer service level satisfaction variables i.e, product, price, promotion, place, process, physical evidence and person. The responses are rated based on the cluster centroid of each customer service level variables. The ratings for impressive, stirring, striking, modest, un-impressive and mediocre clusters are 6,5,4,3,2 and 1 respectively. The grouping variables are existing customer and new customers. Because there are two groups, only one discriminant function is estimated. The eigen value associated with this function is 1.64 and it accounts for 100 percent of the explained variance. The Wilks à « associated with this function is 0.312, which transforms to a chi-square of 32.45 with 7 degrees of freedom. This is significant beyond the o.o5 level. Hence null hypothesis is rejected. The structure matrix is displayed in Table-2. It appears that the existing and new customers are more widely separated in terms of price than that of other variables. The canonical correlation associated with this function is 0.783. The square of this correlation 0.61 indicates that 61% of the variance in the dependent variable is explained by this model. In 1995, RBI had set up a working group under the chairmanship of Shri S. Padmanabhan to review the banking supervision system. The Committee certain recommendations and based on such suggetions a rating system for domestic and foreign banks based on the international CAMELS model combining financial management and systems and control elements was introduced for the inspection cycle commencing from July 1998. It recommended that the banks should be rated on a five point scale (A to E) based on the lines of international CAMELS rating model. CAMELS evaluates banks on the following six parameters :- CAMEL approach will serve as an important. This will help lead to a low-cost high-quality result with secure profit levels. Capital Adequacy : Capital Adequacy is a measurement of a bank to determine if solvency can be maintained due to risks that have been incurred as a course of business. Capital allows a financial institution to grow, establish and maintain both public and regulatory confidence, and provide a cushion (reserves) to be able to absorb potential loan losses above and beyond identified problems. A bank must be able to generate capital internally, through earnings retention, as a test of capital strength. An increase in capital as a result of restatements due to accounting standard changes is not an actual increase in capital. Asset Quality : Asset Quality evaluates risk, controllability, adequacy of loan loss reserves, and acceptable earnings; and the affect of off-balance sheet earnings and loss. The quality of a banks assets hinges on their ability to be collected. Asset quality determines the portfolio quality, the portfolio classification system (aging schedule and the methodology to classifying a receivable) and the fixed assets (the productivity of the long-term assets, for instance the branch network). Management quality : Management quality envisages the strategic planning applied in each level of flow of funds. It is reflected by the ownership structure of the bank, branch network , loan portfolio management, credit administration, policy development, employee training, audit oversight, quality of governance and quality of information technology system Earnings : Earnings determine the ability of a bank to increase capital (through retained earnings), absorb loan losses, support the future growth of assets, and provide a return to investors. The largest source of income for a bank is net interest revenue (interest income from lending activity less interest paid on deposits and debt). The second most important source is from investing activity. A substantial source of income also comes from foreign exchange and precious metal trading, and commissions/transaction fees and trust operations. Liquidity : Liquidity measures the ability of a bank to meet the demand from demand deposits in a particular year. Liquidity is what a bank requires if funding is interrupted and the bank must still be able to meet certain obligations (banks ability to repay depositors and other creditors without incurring excessive costs). The liquidity is affected by the institutions liabilities, including their tenor, interest rate, payment terms, sensitivity to changes in the macroeconomic environment, types of guarantees required on credit facilities, sources of credit available to the institution and the extent of resource diversification. A banks least expensive means of funding loan growth is through deposit accounts. When this is not available, banks must rely on more expensive funding sources such as borrowing funds at wholesale rates or liquidating investment securities portfolios.

Jean Watson Essay

The purpose of this paper is to explain the association of nurse/ patient interaction in the concept of Watson’s theory. I will explore the transpersonal caring in relation to caring factors. Analyzing major theory assumptions related to person, health nursing and environment in the context of the caring moment. Caring theory will be displayed in the professional aspects of my nursing practice. Caring nurse, health education, healing environment and application of caring affect to person is applied throughout this paper. History Jean Watson has brought to nursing her theory of caring and 10 caring factors. Watson defines caring as the ethical and moral ideal of nursing that has interpersonal and humanistic qualities. It is a complex concept involving development of a range of knowledge, skills, and expertise encompassing holism, empathy, communication clinical competence, technical proficiency and interpersonal skills (Watson, Jackson, & Borbasi, 2005). Watson’s theory traces back through 30 years, the earliest was put in textbook nursing curriculum at the University of Colorado. The theory contains Watson (1999) describes nursing as transpersonal that â€Å"conveys a human to- human connection in which both persons are influenced through the relationship and being-together in the moment. This human connection†¦ has a spiritual dimension . . . that can tap into healing† (p. 290). Transpersonal Caring and Caring Factors Transpersonal caring has four components, self, phenomenal field, actual caring occasion of the patient and the nurse, and intersubjectivity (Davis, 2005). Self is defined in Davis, (2005) as, â€Å"I and me perception of relationship of I and me to others and to various aspects of life together with the values attached to those perceptions.† I am a surgical nurse caring for a four –year- old boy. After receiving, report before going to pediatrics to obtain the patient for surgery. Fortunately, I know much more about him, the child because I cared for him in August 2011. As a nurse, Watson’s theory is displayed my caring healing practice (Alligood, 2005). â€Å"As I enter the room, I remember the first three â€Å"caritas†: (1) practice loving-kindness and Equanimity within a context of caring consciousness (2) be authentically present and enable and sustain my belief system and subjective life world of self and the person being cared for: and (3) cultiva te ones own spiritual practice and transpersonal self, going beyond self.†(p. 127) I bring the three of them together, in conversation with the client, parents, and coworkers, I speak in a professional, caring, confident manner. I have learned from nursing practice and experience to sit in a well light room at eye level with open body language, to be friendly, caring and always use a kind touch. This helps prevent any barriers that may have occurred to transpersonal caring. Transpersonal caring in the nurse, environment and person are expressed. Developing continuity is an aspect to caring for him and is not always possible, it just happened to be my late shift. I was grateful to be there for his care. Intersubjectivity Davis (2005), states â€Å"Intersubjectivity is human to human relationship in which the person of the nurse affects and is affected by the person of the other, a feeling of union.†(p. 2716) I apply intersubjectivity in the following way. It seems we bond quickly right after I initial see him, because we have initially had an encounter. I found that focusing on the patient’s pain is a priority and aids in healthy participation with his care. I use is time together to ask about his health, fears, and pain, to prioritize his care. This helps me to know him more as a person, not just another client .†Upholding Watsons caring theory provides the framework for me to practice the art of caring, to provide compassion to patients and families fears, and to promote their healing and dignity; it also contributes to my own actualization client â€Å"(Alligood, 2005). Phenomenal Field Davis, (2005) states phenomenal field is the person’s subjective reality (p.2617) In speaking with Jojo, the Phenomenal field is reviewed when,† He shares in his statement,† my belly hurts really badly.† His mother is at his bedside, she tells me that he has not been eating, he has had a fever, and abdominal pain. From report, I see his lab work show an increase in his white blood count and his CT scan shows appendicitis. This is the nurse in the caring theory, who has gathered the information pertaining to the patients health condition. I listen attentively and notice that he is holding a bear in his left arm. I comment on the bear that is seems to be a security item for the child. His mother agrees. He continues to hold his bear to make his environment externally and internally sound. This is critical in the caring theory to make his environment healing. Developing a human trusting human care relationship While the anestheologist is speaking to JoJo’ s mother, I use this time to speak with him. I ask him about school, family, friends and pets. I ask open- ended questions to explore his feeling and fears. He tells me of his dog, two brothers and preschool. He tells me that,† he is afraid and does not want anyone to touch his belly.† When he is lying in bed, I make eye contact as I gently touch his abdomen. After examining his abdomen. Discussing his departure from the holding area, he starts to cry. Jojo,† let me tell you what we will do when we go in the back to fix your belly.† He asks, â€Å"What?† †Do you know how to blow up a balloon?† I ask. â€Å"Yes, he explains.† Well we are going in the back I will put a muscle tester on you, a space mask, and you can blow up my balloon. I use my awareness, presence, touch, kindness, and hope to make him feel strong and confident of the situation Alligood (2005) stated.† In this holistic Perspective, each dimension is a reflection of the whole yet the whole is greater than the sum of parts†(p. 132). Finally, I let his mother know that we will be talking more about her concerns after his examination. Assisting with gratification of human needs Alligood (2005) stated, â€Å"Being-in-the –world† entails that I cannot consider Jojo without her context or environment of which I am a part (family, culture, community, nurses, health care team, society) (p. 132). I speak to Jojo’s mother about his support system, culture, and resources. These are important factors to assist her in obtaining the proper resources need while her son is hospitalized, and she will be displaced from her home during his recover. She states, â€Å"We have no means of transportation, my husband is unemployed at this time due to his back injury and I have two young boys at home. †We discuss means of transportation available to her family from the hospital as well as financial assistance. She states,† my husband has no way to arrive here and has no idea that Jojo is to have surgery.† I try to ease her mind. I can tell she is becoming overwhelmed. Knowing she has fears it is my moral obligation to enhance and preserve her, â€Å"human dignity, wholeness and integrity† (Watson, 2005). (p. 131) Alligood (2005) stated †Watson’s theory, which recognizes the whole in the parts, supports a focus on the wholeness of a community, aggregate, or population, while still attending to the individuals and families within it. Watson emphasizes seeking to strengthen the client’s resources and capacities as well as mutually planning and evaluating health actions† (p. 134). Jojo returns from his surgical procedure, his mother is crying at his bedside. I sit down beside her and to show her his bandage. We discuss the proper way to handle dressing changes along with actives and diet. Implication of Watson’s transpersonal teaching and learning caritive factor. His father has arrived giving her some emotional support. We sit in the recovery room at his bedside, while Jojo rest. I take time to listen to their fears, comfort them and educate them on his care. Jojo’s mother wipes her tears away and looks up at me. She, â€Å"states I am so grateful you were her to help with Jojo he have helped my family, listened to be, and treated him as if he was your own child. Thank you.† I tell her, â€Å"I would not have it any other way. This is an example of Watson’s care theory, Davis states† human- to –human relationship in which the person of the nurse affects and is affected by the person of the other† (p.2618 ) Nursing Perspective I have applied Jean Watson’s theory in my practice, examining an interaction between nurse/patient encounter. Transpersonal relationship with caring factors was used in the care of my patient. Applying caring moments related to person, health, nursing, and environment. I practice Watson’s theory in my daily practice of nursing. Learning theorist in school and refreshing them periodically may seem unnecessary. Who would not be kind to another, considerate of their needs, offer a conducive environment, listen attentively, or apply a caring factor. These seem like common sense to a nurse. Theories are practice as early with new theories add throughout career paths. It is the application of these theories and portrayal of them that causes the affect. This has brought to my view of nursing the values taught to me not only at home but also during my nursing education. Educating other on the values of caring factors, environmental adaptation, and the true art of caring for a p atient/person with total regard to the values of the patient without passing judgment, Through this continuing education paper, we were able to learn the essential elements of Watson’s caring theory and explore an example of a clinical application of her work through a clinical story. Aiming to preserve our human caring heritage, this paper offered some suggestions and ideas in order to help nurses grasp and utilize Watson’s caring theory in their work environment. â€Å"Nursing can expand its existing role, continuing to make contributions to health care within the modern model by developing its foundational caring-healing and health strengths that have always been present on the margin† (Watson, 1999, p. 45). References Alligood, M. R. (2005). Nursing theory: Utilization & application (4th ed.), St. Louis, MO: Mosby Elsevier Davis, F.A. (2005).Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary. (20th ed.), Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis Company Watson, J . (1999). Postmodern nursing and beyond. Edinburgh : Churchill Livingstone/Saunders Watson, J . (2005). Caring science as sacred science. Philadelphia : F.A. Davis Watson, J., Jackson, D., & Borbasi, S . (2005). Tracing nursing caring: Issues, concerns, debates . In J. Daley, S. Speedy, D. Jackson, V. Lambert, & C. Lambert (Eds.), Professional nursing: Concepts, issues, and challenges. New York : Springer .

Why Is Xenia Such an Important Theme in the Odyssey?

Why is Xenia such an important theme in the Odyssey? Explain your views and support them with details from the poem. (45 marks) The concept of guest hospitality was extremely important in ancient Greece. Evidence that Xenia was integral to Greek society can be found in the fact that Zeus, the king of the Gods, was also portrayed as the God of Xenia. Xenia created an obligation for the host to be hospitable to their guests, and conversely, the guests had their own responsibilities too. If either the host or the guest was to break a Xenia rule, there would be severe penalties dealt by Zeus and also by society.Some basic Xenia rules were that the guest could not insult the host, make demands, or refuse xenia. Additionally, the host could not insult the guest, fail to protect the guest, or fail to be as hospitable as possible. It was also customary for gifts to be given to the guest, or for a gift exchange to be conducted between guest-friends. The host-guest relationship was very compli cated and placed equal burden on both. This custom of xenia also held a burden of trust, where both the guest and host would have to rely on custom in regards to personal safety.This trust was reinforced by both fear of word getting out that the host had provided improper xenia, and fear of retribution by the gods, since one never knew when a traveller might actually be a god in disguise (for example, in book 1 when Athene disguises herself as Mentes and receives hospitality from Telemachus), come to test the level of your xenia. All travellers were seen as sent by Zeus and under his protection, so giving proper xenia was also a way of showing respect for the gods, especially Zeus in the form of Xenios. Xenia offers a moral ground in the Odyssey.Greek religion did not have strict moral regulations like modern Catholicism etc, and the Gods possessed a level of humanity and humility (for example, they had flaws, such as Achilles heel). Xenia imposed moral regulations in ancient Greece . It also allows Homer to convey whether characters are ‘good’ or ‘bad’, characters that show bad Xenia are almost portrayed as amoral. An example of poor Xenia in the Odyssey is Penelope’s Suitors. The suitors steal and plunder Odysseus' hall, feast on his food, take his maids to bed and all the while, each trying to take Penelope's hand in marriage.When Odysseus returns, he knows all about the suitors, and schematically kills all of them with no mercy. As the suitors showed bad Xenia, Odysseus is considered heroic for killing them. This is also an example of retribution for bad Xenia. Homer also uses Xenia as a literary device in the Odyssey. Without Xenia, much of the plot would be invalidated; Xenia customs explain many events in the Odyssey. For example, Xenia explains why Penelope and Telemachus didn’t just ask the suitors to leave rather than putting up with them.Xenia also explains why, during the battle of Troy, Glaucus and Diomedes r efuse to fight: they discover their ancestors had a Xenia bond. Traveling in Homer’s time was much more extensive and lengthier than in modern times. The less advanced methods of transportation used in Homeric times, such as by boat or by foot, were much slower than modern forms of transportation. Because of this, many more nights were spent away from home in many different locations. Also, there were not hotels or inns where travellers could pay and stay the night.Even if there were, travellers probably could not afford to pay for every night they were gone. Because of this, travellers had to rely on the hospitality of others for shelter, food, and protection. Without Xenia, Odysseus wouldn’t have been able to return home to Penelope. Xenia was also a universal way for Homer to state character’s status and wealth in the Odyssey. As it was frowned upon for aristocrats to engage in trade or commerce, Xenia was one of the only ways for Homeric heroes to acquire we alth. All hosts are obligated to provide their guests with the best food, accommodation and comfort they can.For example, Menelaus’ guests are offered water from a golden jug into a silver basin and wine served in golden cups. The xenia gifts characters give are also a statement of wealth, as well as a way of acquiring wealth, for example, when Telemachus acquires a silver krater, a wedding dress, a golden cup and other elaborate gifts from his stay in Sparta. In the Odyssey, Xenia is also shown to be one of the hallmarks of a civilised society, allowing us to judge the societies that Odysseus visits by their attitudes to xenia.For example, the Cyclopes are well informed about Xenia, yet disregard it because they have no fear of the God’s retribution. This tells us that the Cyclopes live in a formidable and amoral society. Even the Gods are shown to respect Xenia rules, for example in Book 5 when Calypso gives hospitality to Hermes. Good xenia is shown to have good rep ercussions for both the guest and the host: for example, Odysseus’ stay on the island of Calypso, where he is met with exceptional hospitality. Odysseus received this hospitality well and continued to please Calypso.Only at the end did he ever try to refuse her hospitality and leave, and even this caused no serious problems. Here we have an example of the guest-host relationship working well. Calypso is provided with a companion, even if it was not permanent, and Odysseus was provided with shelter, provisions, and protection for his men. In the end it proves to be a beneficial situation for them both. Xenia also provides a system of retribution in the Odyssey. Those shown to disregard the rules of Xenia often meet violent ends, and in turn, those shown to show good Xenia reap the benefits of this.An example of retribution for bad Xenia is when the Cyclops decides to eat rather than welcome Odysseus and his crew, and the men respond by poking his eye out. This event does not b other the gods at all. The father of the Cyclops, Poseidon, is only upset by the event because it was his son who was hurt. Zeus even praises Odysseus after the event by claiming that, â€Å"There is no mortal half so wise† (Homer, p. 3). This statement proves that violence was an acceptable answer when a host was not gracious. It also shows how the Gods justified violence as a result of bad Xenia.Overall, Xenia is a majorly important theme in the Odyssey. Not only is it used as a literary device by Homer, as it provides an explanation for many aspects of the plot and provides the poem with continuity as well as a way for Homer to portray characters as heroes and villains. Xenia also tells us a lot about ancient Greek society, as it provided a moral grounding and allowed travellers to go from place to place. Examples of Xenia in the Odyssey allow us to judge which characters are wealthy, famous, good, bad, monstrous and evil.

The Consumer Credit Act 1974 - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 1961 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Law Essay Did you like this example? 1.Peterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Purchase of The TV It is likely that Peter will have a claim as against his credit card company. Under section 75 of The Consumer Credit Act 1974, consumers paying for goods with a credit card are protected by a provision that allows them to make a claim directly against their credit card company or the supplier if they discover problems with the goods or services purchased. This is why many people pay with a credit card. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Consumer Credit Act 1974" essay for you Create order The sections, which is based on the idea of a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“business connectionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  between the creditor and the supplier, applies only in the case of a regulated agreement- that is only where the price of the goods is more than  £100 or less than  £30,000.00[1] and only if the cardholder is an individual, not a company and only applies to credit cards. The credit card issuer and the supplier are jointly liable if the consumer has a valid claim for misrepresentation and/or breach of contract by the supplier. The section states that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“he shall have a like claim against the creditor, who, with the supplier, shall accordingly be jointly and severally liable to the debtor. The card issuer is liable not merely for the amount of the credit advanced under the transaction or the price of the goods or services bought but for all reasonably foreseeable consequential loss which may of course run into hundreds of thousands of pounds and thus goes beyond what is required in Community law under Article 11 of the current Consumer Credit Directive. The connected-lender-liability applies only in respect of regulated consumer credit card agreements and not to the use of debit cards. The Card Company may therefore be liable for loss, including even consequential loss to Peter, such as the insolvency of the company. Because the liability is joint and several, the card holder can elect to sue the company without taking steps against the supplier first. The reason for this provision[2] is that although the two contracts made by the card holder à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" one with the supplier and the other with the card company à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" are independent of each other, the supplier and the card issuer are in a joint venture. This means that in some respects the card holder is vulnerable in comparison with the other parties. Card holders who purchase defective good would have no right to refuse immediate payment to the card issuer, whereas they might be able to withhold payment to the supplier until the goods were replaced or the defect remedied. It does not matter that only part of the payment was made by credit card[3]. Therefore Peter may be able to recover the cost of the television from his credit card company. 2.Peters Stolen Debit Card Card issuers will bear the full loss for all transactions not authorised by the Customer after the issuer has been told of the mishap à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" unless the customer has acted fraudulently or maybe with à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“gross negligence. This is important in relation to the transactions made before Peter has reported his card as being stolen .The Banking Code suggests that the bank will not be liable for money fraudulently spent if the card holder himself has been fraudulent and also, probably will not be liable if the card holder has been grossly negligent. Some examples of what the banks suggest would amount to gross negligence are suggested in the Code. It woul d be grossly negligent for card holders and this includes writing the PIN down on the card or on anything usually kept with it. The Ombudsman considers that gross negligence means à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“if not recklessness, something more than mere carelessness.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  In these circumstances the bank may be able to defend itself against a challenge by the customer to the debit, by reference to the customerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s behaviour. These fall into two types: (a) where the customerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s carelessness in drawing up the cheque has facilitate the making of forgery; and (b) where the customer knows of the forgery and has not informed the bank. These estoppels preventing the customer from disputing the bankà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s debit in certain circumstances, are founded on duties owed by the customer to the bank which arise from the banking relationship. In Joachimson, Atkin L J said: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“the customer, on his part, undertakes to exercise reasonable care in executing his written orders so as not to mislead the bank or facilitate forgery[4].à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Estoppels are an all or nothing concept they either bar the Claimant completely or will not work at all[5]. This means that when a party relies on estoppel, any contributory negligence of the other party may not be taken into account. It operates: (a) if there is a statement of fact, or an omission to speak where there is a duty à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" mere silence, omission or failure to act cannot amount to a representation on which an estoppel can be based; (b) the other person relies upon that statement or its omission; and (c) he or she suffers detriment from that reliance, or the circumstances are such that it is inequitable to allow the other person to go back on what he or she has said or omitted to say. The situation here would fall into the first category, i.e. as being a result of Peterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s carelessness. The customer has a duty to draw cheques carefully, so that fraud is not facilitated. The first of these duties of the customer goes back to the case of Young v Grote[6] where a customer left blank signed cheques with his wife when he went away. His wife, unaccustomed to business matters, passed one to the clerk to fill out, who filed it out in such a way that he could later fraudulently raise the amount to be cashed. The court held that the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“gross negligenceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  of the customer estopped him from claiming that the bank should not debit his account, and he was held to be liable for the loss. The principle was accepted by the House of Lords in London Joint Stock Bank v Macmillan and Arthur.[7] Here, one of the duties of the confidential clerk of a firm of merchants was to fill in cheques and present them to partners for signature. A partner signed one such cheque, which had not words and only figures à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“2.0.0à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  written on it. The clerk then inserted the words à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“one hu ndred and twenty poundsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  and altered the figures to read à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“120.0à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . He presented the cheque and was paid cash. The House of Lords held that the firm had been negligent and was estopped from suing the bank. The customer was bound to take usual and reasonable care in drawing the cheque to prevent forgery. If the cheque is drawn so that it invites à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“an increase in the amount by forgery if the cheque should get into the hands of a dishonest person, forgery is not a remote, but a very natural consequence of negligence of this description[8]à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  It would seem that the circumstances here fit with the cases described above and on the facts it would appear that Peter has been à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“grosslyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  negligent and therefore the bank will not be liable for paying the mandates and he will not be able to recover the money from the bank as she will be estopped from doing so. The Code Makes it plain à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã ¢â‚¬Å" that compensation for losses will be limited to any amounts wrongly charged to customerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s accounts and any interest on those amounts. Consequential loss is not recoverable. In relation to the transactions that were made after the card was reported stolen Peterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s liability for transactions not authorised by him will be limited to a maximum of  £50 in the event of misuse before the card issuer has been notified that a card has been lost or stolen or that someone else knows the PIN. 3.Peters Digital Cash Card A digital cash card is an instrument with a computer chip embedded in it which can be à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“chargedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  by a bank with part of its customers current account balance or a line of credit, enabling it to be used for, and to record, a series of transactions until the available balance is exhausted. Electronic money is defined in the E-Money Directive as monetary value stored on a chip card (pre-paid card or electronic purse) or on a computer memory (network or software money) and which is accepted as a means of payment by undertakings other than the issuer. Under the Directive, electronic money must be redeemable for cash at equal value and issuers of electronic money are required to implement safeguards against money laundering. In implementing the Directive at national level, the authorities in some member states decided that in certain circumstances, by supplying pre-paid phone cards, mobile operators in practice issue electronic money and that therefore they should comply with existing EU rules concerning its issuance. This consultation aims to help establish among other things whether it is necessary for the rules which apply to electronic money to be applied in full to pre-paid phone cards. The Banking code recommends customers treat these digital cash cards like cash in a wallet as any money left on the card at the time it is lost or stolen will be lost in the same way as it would be if a wallet was lost. It goes on, however, to provide the same assurance of limiting customersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ liability for such loss to  £50 (unless they have acted with fraud or gross negligence) as banks provide for ordinary cards[9]. Much of the rules on digital cash cards will of course depend on how they are developed. The most common method used for cardholder verification at present is to give the cardholder a PIN (Personal Identification Number) which he or she has to remember: the cardholder has to type in the PIN at each request for signing a message, or perhaps only once per session (e.g. when the card is inserted in the card reader). PINs, however, have several disadvantages, including the risk of being stolen or abused. The only truly effective method of Cardholder Verification is the measurement of a physiological characteristic unique to an individual and incapable of fraudulent replication or abuse. Such biometrics include Iris and Retinal s cans, Face or Hand geometry, and of course DNA, but the most likely and most acceptable attribute is the fingerprint. As such cards are not common use yet is difficult to assess Peterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s liability as it is difficult to say how secure they should be and to comment on the standard of care that will be owed by both Peter and the bank. It may be that the bank owe a higher duty of care because biometrics are used, which should make them impenetrable. Bibliography Legislation S I 1983 No 1571 (Consumer Credit (Increase of Monetary Amounts) Order 1983) Consumer Credit Act 1974 Reports and Codes Crowther Committee in para 6.6.20 of its 1971 Report Banking Code (1999) Cases Avon County Council v Howlett [1983] 1 ALL ER Jarrett v Barclays Bank plc; Jones v First National Bank PLC; First National Bank Plc v Peacock [1997] 6 Bank L R 66 London Joint Stock Bank v Macmillan and Arthur [1918] AC 777 Young v Grote (1827) 4 Bing Books Cransto n R, (2005) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Principles of Banking Lawà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ , Oxford University Press Ellinger E, Lomnicka E Hooley R, (2002) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Modern Banking Lawà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ , Oxford University Press Geva B, (2002) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Bank Collections and Payment Transactionsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Oxford University Press 308-309 Penn G Wadsley J, (2000) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The Law and Practice of Domestic Bankingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ , Sweet and Maxwell 1 Footnotes [1] See S I 1983 No 1571 (Consumer Credit (Increase of Monetary Amounts) Order 1983) [2] See for example Crowther Committee in para 6.6.20 of its 1971 Report [3] Jarrett v Barclays Bank plc; Jones v First National Bank PLC; First National Bank Plc v Peacock [1997] 6 Bank L R 66 [4] [1921 3 K B 110 at 127 [5] See for example Avon County Council v Howlett [1983] 1 ALL ER [6] (1827) 4 Bing [7] [1918] AC 777 [8] [1918] AC 777 at 789-790 [9] Banking Code (1999 paragraph 4.13