Information Systems In Banking Industry

Information Systems In Banking Industry INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN BANKING INDUSTRY Executive Summary: Information systems are extremely vital for the growth and survival of business organizations in todays world. All sectors of the industry are entirely dependent on these for the management of important information and data. Small organizations to large, powerful businesses such as high street banks and central and local government are taking the help of information systems to regulate their data. In this paper, we will discuss the various advantages of the use of information systems in the banking industry. We will thoroughly analyze the requirements of information systems at the various different levels and review the security needs for these purposes. Use and Benefits of Information Systems in the Banking Industry: The advent of computers has given rise to information systems being used as a business tool on a large scale. Computers and more specifically information systems are being used on a large scale by almost all businesses. The application of the capabilities of Information systems and technologies brings out improvement in business processes (Davenport and Short, 1990). One of the major sectors to reap the benefits of computers and information systems is the banks. The nature of the banking industry along with other financial industries involves information and trust. Being in the service industry, banks are in the most need of information. Technologies like cloud computing and other internet based information storage systems have allowed banks to deliver state of the art customer services to its customers while maintain the market competitiveness required for gaining business. The following paper analyzes the information needs of the banks at various departmental levels and compares th e security levels used by banks with those in other sectors. At the end of the paper, one should be able to understand the most commonly used technologies in banks, the security measures currently used in banks and whether or not there is scope for further improvement. Information Needs in Banks: The need of information was first realized in the banking industry. Being in the service sector, banks needed to store information to better their services and gain a competitive edge over their competitors. Basic services include the book keeping records of the customers while the luxurious ones include the facility of an IVR (Interactive Voice Recording) through which customers can get answers to their F.A.Qs. However, developing an information system needs huge investments, responsibility of non-leakage of information (robustness of the system), and various other security measures. Banks therefore need information at every stage possible. The benefits of information are many. Today, decision making systems are also used by banks for purposes of marketing newer loan schemes. Typically, banks might need information at the following levels. Basic or Level 1: This is the most basic level. Information at this level might be used purely for administrative purposes. Tasks include book keeping, account handling of customers etc. The revolution of internet banking has made the basic level much more attractive to customers than it used to be. Moreover the concept of phone banking through IVRs has further proved to be a major technological step towards the progress of banks and IT systems. Advanced or Level 2: At this level, information is crucial and is used at the managerial level. Managers use certain information like stock listings, annual general meetings etc in databases that is to be kept secure. This information is supposed to be secret and cannot be distributed without consent and proper authoritative power. Information at this level is hardly for customer use. However, in cases of fraud and cheating, banks can use this as a safety measure to ensure their reputation does not lose. Evaluation of Information Systems: Majority of the banks in the western countries and more recently in Asian countries to use the advent of information systems to bolster their business. Decision making tools, account management systems, and internet based systems are widely used by banks to lure customers in the quest to attract them. Since the sector they operate is the service sector, banks need to realize that they can ill afford to let their customer service affect due to the technological advances. To evaluate the information systems used by banks, one needs to realize the general nature of information systems used by banks currently. Nature of Information systems currently used by banks: A variety of information systems are being used by banks. Currently, most banks operate with multiple legacy systems that operate on a single mainframe computer (Lenard ML, Ferran C 1997). With times, this basic concept has not changed much. The concept of object oriented programming has given rise to the use of multiple servers thereby reducing the load on a single PC. Moreover, the internet has evolved as a complete source of secure technology that acts as a useful resource to the banks. The advent of internet based systems (popularly known as web based systems) has allowed banks to be more precise and keep a hassle free record system. However, the internet based systems have led to many security issues. The next section describes them. Security: The main problem of internet based applications is the level of security provided. There have been a number of cases with the most famous ones being the ATM card duplication and credit card faults have all arisen due to information system vulnerability. Therefore, banks need to provide a level of security that cannot be breached. It is tough to say that the system is â€Å"foolproof† since programming involves coding and decoding. Therefore what can be coded can also be decoded. However, many security measures have been taken by bank authorities in accordance with the IT professionals to allow smooth hassle free banking through the use of computers and information systems. Some of the common security features include the secure server technology (SSL technology), Enforcement of laws like the Data protection act enables for more careful banking by the banks. The law enables anyone the use the information provided over the internet with due care and only with the consent of the provider of that information. This law has worked wonders in that it has made the owners of websites more responsible to such mishaps. Information flooded over the internet can only be used for purposes said and described prior to collection of it. Law thus acts as one of the barriers to those who want to breach it. Apart from law, security levels include password remembrance systems, additional information provision and providing passwords to specific phone numbers only. By doing this, the internet has taken help of other acquisitions of humans into consideration. The logic is that a human cannot lose all at a time and hence is a good measure to reduce the security threats. Cloud Computing? Cloud computing is the term given to applications which operate over the web and are accessible to everyone who has an access to the internet. Intranet, knowledge based systems and websites are all examples of cloud computing. Cloud computing takes help of a third party service provider to rent the applications. With cloud computing, users need to have little expertise over the computer and its working. This calls for major security threats since it can be accessible by anyone who has access to a computer. Computer literacy is also little required. However, for our chosen organization cloud computing is not suitable. Although in other service sectors, cloud computing has worked wonders to attract customer base, banks cannot afford to use such systems. In fact, banks can operate with secure systems and yet gain an advantage by stating their expertise and care they take for their customers. To conclude, the use and benefits of information systems in banks are many. Along with these come many challenges which the banks need to take care of. However, with the wonderful invention, banks have certainly been revolutionized. References: C. Ferran and M.L Lenard, â€Å"An Object Oriented Approach to Banking Information Systems†, 1997, pp. 1-7. D.E. Avison and V. Taylor, â€Å"Information systems development methodologies: a classification according to problem situation†, Journal of Information technology, 1997, pp. 73-81. T.H. Davenport and J.E. Short, â€Å"Information technology and business process design†, Operations Management, 1990, Vol.3, pp.11-27.

How to Lose Weight Rough Draft Essay

In this essay I will discuss the different ways there are of losing weight. For some it may be simple excersize and for others they may need more help then just excersize. We will go over the different ways that your body works to metabolize what your eating so that your body will help you to lose that weight. The process of losing weight can be a hard one, but if you choose the right one it can be easy. There are lots of options. Body: There are lots of options for losing weight but first I want to talk about metabolism first. Metabolism is what processes your food at a certain speed. If you have a high metabolism youll find that your food will process at a very fast rate and youll be using the restroom pretty quick right after you eat. Metabolism also plays a big part in your figure also. If you eat nothing but greasy fattening food then your metabolism will have issues keeping up. So in order for your metabolism to be where you want it you have to stay fit and eat correctly. The next thing I want to talk about is dietary pills. These can help if used correctly. Some people think they can take them without having to do any excersize or eating right. For some diet pills this is correct but others no. Its always important to keep your health in general up by eating the correct food and keeping yourself physically fit. There is also the danger of taking too many or not eating with them. If you take too many then you have the risk of possibly overdosing and your body becoming intolerant to them. And if you don’t eat with them in your system then you come up with the risk of malnutrition. So I would suggest that anyone who takes them only takes the amound suggested on the bottle. Ok now were going to go to dietary foods. This is important for any sort of situation you decide to diet with. If you don’t use dietary food then you probably shouldn’t diet. Because your body has to become fit all over again. To become fit it has to ingest nutrients and vitamins that fruits, vegtables and meats carry. The last and final subject I want to cover is surgery as a possible resource. They have different surgeries that can help in a lot of different situations. If your dieting and excersizing and trying everything possible and you still cant lose weight then I would suggest the surgery. There are little health risks from it and it Ive heard that the lap band surgery has had amazing results. Conclusion: These are the options that I have researched for How to lose weight. The options that I have researched are diet pills, excersizing, eating healthy and surgeries. With these options anyone can become a healthier person.

Apple Ipod Advertisement Evaluation

How many people worldwide love to listen to their own elegant style of music? Well with the new Apple Ipod you have the power to listen to your flavour of tunes that gets your blood flowing or just brings back your fondest memories. Absolutely no one could turn down an opportunity to liven up a bad day with a fantastic song. The Apple Ipod is â€Å"probably the best† technology the music industry could grant you. One of the best ways to show people how the product will help you is by advertising on the television because it shows people exactly what the product will do for you and how it will make you a better person. As I found the commercial on the Internet I do not know when the commercial was first aired. But as the target audiences is mainly twelve year olds and all those above (12+) this keeps is short, the duration of the advert is thirty seconds with twenty clips. With a slide only being a couple of seconds long there is a large quantity to take in on the visual imagery of this advertisement. Basically the main sequences are Silhouettes dancing along to the song Flathead by Fratellis. Apple has picked the song Flathead because it makes you click your fingers, so it is powerful and makes you attracted to the screen because of the catchy song. The Song plays throughout the whole commercial without any voice-overs. The song produces energy a qualities important to the sequence through their teenaged years. When the commercial starts the image is a pink male Silhouetted body holding an Ipod stood in the centre of the screen; behind him is a blue background with thin pink and green lines passing behind his body, he is shaking his body to the beat of the music and clapping, his Ipod against his waist. You can distinguish the Ipod because it is the only white object on the screen; the bright colours make the audiences automatically drawn to the television screen. It would appeal to both genders because it shows the male is not troubled of any feminine signals he may be receiving by the audience due to the colours; he is obviously comfortable to express his sexuality with the way the colours are expressed. Then for a split second the screen changes to pink and purple with a full body shot of a silhouetted man waving his left arm in the air; again to the beat at the end of the clip a creamer pink lightning bolt strikes across the man's body, This is powerful because the jolt of lightning gives the viewers a slight flinch, and keeps the attention fixed to the screen. Even though you don't know what the people look like you would still communicate with people in the advert because the viewer is made to feel like they should the like the silhouette. The fact you don't know exactly what they look like is powerful because it could indicate that it could be any one, even the customers; the outline of the character is also powerful because it is surreal and not fixed to one human image. The next clip is of a man wearing a trilby style of hat he is a blue and pink background colour, again the Ipod is in his hand whilst he dances. He shows you the Ipod on this angle because he is showing you how thin it is, he is showing the audience this because this will make the product more appealing because the customers do not want to carry a â€Å"brick† in their pocket all the time and makes the other music player products unpopular. The contrast in colours between the background and the silhouette is also very important because then the audience can easily distinguish between the foreground activity and contrasting background. This is can influential towards the viewers because it makes them what to buy the product due to the fashion that the viewer has seen on the silhouette on the commercial. Another pink silhouette of a man, but the background is blue it still shows the contrast of colour and also shows a mixed personality at the same time. He is kicking his smart and snazzy shoes towards the camera; it makes male viewers feel like they need shoes like the silhouette so the has to go out and get some like the silhouette for the reason that it looks fashionable but at the same time also influences male to also get an Ipod. The next clip is of the first person in the commercial, you can tell since the Silhouette shape and background go back to the same colours as the first clip; so the some of the silhouettes have a individual colour. The way he is jumping in the air waving his arms round like a lunatic suggests that he is have a really good time and he is basically â€Å"freaking out†, another reason that the viewer should buy it because commercial is sending the message the viewer that the silhouettes are having a good time so why shouldn't the customers. An orange silhouette woman is in the next set of slides; it is a headshot specifically so that you can only see her earphones; they stand out specifically because it shows how perfectly slot in the silhouette's ears even when she is dancing. She has long hair and it waves when she jumps and moves to the sound of the music. The silhouette Dances is like so is non-conformity; so the message is sent to the viewers is that Ipods will set you free from all rules. In the next clip their stands a turquoise woman that shows the Ipod in the front of the shot; it is the main focus on the screen so that the viewers eyes cannot be averted from it, it also shows you the Ipod like this because it shows exactly what the Ipod looks like. Going from person to person suggesting that a lot of people like dancing to this song because it is popular or even any song on an Ipod because it is also easily carried and has a large memory so you can listen to a wide variety of the viewers idolised songs. A few clips ahead there is a clip of a man's feet that is one of the first of the clips where you don't see the Ipod at all. It shows how feet are moving to the rhythm of the music. The next clip the are two pink figures on a aqua back ground standing one on the left the other on the right; they jump in the air and a purple figure drops down from the top right to the centre of the screen. They all land at the same time and dance individually, this is a moment of intense movement as the viewer looks at the screen and it fills their body with energy; some of the cloths that they wear are quite smart so it makes you want to associate more with them. Following six more clips there are two pink Silhouettes of a man and a woman; they both dance together so it suggesting that buying an Ipod makes couples might want to dance together; it makes the audience feel as if they could get closer to their partners by buying two Ipods and suggests relationships will be better. When the text says â€Å"iPod + Itunes† it is basically saying if a person gets this Apple Ipod and any of the Itunes available you could possibly be like any the people you have seen in the advertisement. The penultimate clip is again of the couple that where dancing together; you can tell because they are the same shape, the woman walks pushing her male partner off the set so you know the advertisement is going to be over, it suggests who wears the trousers of the relationship which appears to be most female viewers around the world. Conclusively finished with a picture of the Apple logo then it no longer needs any text because it is then obvious to the viewers that this is an Apple product. The analysis of the commercial should have been undertaken to make shore that the colourful stroking images would not be dangerous towards to anybody suffering from epilepsy. A mistake that was also recently make by the advertising agency promoting the soon coming 2012Olympics. Music devices are very common, but what makes this Ipod special is they look good and they are fashionable. I would rate the advertisements effectiveness 8/10 because you could make all the clips more memorable rather than short ones, but it has a very catchy song. So it will stick in your mind along with the Apple brands, mainly the Ipod.

What Makes You Have Cancer - 1025 Words

â€Å"You have Cancer.† A single sentence that is among the most devastating words one could hear from a doctor today. They immediately cause one to go into shock then fear then shock, swinging back and forth like a pendulum in an old clock. Suddenly, time becomes the most valuable resource known to man and one will sacrifice everything else to get more. Cancer, has followed me through life almost like my own shadow, never truly touching me but gripping those I love. Who knew that three years ago sitting at the kitchen table my life would be flipped upside down, and I would lose all the time I thought I had. Humming, I turned the steering wheel to the right directing the car onto a two lane road with farm pastures on either side. All around me†¦show more content†¦I followed through the front door locking the car as I was followed unknowingly by a shadow. My father and mother were home from the doctor. I stared at my father’s still yellow tinged skin. I curious ly asked, â€Å"What did the doctor say?† My dad looked at me, and said, â€Å"We want to wait to tell all of you boys at the table. Call your brothers, and tell them we are meeting at the table.† I did as I was told. My thoughts turned fearful, as the song that played in my head turned dark. The shadow was at my shoulder, a malignant presence I was humming a song the whole way. Trying not to worry. I knew something was wrong. The air seemed to sing a mournful dirge. My Mother seemed to be standing on the edge of a complete breakdown. My Father even seemed to be off. His normal joking manner was gone. I couldn’t see past the wall he had built around him. The shadow stood behind his eyes. The light bulbs over the table seemed to go and in out. Sitting down, I looked at my mother as she began to speak, â€Å"The doctor said that believes he can fix your father’s yellow skin. Yet, we have to a do a few more tests.† The doctor believes that it is†¦Ã¢â‚¬  My Mother was holding back the tears. Pain filled her eyes. She said, â€Å"Dad is going to tell you the rest.† My Father began slowly all while looking us in the eyes, â€Å"The reason that I am Jaundice is that a tumor has formed out of my Pancreas causing my liver to not be able to function. Pancreatic Cancer is