Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Charismatic Leader Essay Example for Free

Charismatic Leader Essay This type of leadership holds a lot of power. In both productive and counterproductive respects. The rhetoric employed to effectively carry out charismatic leadership acts as a double edged sword. While it is true that a message delivered in a charismatic manner inspires the followers to implement it with a lot of fervor, but in this same zest, there are a lot of important issues that are overlooked and lots of questions ignored. This entails problems when the charisma delivers its desired results, but they still leave a sour taste in the mouth. In my professional career, I have not encountered charismatic leadership neither in the top echelons of power nor in the middle management slots. However, most of us have been affected, and even wowed, by the charismatic skills of Barack Obama, while running for the US Presidency in 2008. Inspirational rhetoric, exceptional oratory skills and narcissistic excellence were expertly deployed towards millions of people. Perhaps in our lifetimes, it has proven to be a living, breathing example of pure, unadulterated charisma. It was a need of the time and a result of the disillusionment with the last 8 years. But, the cynicism that perhaps was put in the back seat during this process, made a comeback in the last two years, where more and more people have grown disillusioned by the lack of actual, and perceived, objectives being achieved. The overhyped expectations that are, in effect, created by charismatic leadership, eventually end up hampering its own effects, even though the results achieved might be significant. In the spirit of double edged swords, narcissism fits the bill perfectly. Excessive traits of this personality type have officially been diagnosed as a psychological disorder, whereas a good mix of those same qualities supposedly makes a great leader. From my personal experience, there has been a lot more interaction with unproductive narcissists, as compared to the productive ones. Charismatic leadership is an outward focusing theory, but since being confident and thoughtful requires a thorough understanding of one’s own self, unless it is coupled innately with authenticity, there would continue to be major loopholes in its implementation. As is the case with most leadership theories, the situational context of the company or market matter deeply. Charismatic leadership is the need of the hour during turbulent times and thus ends up being encouraged and nurtured. However, during mature and stable market times, charisma tends to be counter-productive and pointless. Also, since narcissistic leaders tend to believe undoubtedly in their vision, not taking into account the ideas put forward by others, it can become self-destructive for companies. This leadership theory, more than others, needs to be deployed with a lot of care and consideration.

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Qualitative and Quantitative Research Essay -- Research Methods

Qualitative and Quantitative study designs both can be beneficial in research design. They both provide valuable options for researchers in the field. These techniques can either be used separately in a research study or they can be combined to achieve maximum information. This paper will define the terms qualitative and quantitative; describe the similarities and differences between each; discuss how qualitative and/or quantitative research designs or techniques could be used in the evaluation of my proposed research; and discuss why linking analysis to study design is important. Quantitative studies are primarily numbers based. They deal with large cohort groups as well as analyze large amounts of data. â€Å"A quantitative researcher typically tries to measure variables in some way, perhaps by using commonly accepted measures of the physical world (e.g., rulers, thermometers, oscilloscopes) or carefully designed measures of psychological characteristics or behaviors (e.g., tests, questionnaires, rating scales)† (Leedy & Ormrod, 2010, p. 94). Qualitative studies are slightly different in that they do not use large cohorts and they are not analyzing large data sets. Qualitative studies also look to answer question â€Å"why†. They use smaller numbers but go more in-depth with the small group they have. â€Å"In contrast, qualitative research involves looking at characteristics, or qualities, that cannot easily be reduced to numerical values. A qualitative researcher typically aims to examine the many nuances and complexities of a particular phenomenon† (Leedy & Ormrod, 2010, p. 94). Qualitative and Quantitative studies can be used separately or together in a mixed methodology. â€Å"Mixed methods research is characterized as research... ... Hughes, C. (2006). Qualitative and quantitative approach to social research. Retrieved fromhttp://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/sociology/staff/academicstaff/chughes/h ughesc_index/teachingresearchprocess/quantitativequalitative/quantitativequalitati ve/ Leedy, P. D., & Ormrod, J. E. (2010). Practical research: Planning and design (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.-Merrill McKerghan, D. L. (1998). Quantitative versus qualitative research: An attempt to clarify the problem. Retrieved from http://home.comcast.net/~lady.socrates/qvq.html Rocco, T. S., Bliss, L. A., Gallagher, S., & Perez-Prado, A. (2003). Taking the next step: Mixed methods research in organizational systems. Information Technology, Learning, and Performance Journal. Vol. 21, No. 1. Retrieved from http://www.osra.org/itlpj/roccoblissgallagherperez-pradospring2003.pdf

Monday, January 13, 2020

Costco Wholesale Case Study

Stakeholders invest money with the intent to gain return in the future. It is important for stakeholders to gain access to information and evaluate the firm’s performance before they put money in it. On the other hand, it is the firm’s management team job to make decisions that would maximize the long term value of the firm’s common stock. The intent of this paper is to analyze Costco Wholesale Corporation’s financial performance and to assess how efficient the business has been over a five year period as well as to provide recommendation for financial management strategy. The problem identified in this paper is the low margins in the industry. Because margins are low, the profitability of individual companies depends on high volume sales and efficient operations. Costco Wholesale Corporation is high-growth Retail Company. The company has experienced significant growth from 1997 to 2001, which has caught the attention of the competition. However, the numbers are decreasing because return on assets, return on equity, and asset turnover ratios have declined within the same time frame. Costco Wholesale Corporation has been a major player in the retail industry. It is the largest wholesale club operator in the US. â€Å"The company operates about 555 membership warehouse stores serving more than 53 million cardholders in some 40 US states and Puerto Rico, Canada, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, and the UK, primarily under the Costco Wholesale name. † (Hoover's, Inc, 2010) Costco’s strategy is low prices strategy. The management team has been able to pass savings to customers, keep low prices and maintain healthy margins at the same time. This has been a result of the company’s ability to become more efficient over time. The company saves on operation costs in order to provide low price while still keeping high quality products for customers. It has been constructing warehouses with inexpensive concrete floors. Selling items in bulk has allowed for operating efficiencies. Also, carrying less variety of products than other competitors has contributed to keeping inventory costs down. High sales volume and rapid inventory turnover are very important for a firm’s financial performance. Therefore, they should not be overlooked by investors. Costco’s inventory turnover ratio of 11. 7% in 2001 is the highest compared to its competitors. It is a result of operating principle that allows Costco to improve its working capital and operate much more efficiently than its competitors. For instance, Costco buys directly from manufacturers and routes purchases directly to customers in less than 24 hours. â€Å"Cross-docks never stored inventory, so all of the items delivered were reloaded and shipped that same day. † (Case study, p. 6) This has increased efficiency by ensuring the trucks are operating at full capacity. It also has allowed Costco to receive cash in hand before it has to pay for the original merchandise from the manufacturer. This has resulted in a very high operating cash flow for the business. Cash is important to any company’s financial performance. It allows the company to pay its bills and invest in the business without having to use debt. According to Torres’s Common Size Financial statement Interest expense has decreased from – 0. 35% in 1997 to – 0. 09% in 2001. This has demonstrated Costco’s ability to reduce its overall amount of debt during these years. For example, the fact that short-term debts have increased from 0. 46% in 1997 to 1. 93% in 2001 and long-term debt have decreased from 16. 74% of sales in 1997 to 8. 2% in 2001, relates back to the decrease in Costco’s interest expense. This is a representation of the management’s team decision turn on to short-term and move away from long-term debts. In addition, the decrease in long-term debt has helped reducing total liabilities from 53. 32% of total assets in 1997 to 50. 46% in 2001. Costcoâ €™s current ration in 2001 is 0. 94, which is below its competitors. This could be a sign for weak liquidity position. However, the high inventory turnover ratio analyzed earlier in this paper in combination with the low current ratio is an indicator for efficient assets management. The competitors’ higher current ratio might also be a sign for too much inventory that might have to be written-off or too many old accounts receivables that could turn into bad debts. Sears and Walmart’s account receivables are a way higher than Costco and BJs, confirming that there is no significant reason for considering Costco’s current ratio a weakness. Costco’s gross margin has been well maintained over the five year period. Their gross margin of 10. 4% is much lower than Sears’ of 26. 6% and Wal-Mart’s of 21. 5%. Only BJ’s has a lower gross margin of 9. 2%. Costco’s 2001 gross margin suggests ability to remain profitable and very competitive at the same time. The company has been able to provide goods to customers at a very low mark-up and at a lower per unit cost. According to the case study Costco’s management team has decided to reinvest net income back into the company instead of paying dividends. This decision has resulted in earnings retention ratio of 100% as shown on Torres’s sustainable growth model. Absence of dividends could lead to some investor dissatisfaction in the short term. The return on equity (ROE) also has been decreasing during the five year period. It has dropped from 18. 6% in 1998 to 14. 2% in 2001, which could also lead to investor dissatisfaction. ROE tells how well stockholders are doing in term of return on their money. Costco’s 14. 2% return in 2001 is consistent with the current average industry ROE is 11. 5%[1]. Costco’s ratio is consistent with the industry average, but appears to be on the decline. A look at Costco’s ROE since 1997 shows a steady decline. Consistent reinvestment into the company has occurred in the form of new store construction and efficient modifications of old stores during these years. Such capital investments would take time to generate profits. Even though Costco’s ROE in 2001 is lower than in 1997 it still remains a large positive figure. As long as Costco’s management team continues demonstrates ability to successfully reinvest and improve efficiencies, stock price would most likely increase in the future and stockholder would be satisfied with long term returns on their investment. Economic factors should be considered when determining the future of the retail business. Economic factors include the economic growth, interest rates, exchange rates and the inflation rate. Economic downturns have forced customers to cut back on expenses. . Any significant decrease to consumer spending has to be considered as a threat. In 2000/ 2001 tough economic environment Costco has shown the ability to persevere and continue growing their business. Passing cost savings to customers is even more important in times of economic slowdowns when businesses and individuals are trying to do more with less. Economic constraints play a major role in wholesale business by forcing companies to be more creative and come up with higher efficiencies in order to provide lower prices. On the other hand, economic growth provides opportunities not only to Costco but to other rivalry as well. Social factors influencing the retail industry include culture, population growth, age distribution, and importance of safety. Costco warehouses are located further away from residential areas such as cities and older suburban areas. This creates inconvenience for customers as they would have to drive further to shop at Costco than a local grocery store. Costco has overcome this with a much better customer environment, larger discounts on bulk purchases and various incentives through their membership programs. Ecological factors include ecological and environmental aspects. For instance, Costco has been offering boxes to customers instead of plastic bags. Such green initiatives are necessary to address environmental concerns. They could also contribute to increased market share. Other factors that should be considered are customer demand, cultural changes, and technology. Today’s advanced technology provides opportunities for higher efficiencies as well as cultural changes. For instance, the internet has been a great shopping resource lately. It gives retailers the ability to offer lower prices and customers the convenience of shopping from their own homes. Costco’s management team should continue to work closely with customers in order to identify their needs and behavior. Costco’s mission is â€Å"To continually provide our members with quality goods and services at the lowest possible prices. † (Costco, 2010). The management team should ensure that systems and processes are in place to carry on the mission. Ensure open communication channels between employees and management. Employees should be considered when the strategy is being implemented because successful strategy implementation requires motivation. The company should clearly communicate its vision and mission to all levels throughout the organization. Communicating the company’s vision and employees involvement in the decision making process would give them a stronger sense of job satisfaction. That would increase motivation and contribute to creativity enforce. Also to increase motivation the executive team should review management’s compensation and rewards. As part of trategy implementation the leadership team should develop support among stakeholders. One aspect of that is to establish global network of strong suppliers and ensure availability of strong partners who share technology, development cost, and speed to market Costco’s goal is to â€Å"Reward our shareholders. † (Costco, 2010) This analysis proves that Costco remains one of the industry’s leading players and there seems to be no reason for Torres to sell her shares. References Brigham, Eugene, & Houston, Joel. (2008). Fundamentals of financial management. South-Western Pub. Brigham, & Houston, 2008) Carpenter, M. A. , & Sanders, Wm. G. (2009). New Jersey, NY: Pearson Education, Inc. Costco wholesale corporation . (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. hoovers. com/company/Costco_Wholesale_Corporation/rkfjif-1. html Costco, Initials. (2010). Costco wholesale corporation. Retrieved from http://www. csrglobe. com/login/companies/costco_wholesale_corporation. html Jun, J. (2009, January 19). Taking stock in costco. Retrieved from http://www. oldschoolvalue. com/featured/taking-stock-in-costco/ ———————– [1] Data collected from Google Finance

Sunday, January 5, 2020

The Fraud Fear In Internet Banking Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 14 Words: 4091 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Narrative essay Did you like this example? Critical investigate the risk assessment and fraud prevention for banks, payment and processing service providers using internet banking. Evaluate and analyze that why are dwindling customers confidence on internet banking and huge loss of reputation, find out reasons, methods of securing the internet banking. A relatively analysis on Banks about the world trepidation an enormous loss of reputation and diminishing clients trust in their Internet daises through very intellectual and increasingly triumphant Internet banking attacks. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Fraud Fear In Internet Banking Finance Essay" essay for you Create order Halifax plc is banking and insurance company in the United Kingdom, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Lloyds Banking Group having been taken over in January 2009. It is the holding company for Bank of Scotland plc, which operates the Bank of Scotland and Halifax brands in the UK, as well as HBOS Australia and HBOS Insurance Investment Group Limited, the groups insurance division. HBOS was formed merger of Halifax plc and the Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland and the formation of HBOS was heralded as creating a fifth force in British banking as it created a company of comparable size and stature to the established big Four UK retail banks. It is also the UKs largest mortgage lender. HBOS Group Reorganisation Act 2006 saw the transfer of Halifax plc to the Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland, which was now a registered public limited company, Bank of Scotland plc. Although officially HBOS is not an abbreviation of any specific words, it is widely presumed to s tand for Halifax Bank of Scotland. The corporate headquarters of the group were located on The Mound in Edinburgh, Scotland; the former head office of Bank of Scotland. Operational headquarters were based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England; the former head office of Halifax. The group became part of Lloyds Banking Group through a takeover by Lloyds TSB. This came into effect on Monday 19 January 2009 after both sets of shareholders approved the deal. HBOS continues to operate as a separate organisation within the new group, although over time it is likely to be restructured. Lloyds Banking Group has stated that the new group will continue to use The Mound as the headquarters for its Scottish operations and will not cease the issue of Scottish bank notes. The services and products Halifax offers include: different types of bank accounts and saving accounts, travel packages, credit cards, investments, loans, mortgages, insurance and online banking. Background Halifax has now released monthly figures for March estimating UK house prices have dropped 2.5%. Some areas are down twice that. House prices have now fallen year on year. In March 2007, Halifax had the average UK house price at  £194,094. For March 2008 its down to  £191, 556. (Halifax doesnt highlight the fact, instead focusing on three month rolling averages to record a small year on year gain.) Key data from the Halifax report House prices fell by 2.5% in March. Prices in Quarter 1 were 1.0% lower than in 2007 Quarter 4. House prices in March were 1.1% higher than a year earlier. The biggest rises were in Greater London (1.6%), East Anglia (1.4%) and East Midlands (2.2%).There were price falls in a number of regions, with the biggest falls in West Midlands (-5.0%) and Wales (-4.7%). Amusingly for students of spin, the Halifax obfuscates these numbers with a few paragraphs of Dont Panic waffle: We expect there to be a modest (low single digit) decline in UK house prices t his year. Any declines, however, should be viewed in the context of the significant price rises over recent years. UK prices have increased by 171% over the past ten years and by 51% over the last five years. The average UK price has risen by  £120,860 during the past decade from  £70,696 to  £191,556. All 12 UK regions have experienced substantial house price rises over the last ten years, ranging from 146% in Scotland to 271% in Northern Ireland. Average prices increased by 191% in Greater London, 188% in Wales and 150% in West Midlands during the period. Sound economic fundamentals are supporting house prices. A strong labour market, low interest rates and a shortage of new houses underpin housing valuations. The Bank of England is certain in my view to cut rates on Thursday by 0.25%, but whether that can reduce the interbank lending rate that has increased mortgage rates let alone stems the steady withdrawal of mortgage products remains to be seen. Internet banking allo ws customers to perform a wide range of banking transactions electronically via the banks Web site. When first introduced, Internet banking was used mainly as an information presentation medium in which banks marketed their products and services on their Web sites. With the development of asynchronous technologies and secured electronic transaction technologies, however, more banks have come forward to use Internet banking both as a transactional as well as an informational medium. As a result, registered Internet banking users can now perform common banking transactions such as writing checks, paying bills, transferring funds, printing statements, and inquiring about account balances. Internet banking has evolved into a one stop service and information unit that promises great benefits to both banks and consumers. Internet banking services are crucial for long-term survival of banks in the world of electronic commerce (Burnham 1996). The market for Internet banking is forecast t o grow sharply in the next few years, affecting the competitive advantage enjoyed by traditional branch banks (Duclaux 2007). Indeed, it also was estimated that financial institutions that 0failed to respond to the need for Internet banking services would likely lose more than 10% of their customer base by the year 2000 (Orr 2008; Tower Group 1996). Internet banking would help banks present a potentially low cost alternative to brick and mortar branch banking. Burnham found that the majority of banks with Web sites spent less than  £25,000 to create a Web presence, and less than  £25,000 a year maintaining it. He suggested that even if these figures were to rise as banks began to offer Internet banking services, they would still be less costly than the traditional branch banking. For example, it requires  £1.5 million to  £2 million to set up a traditional brick and mortar branch and  £350,000 to  £500,000 a year to operate it. Note that Burnhams figure of  £25,000 is just for creating an electronic presence on the Web. A fully functional Internet banking site is likely to cost  £1 million to  £2 million. However, while traditional banks operating costs account for between 50% and 60% of revenues, running costs of Journal of the Association for Information Systems 5 Internet banking is estimated at between 15% and 20% of revenues (Booz-Allen Hamilton 1997). From the consumers perspective, Internet banking provides a very convenient and effective approach to manage ones finances as it is easily accessible 24 hours a day, and seven days a week. Besides, the information is current. For corporate customers, sophisticated cash management packages offered through Internet banking provide them with up to the minute information, allowing for timely funds management decisions (Kalakota and Whinston 2008). Web banking customers with Halifax are being put at risk of fraud because of serious loopholes in their security systems; it is claimed 27 Au gust, 2009. An expert assessment of the security regime at the ten leading online banks put the two household name firms at the bottom of the league. The news follows a 132 per cent rise in web banking fraud against UK consumers last year to a total of  £52.5million. Internet banking refers to systems that enable bank customers to access accounts and general information on bank products and services through a personal computer (PC) or other intelligent device. Internet banking products and services can include wholesale products for corporate customers as well as retail and fiduciary products for consumers. Ultimately, the products and services obtained through Internet banking may mirror products and services offered through other bank delivery channels. (Comptroller of the currency, Administration of National Banks, 2007) Sophisticated criminal gangs, many based in Eastern Europe and China, are finding ways to access the web bank accounts of victims in order to grab their cas h. Most often this is done through phishing, where the criminals send out emails pretending to be from a persons bank directing them to a bogus site where their access passwords are stolen. However, there is also a problem where criminals implant a virus or spying software malware on the computers of their targets, which tracks the websites visited and the keystrokes used. (Sean Poulter, 27 August 2009) Online banking is now huge with some 21million active accounts, providing a lucrative pot of cash for the thieves who can circumvent bank security. Computing, published on 27 August 2009, found Halifax has one of the least secure log-in procedures. It asks for three pieces of information to confirm a customers identity. As each entry is typed in full, it makes the information vulnerable to a simple key logger virus (a virus that sits on a computer and tracks every keystroke with the aim of collecting passwords). The Halifax allows customers, real or criminal to transfer money o ut of the account without making additional security checks. Customers of Halifax are not immediately logged out if they browse away to another website. This means that if they walk away from a shared computer, someone else could access their account. Computing editor Sarah Kidner (August 2009) said: There are surprisingly big differences between big banks visible online security systems. (Sean Poulter, 27 August 2009) Some simple measures, like the use of drop-down menus, could improve safety considerably. The banks may say its the hidden security measures that count, but to have real confidence in an online account, customers need to see security in place. Halifax, which is now part of Lloyds, said the bank has additional security measures beyond those immediately apparent to a customer. Halifax said they give the highest priority to the security of customers accounts and its systems are constantly reviewed and improved. A spokesman for the banking industry payments body, APACS , said: Online banking customers are increasingly being targeted by malware attacks, which is why the industry continues to remind customers that they have their computers firewall switched on and anti-virus software installed and kept up to date. (Sean Poulter, 27 August 2009) In the context of the framework, intention to adopt Internet banking services is thus the dependent variable, while the independent variables comprise attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control. In the below framework, the research framework for the Internet banking services: (Margaret Tan, National University of Singapore, 2008) Halifax: Would not it be nice if your bank thanked you properly for your custom? Our new Reward Current Account does just that rewarding you with  £5 each month. So we know what they are saying but it this exactly true? I dont think there is any logic at all behind this new Reward Current Account and their certainly not giving anyone extra. That is  £ 5 of taxpayers money that you get back when you pay into your account  £1000 or more in your account a month. After all most of these banks have been being bailed out with taxpayers money anyway. I find it to be unbelievable that they have the cheek to say they are rewarding their customers. After all, its not rocket science to figure out their basically giving you  £5 of tax payers money that you bailed them out with a few months back anyway. It is time they got their thinking caps on and start rewarding their customers for real instead of making them believe that they are being rewarded because when you look at it from this viewpoint scenario you know youre not exactly being rewarded. The Halifax Bank of Scotland adverts have entertained us and made us cringe and their cross-branding can get confusing at times but these days with everyone and their dog (no offence Churchill) able to start up an internet based insurance company many are turning back to the reliability and co mprehensive cover that you generally only get when a well known financial institution is at the helm, not just financing the boat. Although it is expected, due to their extensive mortgage facilities and experience, for the Halifax to sell home cover they also insure your car, pet, travel and health. Unlike most insurers these days, the Halifaxs website is geared towards getting you to phone so that they can tailor your policy and as incentive they offer deals like premium fixing which only available offline is. They also have quite a stringent online questionnaire with things like making more than two claims in three years and working from home requiring you to phone them. Confusing to us because surely if you wanted to call them you would have opened the Yellow Pages, not logged online to find their website. Anyway, discounts that apply with either application include up to 30% no claims discount plus a further discount if you buy both buildings and contents cover together. (Jam es Slack, Home Affair editor, 26 May 2010) The latter normally has some of the lowest combination discounts weve seen (e.g. 5% a few months ago) but its good to see a strong effort with the ever growing trend of no claims bonuses attached to home insurance. As you would expect they pride themselves more on service than the cheapness of their policies with a no-form-filling claims inquiry process, a dedicated Halifax claims manager to process that claim and a 24 hour repair/replace promise once that claim is settled. Travel insurance from the Halifax is not as extensive as specialised travel insurers but if youre looking to have general cover for your holidays and you want to keep all your policies in one place there is nothing wrong with the cover provided for such. Single trip travel insurance, individual annual cover, world travel cover, winter sports and family travel insurances are all available with a discount for buying any policy online. Halifax pet insurance services are less generous with the discounts with only a few pounds off should you buy online but you do get an extra discount if you insure more than one pet with them. Big plus is the no age limit with some insurers capping at five years for some breeds. The Halifax Bank of Scotland Group (HBOS) has been providing insurance and closely related services such as mortgages for many years which give them a unique perspective to create comprehensive home cover. They quote themselves as the largest mortgage and savings provider in the UK and one of the leading insurers. Key Literature There have been numerous studies identifying the key service quality attributes in the physical banking environment, where personal interaction between customers and bank employees is a primary aspect of service deliver. However, relatively little literature has investigated service quality attributes in the Internet Banking Sector (e-Service) where non-human interaction is the main component of service delivery. Joseph (2009) investigated the influence of technology, such as the A.T.M., telephone and Internet on the delivery of banking service in UK. Using the Hemmasi (2004) importance performance technique, their study identified five underlying dimensions of electronic banking service quality. First is convenience/accuracy, second is feedback/complaint management, third one is efficiency, fourth is queue management and the last is accessibility and customisation. The main limitation of this study is that they took a generalised perspective on electronic banking and did not consi der that each type of technology might have a different effect on customers perceptions of quality. Jun and Cai (2008) have focused specifically on the issues associated with Internet banking quality. Using the critical Incident technique they revealed a total of seventeen attributes of Internet banking service quality, which they classified into three broad categories: customer service quality, banking service, product quality and online systems quality. They concluded that Internet banks should pay attention to all seventeen attributes in order to maintain a high level of overall banking service quality. However, to reinforce competitiveness in an extremely competitive market place and given limited organisational resources, they recommended that banks offering Internet banking services should focus on the following six key attributes; responsiveness, reliability, access, ease of use, accuracy and product variety/diverse features. Their research findings have revealed that thes e six attributes tend to have a strong impact on customers satisfaction, depending on the quality performance of those attributes. These six attributes were, therefore, used as a basis for the research described in the paper. Banks around the world fear a huge loss of reputation and dwindling customer confidence in their Internet platforms through very clever and increasingly successful Internet banking attacks. Furthermore, experts are now convinced that securing Internet banking through IT security methods (user authentication, encryption, authorisation codes) is not enough, since almost every security system can be cracked in practise (man-in-the-middle and man-in-the-browser attacks have a high success rate nowadays), especially if the security system has to remain affordable and user-friendly. IT security measures can be ideally supplemented by a risk assessment of every transaction on the Internet banking server. Even internet provider such as airlines (online ticket sale) or online shops are confronted with a high number of fraud losses.   An international study conducted by the consulting agency Deloitte proved that 79% of all airlines have to fight against fraud. Most of the fraud cases are caused by payment via credit card. During the last years, the losses due to fraud have increased worldwide fivefold. The losses in total add up to 600 million British Pounds. Justification I have chosen this topic and bank branch because I have Halifax bank is incredible managing all financial services in personal banking, business banking, Private banking and Commercial banking. In my point of view and according to market survey, Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) are affecting in the time period of 2007 to 2010. There are several reasons of influence and main reason of this time period is recession. Specially; SME businesses have an effected. Halifax (Walthamstow Branch) has been playing greatly rationalized role in the SME market in the form of lending. This bank branch has offered various plans to SME market for making better improvement in business. As I mentioned above about Halifax offers for SME Lending and Halifax Lending activities to make more suitable and helpful for every kind of business under different circumstances and excellent offers comparatively other banks and building societies. This Branch is trying to improve the business in the particularl y area SMEs. I have chosen this company because this Bank is providing on the specific level of business and it wants to help in real business market. Halifax bank understands all issues of SME business like how these businesses are surviving in the recession time? How will SME improve in this critical situation of businesses? Hypothesis Halifax has improved in a number of ways to access the account. In recent years the Bank has therefore been focusing on areas of more specific interest and concern that is fraud fear on internet banking. Examples of this increased focus are the Banks report on The Financing of Technology-based on usage of internet banking, published in October 2008, and the report on Smaller Exporters, published in January 2008. This latest report in that series focuses on the financing of ethnic minority firms in the Ilford, London, UK, concentrating on the smaller end of the business sector and on the start-up and early growth stages. Halifax is to cut  interest rates  on a range of products by up to 0.65 per cent, it has been revealed. The changes will take the form of a new range of  fixed rate  and  lending. Among the new products is the banks lowest rate ever a two year  fixed lending  at 3.49 per cent. Remortgage  customers will also see the cost of  lending  fall, with deals on offer from 3.79 per cent. John Russell, director of branch (2009) internet banking department, said: They remain committed to online banking to our customers and offering highly competitive  securities  during these challenging online fraud, hacking, phishing in less security conditions. Methodology Primary Research The primary data in this research will be will be collected through conducting a questionnaire survey. This research study depends upon both primary and secondary data sources. Mostly research will be dependent on questionnaire survey or primary data. Types In the primary research, there are multiple types for example; Interviews with consumers and bank service providers, surveys, focus groups and questionnaires. Advantages/disadvantages Using primary research, it will help me to find out problems in internet banking and banking problems for fraud what they are facing. They will get original and authenticate data but still Halifax cannot provide all information because they think it could be drawback for the market competitors point of view. Chosen I have chosen this topic because my personal account in this bank and this branch is near to my accommodation and I can get easily more authentic information for my research according to various users. Objective: with t he objective of fulfil the research requirement and fraud fear on internet banking in the current century (2010). Secondary Research Types Secondary data will be gathered from books, journals, articles, research agencies and from other online recourses. Both categories of secondary data, internal (inside the organization) and external (outside the organization) data will be themed. Advantages/disadvantages In the secondary research, it will help me to find out all previous data, facts and figures and surveys which have done in past. So, I can theme this data for my research and it will help me for my research and future data. Objective I have chosen it because I have already study of Internet banking in different societies and banks for example; Halifax, Halifax, RBS, and HSBC. Objective: using my all information; I can achieve my targets for this research and I can complete my research for dissertation. Quantative / Qualitative As the quantitative data or information is obtained from the available secondary sources it will be achieved in this dissertation from articles, published reports, magazines and online recourses. Qualitative data provides the information with nearest approach of reality and reliable quality. So qualitative data of dissertation will be collected from the interviews, question is survey and focus groups. Scope After completing my research on internet banking for Halifax customers in particular bank branch (Halifax Ilford branch). This research would help to improve the internet banking and analyze the consumers view with the reference of Halifax internet banking in different areas, situation. Limitations During the research, interviews and statistic data; I will try to get more information for my dissertation. The greatest impact of Halifax bank is through its internet banking policies, and through the companies and personals that it usage of Internet Banking and allows to operate. Only smile, as part of the Halifax Bank, has a complete ethical internet banking policy. Halifax Ethical internet banking providers  only invest in ethical companies and funds generally, ethical internet banks will  avoid doing fraud in internet banking in business with companies that have anything to with green or ethical violations. Ethics In the proposal, I consult all the data and information from Halifax bank report, journals and books and I themed all references and give the credit to original authors and writers. I have not themed any illegal websites, books or any other way of material for this research. Secondly ethical banking of Halifax is an umbrella term for putting your money where you morals are and choosing financial products which are in line with your  own ethos. But its not just ethics that encourage people to  choose green, as some ethical investment products, for example, have been known to outperform their non-ethical counterparts, so it can make good financial sense too. Recommendation Halifax Bank was asked to tackle the enquiry of permission to fraud fear in internet banking under the Ilford branch for social movement. This research report has needed supplying evidence on the present obligation for and providing of business economics banking and personal banking on internet for social endeavours in the UK and has also calculated forthcoming reasons of internet banking fraud fear, which may be fundamentals to description for the social benefits of public endeavours movements. The proof accessible in the statement reveals the complexity of the substance in the area of Internet banking for the personal, business and commercial customers. As the Banks appraisal demonstrates, the division is composed of a various diversity of administrations for controlling the online banking fraud, that are building up a plan in instruct to protected a more maintainable internet banking for Halifax customers. Communal endeavours, like all commercial, need access to use to several w ay of access the account especially online banking. Our investigates illustrate that, while a substantial amount of public schemes do access internet banking, there are problems on both the need and offer side that can create it more hard and tricky for hackers of internet banking.