MT Bank - Understanding Whats Important - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 10 Words: 3039 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Economics Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? MT Bank Table of Contents Abstract History Industry Assessment SWOT Analysis Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats Stakeholder Analysis Financial Analysis BCG Matrix Recommendations.15 Works Cited16 Tables Table 1 Top 50 Commercial Banks (USA) Table 2 FDIC Ratios Table 3 MT Competitors Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "MT Bank Understanding Whats Important" essay for you Create order Figures Figure 1- Loans to Assets Ratio Figure 2 Asset Growth Figure 3 Loan Growth Figure 4 BCG Matrix..14 Abstract For my final project I have chosen to examine MT Bank. It will be of importance to examine the industry as whole, perform a SWOT analysis, and review financial statements. Through examining each of these factors a clearer understanding of how MT Bank operates in the commercial banking industry will be generated. Thereafter, a conclusion will be drawn on how MT Bank should pursue their future in the banking industry. History MT Bank was founded in 1856 in Buffalo, NY as the Manufacturers and Traders Bank by Pascal Pratt and Bronson Rumsey. By the end of this decade the bankà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s ownership increased from 13 founding stockholders to over 145, all of which received a primary dividend of four percent. Fast forwarding to the beginning of the twenty first century MT Bank began acquiring not only land and buildings throughout Buffalo, NY but also other banks. The 1970à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s ushered in a new ear for MT Bank, this began with the hiring of a new chairman and CEO; Robert Wilmers. Currently, Wilmers is still the CEO of MT Bank and has been able to perpetuate the tradition of long standing success. Through continued success MT has been able to acquire other banks and expand its reach into Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington DC. By 2011 the bankà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s assets reached nearly $80 Billion making it the 24th largest bank in the United States. Industry Assessment The industry that MT currently operates is the commercial banking industry. The commercial banking industry has seen much change over the past century, this change has predominately occurred from government intervention. The basic aim of government regulation is to ensure that firms are able to be competitive while also preventing market failures. These include natural monopolies, excessive competition, and economic rents. To help with this overall goal the government tends to regulate in two facets; economic and social. An economic regulation deals with the government having a direct or indirect control over the firms in an industry. This is beneficial because it limits markets with monopolies from raising prices too high which would result in unfair payments made by their customers (Conte Karr, 2001). The social aspect of government regulations is seen in antitrust laws. These are laws that prohibit practices or mergers that would ultimately lead to the degradation of competitio n. These regulations play an important part in commercial banking because they are directly correlated to preventing market failures (Conte Karr, 2001). Commercial banking is defined as a financial institution that provides services, such as accepting deposits, giving business loans and auto loans, mortgage lending, and basic investment products like savings accounts and certificates of deposit (Commercial Banking, 2014). As of September 2013 there are currently 539 commercial banks with assets over $1 Billion. Of the 539 commercial banks the top 20 banks currently hold 31% market share and the top 50 banks hold 41% market share. Furthermore, the top 20 banks currently hold 59% of totals assets and the top 50 banks hold 70% of all totals assets (Census, 2007). In the commercial banking industry market share and total assets have become the major focus. This most closely aligns with the mantra of the maturity stage of the industry life cycle, firms in this stage are concerned wit h market share. Potential new entrants find these markets unattractive because of high barriers to entry and first mover advantages. Table 1 Top 50 Commercial Banks (USA) Top 50 Commercial Banks (USA) 1 JPMORGAN CHASE BK NA/JPMORGAN CHASE CO 2 BANK OF AMER NA/BANK OF AMER CORP 3 CITIBANK NA/CITIGROUP 4 WELLS FARGO BK NA/WELLS FARGO CO 5 U S BK NA/U S BC 6 PNC BK NA/PNC FNCL SVC GROUP 7 BANK OF NY MELLON/BANK OF NY MELLON CORP 8 CAPITAL ONE NA/CAPITAL ONE FC 9 STATE STREET BTC/STATE STREET CORP 10 T D BK NA/TD US P C HOLD ULC 11 HSBC BK USA NA/HSBC NORTH AMER HOLD 12 BRANCH BKGTC/BBT CORP 13 SUNTRUST BK/SUNTRUST BK 14 FIA CARD SVC NA/BANK OF AMER CORP 15 FIFTH THIRD BK/FIFTH THIRD BC 16 CHASE BK USA NA/JPMORGAN CHASE CO 17 REGIONS BK/REGIONS FC 18 GOLDMAN SACHS BK USA/GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP THE 19 UNION BK NA/UNIONBANCAL CORP 20 RBS CITIZENS NA/RBS CITIZENS FNCL GRP 21 NORTHERN TC/NORTHERN TR CORP 22 ALLY BK/ALLY FNCL 23 BMO HARRIS BK NA/BMO FNCL CORP 24 KEYBANK NA/KEYCORP 25 MORGAN STANLEY BK NA/MORGAN STANLEY 26 MANUFACTURERS TRADERS TC/MT BK CORP 27 CAPITAL ONE BK USA NA/CAPITAL ONE FC 28 SOVEREIGN BK NA/SANTANDER HOLDS USA 29 DISCOVER BK/DISCOVER FS 30 COMPASS BK/BBVA COMPASS BSHRS 31 BANK OF THE WEST/BANCWEST CORP 32 COMERICA BK/COMERICA 33 HUNTINGTON NB/HUNTINGTON BSHRS 34 DEUTSCHE BK TC AMERICAS/DEUTSCHE BK TR CORP 35 WELLS FARGO BK S CENT NA/WELLS FARGO CO 36 FIRST REPUBLIC BK/ 37 FIRST NIAGARA BK NA/FIRST NIAGARA FNCL GROUP 38 BOKF NA/BOK FC 39 BANK OF AMER CA NA/BANK OF AMER CORP 40 CITY NB/CITY NAT CORP 41 SYNOVUS BK/SYNOVUS FC 42 FIRST TN BK NA/FIRST HORIZON NAT CORP 43 FIRSTMERIT BK NA/FIRSTMERIT CORP 44 ASSOCIATED BK NA/ASSOCIATED BANC-CORP 45 EAST W BK/EAST W BC 46 FROST BK/CULLEN/FROST BKR 47 COMMERCE BK/COMMERCE BSHRS 48 FIRST-CITIZENS BTC/FIRST CITIZENS BSHRS 49 SILICON VALLEY BK/SVB FNCL GRP 50 BARCLAYS BK DE/BARCLAYS DE HOLDS LLC (FRB, 2014) Mention previously the goal of regulation in the commercial banking industry is to provide a competitive market, this prevents total dominance by a few firms. However, the banking industry is associated with high barriers to entry for new banks because of the regulatory restrictions associated with charters and high costs of capital. High barriers to entry are also associated with markets that are unfavorable to enter because established firms have an exponential advantage. As shown from the previous empirical evidence this industry is highly concentrate in both market share and total assets. In an attempt to reduce barriers to entry the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act was passed. This act changed interstate banking laws for both bank holding companies and individual banks. BHCs and individual banks were given the ability to merge with other banks located in different states. In theory this greatly reduced barriers to entry, however, in pr actice it potentially help top banks become larger and more dominant. SWOT Analysis The SWOT analysis of MT bank will help to evaluate the institutions strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Following the conclusions of the analysis will allow for recommendations that leverage MT Banks strengths to take advantage of potential business opportunities. Additionally, this conclusion will allow for a better understanding of operational weaknesses to contest threats to prospective growth. Strengths MT bank has garnered much strength since its founding in 1856. It has grown into one of the countries thirty largest banks with roughly $80 billion in assets. In addition the bank boasts 700 branches and ATMs in 1,500 different locations greatly extending is banking power (MT Bank Corp, 2014). Its growth can be attributed to the acquisition of banks in upstate New York, eastern Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., and the Baltimore region. Market dominance in these select regions has allowed MT to not only create a competitive advantage but also sustain an advantage. Another key strength to MT Bank is the services the bank can offer. To this point we have only mentioned MTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s role in the commercial banking industry. However, MT offers services in retail and investment banking. Weaknesses Not only has MT Bank created a competitive advantage in the areas it serves, it has also created a customizable approach to banking that customers love. However, the scope of coverage is limited to eight states which ultimately means the bank has a relatively small to negligible service area in comparison to other banks. MT Bank service area can be seen in above picture. This scenario could sway potential new customers to choose another bank which has a greater physical presence throughout the United States. Opportunities In recent years MT bank has created many opportunities that have positively affected the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s position. Since 2006 MT has acquired over 130 brick and mortar banking locations, many of which are outside the state of New York. Along with the purchase of physical brick and mortar locations MT Banks has purchased other commercial banks such as Wilmington Trust. and Hudson City Bancorp (Rochester, 2014). This was a strategic move that has allowed MTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s total assets to increase greatly over the past five years. Since the year 2005, which is a significant year, MT has increased their total assets by nearly 50% (MT Bank Corporation, 2014) Lastly, MT Bank is not only located in the United States but has a location across the border in Toronto, ON. According to bank President Mark Czarnecki, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦our understanding of cross-border commerce, along with decades of experience serving Canadian businesses operating in the U.S., makes Ontario an ideal location for MTs first international commercial bank office (MT Bank, 2010).à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  This branch will not only allow MT to serve a large number of US-based companies operating Canada but will allow MT to differentiate itself from the competition. Threats Since the financial crisis of 2008 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" 2009 banking laws and regulations have become more stringent. Regulatory compliance poses an undoubtable burden on MT Bank. Regulatory compliance is also positively correlated to higher cost. One such regulation is Dodd-Frank Act, this act has mandated that banks need to keep higher ratios of capital on hand. Therefore, this limits MTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s ability to expand into other regions. Secondly, MT Bank faces other external threats such as the loss of their sustained competitive advantage. This loss can occur because of their small geographical coverage area. Other banks, through acquisitions and mergers, could open branches in similar locations. Thus, this would decrease their market share and potentially make them less valuable. Stakeholder Analysis The stakeholder analysis aims to evaluate the stakeholders of MT Bank. The stakeholders can be broken down into three major groups; Customer both potential and current, investors, and management. Following figure, the interest/power grid allows us to plot current and potential customers in the quadrant à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“keep satisfied.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  The customers of MT Bank are responsible for driving profits without them the bank would be forced to close its doors. The group of investors and management can be grouped into the quadrant labeled keep informed. Keeping investors and especially management informed allows the company to make the best possible decisions. Financial Analysis Table 2 FDIC Ratios Ratio Measures of Bank Performance Identification of Variable What the Variable Measures Loans-to-assets ratio Liquidity and risk. The higher the ratio, the greater the amount of the bankà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s total portfolio that is subject to default risk Return on Assets (ROA) The bankà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s profitability. Low ROA may encourage risk taking by the bank. High ROA may indicate high-risk lending to increase profits Asset growth from previous year Risk of growth Loan growth from previous year Risk of growth Salary expenses per employee Managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s control of expenses Interest on loans and leases to total loans and leases (interest yield) The average income of loans. High yields might indicate that the bank is originating high-risk loans. Interest and fee income to total loans and leases (interest fees to loans) Income. The addition of fees to the variables may catch firms that are loading up on fee income. Operating expenses to total expenses Managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s control of expenses. Higher expenses are assumed to be indicators of loose control. (FDIC) The success of any bank depends on several factors which involve many different aspects of the balance sheet. The FDIC has created (Table 2 FDIC Ratios) to help explain the performance of a bank in regard to the balance sheet. Although the entire list is used by the FDIC to ensure a thorough understanding of a bankà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performance, not all of these ratios and years are able to be used due to a lack of information. The areas that we will examine in our financial analysis are the total loans to assets ratio, the asset growth from the previous year, the loan growth from the previous year, and the return on assets. To aid in this analysis we will compare MT to the average US bank, and the average New York bank. Figure 1- Loans to Assets Ratio (Mergent Online) (FDIC) The total loans to assets ratio helps to explain the bankà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s liquidity and risk. The higher the ratio the more likely a banks is to default. Figure (Figure 1- Loans to Asse ts Ratio) upon comparison shows that MT is more likely to default. Although this is an improbable scenario, MT Bankà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s loan to assets ratio is the riskiest The asset growth and loan growth from the previous year are two ratios that deal with the overall risk of growth. The figures of (Figure 2 Asset Growth Figure 3 Loan Growth) show this comparison. During times of economic prosperity, such as the recovery and peak stage of the economic business cycle, MTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s loans and assets increase greatly. However, during downturns in the economy, such as a recession or trough, MTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s loans and assets decrease. Furthermore, over the long run MT Bank has experience the best overall growth in loans and assets from the previous years. Figure 2 Asset Growth (Mergent Online) (FDIC) Figure 3 Loan Growth (Mergent Online) (FDIC) 1 Lastly, we examine MTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s return on assets. This ratio helps to explain the bankà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ â„ ¢s profitability. Low ROA may encourage risk taking by the bank and high ROA may indicate high-risk lending to increase profits (FDIC). MT has experience an average ROA of 1.20%, for the banking industry a ROA of slightly higher than 1.5% is optimal (Loth, 2009). BCG Matrix The above BCG Matrix analyses MT Bank and its four closest regional competitors. From the data we can see that that MT is ranked in the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“question markà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  quadrant. It has both a small overall market share and relative markets share. Businesses that are located in this quadrant require vast resources to grow, but whether they will succeed and move into the star quadrant is unknown. Table 3 MT Competitors MT Competitors BCG Matrix Brands Revenues (Billions) Banks Market Share Relative Market Share (RMS) Market Growth Rate MT Bank $4.35 5.18% 0.0738 6.52% PNC $15.30 18.23% 0.2595 12.50% HSBC $58.96 70.26% 1.0000 5.36% First Niagara $1.35 1.61% 0.0229 12.18% KeyCorp $3.96 4.72% 0.0672 0.51% However, of the five banks compared MT has one of the best market growth rates. Additionally, the poor placement of MT Bank on the BCG Matrix can be explained. Two of the banks, HSBC and PNC, currently reside in the top twenty banks nationally. As mentioned previously banks in the top twenty control 59% of total assets and 31% of the market share, thus, these two banks adversely skew the data. Furthermore, MT Bank is mid-market regional bank that competes on a regional (North Eastern States) level not on a national level. Figure 4 BCG Matrix Recommendations For MT Bank to remain successful they should concentrate on two areas of focus. The first area of focus should be on financial ratios. As stated previously, financial ratios are important in understanding the overall performance of the bank. Even though MT was one of the best performing banks through the Great Recession of 2008 they should strive to lower their loan to asset ratio. Their higher than average ratio can lead to the ultimate failure of MT. Secondly, the bank should focus of mergers and acquisitions to help maintain their competitive advantage. MTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s current small market size puts them at a potential disadvantage in comparison to their competition. Acquiring other banks would allow them further convey their idea of community banking. This gives customers the personal touch that many large commercial banks are not able to give. The examination of MT Bank versus its competitors at both a national and state level is important in understanding the banks s uccess. MT Bank has succeeded in out performing their competition through not only good economic times, but the same bad ones that have led to the failures of their competition. MTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s success is garnered in their mantra of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“community bankingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  and their ability to exploit their competitive advantage (Throwback, 2014). Works Cited Census Bureau Homepage. Census Bureau Homepage. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014. Commercial Bank. Investopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2014. Conte, C., Karr, A. R. (2001). An outline of the U.S. economy. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of State, International Information Programs. FDIC: Statistics on Depository Institutions. FDIC: Statistics on Depository Institutions. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2014. FRB: Large Commercial Banks June 30, 2013. FRB: Large Commercial Banks June 30, 2013. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2014. Loth, Richard. Financial Ratio Tutorial à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“ROAà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Retrieved October 23, 2009, from https://www.investopedia.com/university/ratios/profitability-indicator/ratio3.asp MT Bank Corporation About MT Bank Corporation. MT Bank Corporation About MT Bank Corporation. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2014. MT Bank Corporation MT Bank Approved to Open Canadian Commercial Banking Branch. MT Bank Corporation MT Bank Approved to Open Canadian Comme rcial Banking Branch. N.p., 07 June 2010. Web. 05 Mar. 2014. Rochester Business Journal. MT Acquires Delaware Bank for $351 Million. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2014. Throwback Approach Keeps Wilmers, MT on Top. American Banker RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2014.

Essay on An Analysis of “A Time For Choosing” - 2096 Words

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Analysis Of Jackpot Paradise Casino s Gaming Environment...

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Buddhist website Free Essays

string(139) " an interesting statistics on the Christian websites in regard to the goal of the website users in their accessing the religious websites\." The future exploratory study will identify how the multimedia factors contributing to Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) – graphic usage, audio/video usage, merchandise section, etc. – affect Thai user’s attitude toward Buddhist website. The dissertation also seeks to determine whether the abovementioned factors make user to have either positive or negative or indifferent attitude toward the site. We will write a custom essay sample on Buddhist website or any similar topic only for you Order Now The study will employ a two-part qualitative methodology, and the results, it is hoped, will lead to more informed policies for the assessment of Thai user’s attitude toward Buddhist websites. 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According to Alty, HCI is [†¦] a generic term that describes all the activities concerned with the research, design, analysis, development, implementation and evaluation of the interactions across the interface between computer applications and human beings (often called users or operators) who are interacting with the application. (Alty, 2003b, p. 228) An authentic website should be constructed according to the principle of user-centered design. It means that â€Å"the needs, capabilities and limitations of the intended users [should be] properly taken into account during the design process† (Alty, 2003a, p. 100). Among the Internet user interface capabilities and constraints affecting users’ perceptions Mayhew listed modem speed, browser capabilities, browser controls and interpreters, installed â€Å"helper applications† or â€Å"plug-ins,† windowing, direct manipulation, and color (2003, p. 11). Within the context of HCI, a website utilizes output (text, graphics, sound, music, speech, color, animation, still pictures, moving video) and input (text [keyboard, handwriting], gesture [mouse, pen, dataglove, eye-movement], audio [voice or sound]) media to produce an effect on the user. Most literature investigates the tokens of user-friendliness in regard to a website (Mayhew, 2003; Mayhew Bias, 2003; Opaluch, 2003; Boardman, 2004). Acknowledging the importance of this concept, Kurosu (2003) relied on cultural aspects of web usability such as â€Å"cultural variety† and â€Å"depth of culture† (p. 48). The researcher utilized Suzuki’s (1997) definition of the culture as â€Å"the response pattern shared by some specific group of people that is shaped through interaction with the environment† (Kurosu, 2003, p. 48) holding â€Å"the response pattern† as â€Å"how people will interact with the Website,† and â€Å"interaction with the environment† as â€Å"the interaction with the Website through the PC environment, including the browser. † Laney (1998) in his investigation of religious Christian Web sites relied on the Media System Dependency as well as uses and gratifications perspectives. Some researchers (Weeks Goodman, 2003; Proctor Vu, 2003) investigated HIC within the context of human information processing and perceptual-motor behavior, whereas the other group of scholars (van der Veer del Carmen, 2003; Yoshikawa, 2003) emphasized the mental modeling as the core of HCI. Finally, Brave Nass (2003) researched emotional implications of human-computer interaction. There is also a considerable body of research (Mayhew Bias, 2003; Carey, 2001; Steinbock, 2000; Varey, 2001) dedicated to the issues of e-commerce and marketing relating to websites. Taken into account the field of the present research, reaction of Thai users towards Buddhist websites, the abovestated mechanisms and structures of HCI with a stress of user-friendliness should be analyzed within the religious and cultural context. The relation to culture in terms of geographical location is distorted and made complex within the WWW context (Couldry McCarthy, 2004; Miller, 2004; Dodge Kitchin, 2001; Kurosu, 2003). Geographical boundaries (the areas where people confess Buddhism, Thailand as a state unity) do not coincide with cultural zones (Thai cultural identity) and virtual areas (the WWW). On the one hand, Thailand is ready to enter the global community with its rather developed media network (Hamilton, 2002; Mccargo, 2002). On the other hand, the Thai national cultural identity is of introvert type with its â€Å"assertion of distinctiveness in relation to a powerful external world of ‘others’† (Hamilton, 2002, p. 153). One should also take into consideration the cultural elements constituting the religion of Buddhism. Haynes (2003) stated that over 90 per cent of the Thais are Buddhists. In Thailand Buddhism is â€Å"the sasana pracham chat, that is, the ‘inherent’ national religion† and constitutes â€Å"an ideological basis and political legitimacy† for the state (Haynes, 2003, p. 365). However, Haynes (2003) noted that the role of the state religion is flexible and â€Å"open to debate† (ibid. ). Swearer emphasized the unusual orientation of Thai Buddhism towards â€Å"[t]he cult of relics, images, icons, and amulets† (2003, p. 10). The religion in Thailand became more â€Å"secular and commercial† (ibid. ). The discussion seems especially interesting when religious issues are projected onto the virtual reality in the form of a religious website. Miller Slater acknowledged â€Å"the coming together of a widespread interest in the spiritual implications of the technology, found in some of the cyberutopian literature, together with an interest in the use of the Internet on the part of established religions† (2000, p. 173). Laney (1998) noted that the simplification of web technologies and, thus, their cheapening contributed to the proliferation of religious websites. Unfortunately, the accessible literature concentrated on Christian websites with no comparison to other confessions. Last (2005) provided an interesting statistics on the Christian websites in regard to the goal of the website users in their accessing the religious websites. You read "Buddhist website" in category "Papers" According to the source, 32 percent of the web-surfers are interested in religious news, 17 percent search for places to worship, 14 percent plan religious group meetings via the Internet, and 7 percent donate to charity with the help of the WWW. Besides, 11 percent of Internet users download spiritual music, 35 percent send online greeting cards, and 38 percent email spiritual messages. Unfortunately, the statistics is rather modest in regard to Buddhist websites. Within the Thailand context, Hachigian Wu observed such HCI problems as â€Å"the lack of IT access in rural areas where most of the population lives, lack of literacy in English/lack of Thai content, incompatible systems in different parts of the government, and inadequate training of officials† (2003, p. 88). Most of the Buddhist websites found by a plain search via search engines (Yahoo, Google, etc. ) are written in English. Therefore, the present investigation is associated with difficulties in locating authentic sites for analysis. Problem definition It is true that literature about the WWW and general principles of website user interface (UI) design has grown lately. However, religious usage of websites is significantly underexplored. It is especially evident in regard to non-Christian religious websites. Religious website usage may contribute positively to the body of scholarly research on the motivations for religious Web use. The media being studied are Buddhist religious sites on the World Wide Web. Large investments are being made into the construction and development of religious websites on the Internet. A great proportion of Buddhist websites are written in English and seeks to meet cultural expectations of the Westerners. Laney (1998) once defined the problem for his investigation of Christian websites as the poorly researched motivations of the English-speaking visitors. The American scholar would be astonished at the â€Å"black hole† in regard to the motivations of Thai-speaking web-surfers whose driving desires and emotions relating to Buddhist websites are unexplored even to a greater extent. The present project seeks specifically to provide an exploratory study of Buddhist Thai-speaking website users and their motivations for using the religious Buddhist websites. Cultural theory as well as Mental Models theory and HCI theory construct a complex framework important for the present analysis. In order to investigate Thai users’ attitudes toward Buddhist websites the following theoretical framework was constructed. Three issues taken as independent variables are taken: graphics usage, audio/video usage, and e-marketing strategies in regard to Buddhist religious items. The first two issues are the types of output media whose effect on the user has been empirically proved. The issue of e-marketing is still being explored mainly from the perspective of user-centered design. A lot of elements may enter this concept including technical (e. g. , modem speed), user-oriented input (text, gesture, audio media), cultural (language, religion, country/nation) and other issues. The aforestated independent variables are supposed to affect (either positively, or negatively, or neutrally) the variable of website user’s perceptions. It is supposed here that graphics and multimedia elements do correlate with web-surfers’ emotions and attitudes. The second hypothesis is that religious background of a user (Buddhism) reinforces his/her positive/negative attitude toward Buddhist websites. In an effort to determine the presence/absence of correlation between website user design elements and Thai Buddhist users a revisit of previous implications of HCI and cultural paradigms is necessary. This research will attempt to provide a description of Thai Buddhism website usage. An additional purpose of this study is to identify the website design elements which positively/negatively affect the users of Buddhist religious websites. This study is an exploratory step in growing research on religious websites usage and the motivations for its use. Numerous studies will be required to obtain sufficient knowledge to fully understand this audience’s motivations and preferences for utilizing the most modern form of mediated religion. It is hoped that the present project will provide a starting point and contribute to the growing body of knowledge in regard to the Internet and its cultural and social significance. Bibliography 1. Dodge, M. Kitchin, R. (2001) Mapping cyberspace. London, Routledge. 2. Mccargo, D. (2002) Media and politics in Pacific Asia. London, Routledge. 3. Boardman, M. (2004) The language of websites. New York, Routledge. 4. Dennis, C. , Fenech, T. Merrilees, B. (2004) E-Retailing. New York, Routledge. 5. Steinbock, D. (2000) The birth of Internet marketing communications. Westport, CT, Quorum Books. 6. Varey, R. J. (2001) Marketing communication: An introduction to contemporary issues. New York, Routledge. 7. Miller, D. Slater, D. (2000) The Internet: An ethnographic approach. Oxford, Berg. 8. Hachigian, N. Wu, L. (2003) The Information Revolution in Asia. Santa Monica, CA, Rand. 9. Mayhew, D. J. (2003) The web as software. In: Ratner, J. ed. Human factors and web development. Mahwah, NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 3-19. 10. Kurosu, M. (2003) A cultural comparison of website design from a usability engineering perspective. In: Ratner, J. ed. Human factors and web development. Mahwah, NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 47-59. 11. Mayhew, D. J. Bias, R. G. (2003) Cost-justifying web usability. In: Ratner, J. ed. Human factors and web development. Mahwah, NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 63-87. 12. Opaluch, R. (2003) Usability metrics. In: Ratner, J. ed. Human factors and web development. Mahwah, NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 101-122. 13. Hamilton, A. (2002) The national picture: Thai media and cultural identity. In: Abu-Lughod, L. , Ginsburg, F. D. Larkin, B. ed. Media worlds: Anthropology on new terrain. Berkeley, CA, University of California Press, pp. 152-170. 14. Swearer, D. K. (2003) Aniconism versus iconism in Thai Buddhism. In: Heine, S. Prebish, C. S. ed. Buddhism in the modern world: Adaptations of an ancient tradition. New York, Oxford University Press, pp. 9-25. 15. Alty, J. L. (2003a) Databases, knowledge management and information retrieval. In: Feather, J. Sturges, P. ed. International Encyclopedia of Information and Library Science. New York, Routledge, pp. 100-101. 16. Alty, J. L. (2003b) Human-computer interaction. In: Feather, J. Sturges, P. ed. International Encyclopedia of Information and Library Science. New York, Routledge, pp. 228-230. How to cite Buddhist website, Papers

Network Design Proposal free essay sample

This paper will provide the recommendations for a network that will allow the connection of 50 different remote locations. Half of the remote locations will be required to connect with central headquarters 6 to 8 hours a day and send large files back and forth which consist of date, graphics and product design information including blueprints. The other 25 locations are sales offices and connect at the end of the day to upload daily/other periodic reports that total less than 5 megabytes of data. With the given research I have gathered, I recommend the following: LAN Each of the 50 LAN within the remote locations does not have a criteria within the question posed. A few things are taken as assumptions. The first assumption is that the 25 remote locations does not only need to have the ability to send files from to the central headquarters 6 to 8 hours a day but that it also needs the ability to send these files among themselves. We will write a custom essay sample on Network Design Proposal or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The network requirements also states that the other 25 locations only needs to connect to the central headquarters at the end of the day and upload files less than 5 megabytes to the central site. The second assumption is that at no point the sales site could convert to a site that would require the ability to send videos and other large files to each other. With these assumptions, I recommend the LAN to use an Ethernet protocol for the 25 sales sites. This protocol is the most widely used protocol as of today (Martin W. Murhammer, 1999). Ethernet is the most cost effective method to employ over the LAN network for the requirements given. Ethernet provides the equivalent to hitting a fly with a fly swatter, instead of using a mallet which would be done by using WAN protocols such as frame relay and ATM. Because this network would use a bus topology, we will use the access method of CSMA/CD to prevent packet lost (Martin W. Murhammer, 1999). This access method will allow computers to use the same transmission line and take turns sending information along that line. For the other 25 sites’ LAN, I recommend using the Token Ring Protocol. With the given criteria of staying connected to the central office, a main transmission line cannot be used. For the ability to stay connected, you would need a protocol that does not have to use the same transmission line for each computer to be able o get out to the WAN from the LAN. The LAN will have to use Multi-station access units to avoid the use sharing a single transmission line. WAN The recommendation for the WAN network could also be different between the two divisions of the locations. In order to connect to the central headquarters and upload date at the end of the day you would need a simple protocol so that packets are sent the mo re effective and quicker route. The assumption that is taken about the WAN connecting to the other sites is that all data is held at the central headquarters. I will also assume that there are servers located at all of the satellite sites to store data. I will assume data is off site at the central headquarters and can be retrieved at any site from a server at the central headquarters. In order to be able to connect to the central headquarters for 6 to 8 hours per day, you would need a protocol or connection with the ability to carry a lot of bandwidth. Circuit switching protocols can create a connection between the sites and the central headquarters. Circuit switching establishes a link between the two nodes that needs to be connected and send information back and forth. Advantages to circuit switching are its fast and error free connections (Kolobe, 2006). In order to accomplish this with packet switching you must have a protocol instituted that allows error free and high speed connection between the routers of each location. A comparison of Frame relay and the ATM protocol is needed to decide on the best option for packet switching if that is considered. Frame relay is a standard when connecting multiple LANs together. When using frame relay, virtual circuits can exist simultaneously across a transmission line. This allows each devise to use more bandwidth therefore the ability to work at higher speeds (Protocols). Frame relay uses error handling that discards erroneous packets to be retransmitted later instead of using time consuming error handling techniques (Protocols). The negative on this is that it further clogs the lines in the network causing more congestion and the need for more error handling controls. ATM protocol has a lot of advantages over frame relay. ATM is not tied to a specific medium and a specific physical medium (Greene, 2007). The ATM protocol is widely used for transferring large files that are a gigabyte in size. This ability to transmit that size of data efficiently allows it to be the choice to transmit videos throughout the network. The third type of connection is a dedicated WAN connection or leased line. This is a permanent dedicated connection between two parties (Computer Network, 2009). The advantages of a dedicated line are the high availability and the ability to handle high data traffic between WAN’s. The disadvantage is the high cost of leasing each line that is needed (Computer Network, 2009). My recommendation is the use packet switching for the communications between the LAN’s.