An economic indicator is a piece of economic data, typically on a macroeconomic scale, that analysts use to analyse current and prospective investment opportunities. These metrics can also be used to assess an economy’s overall health.
Economic indicators can be anything an investor wants, but specific data supplied by the government and non-profit groups has grown popular. Some examples of such indicators include, but are not limited to:
The Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Gross domestic product (GDP)
Unemployment figures
Price of crude oil
Economic Indicator Explained
Economic indicators are classified into groups or categories. Most of these economic indicators have a set publication schedule, allowing investors to anticipate and plan for certain data at specific times of the month and year.
Leading indicators are used to forecast an economy’s future movements, such as the yield curve, consumer durables, net business formations, and stock prices. These financial guideposts’ figures or data will shift or change before the economy, hence their category name. The information provided by these indicators should be taken with a grain of salt because it is possible that it is erroneous.
Coincident indicators, such as GDP, employment levels, and retail sales, are seen in conjunction with the occurrence of particular economic activities. This type of measure depicts the activity of a certain region or area. This real-time data is closely monitored by many policymakers and economists. Lagging indicators, such as the gross national product (GNP), the consumer price index (CPI), unemployment rates, and interest rates, are only visible after a certain economic activity has taken place. These data sets, as the name implies, show information after an event has occurred. This trailing indication is a technical indicator that appears following significant economic changes.
Economic Indicators and Their Interpretation
An economic indicator can only be beneficial if it is accurately interpreted. Economic growth, as measured by GDP, and corporate profit growth have historically had strong relationships. However, predicting whether a company’s earnings would expand solely on a single metric of GDP is practically impossible.
Interest rates, the gross domestic product, and existing house sales or other indicators are all objectively important. Why is it objectively significant? Because what you’re actually looking at is the cost of money, expenditure, investment, and the degree of activity in a significant part of the economy.
The Stock Market as an Indicator
Leading indicators predict where an economy will go in the future. The stock market is one of the most important leading indicators. Even while it isn’t the most important leading sign, it is the one that most people pay attention to. If earnings predictions are right, the market can reflect the economy’s trajectory because stock prices factor in forward-looking performance.
A strong market could indicate that profit estimates are rising, implying that total economic activity is increasing. A falling market, on the other hand, could imply that corporate earnings are projected to decrease. However, the stock market’s value as an indicator is limited because performance against estimates is not guaranteed, therefore there is a risk.
Ratan Naval Tata is the Chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Group, and is one of India’s most well-known and respected industrialists. Tata, who is 73 years old, is the chairman of one of the country’s largest conglomerates, which includes approximately 100 companies with a combined revenue of USD 67 billion. Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Teleservices, Tata Power, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Tea, Tata Chemicals, and The Indian Hotels Company are among his key Tata firms.
Tata was born on December 28, 1937, into one of Mumbai’s wealthiest families. Jamsedji Tata, the Tata group’s founder, was his great grandpa. Tata had a tumultuous life following his parents’ divorce when he was a child. Lady Navajbai, his grandmother, nurtured him in the lap of luxury at Tata Palace. The Tata scion was captivated by America, and he attended Cornell University to study architecture and structural engineering. Later, he attended Harvard University for a management course.
He joined the Tata Group in 1962, and his first position was with the Tata Steel division in Jamshedpur, where he worked with blue-collar workers shoveling stone and operating furnaces. In 1971, he was named Director-in-Charge of the National Radio and Electronics Company Limited (Nelco), and he was successful in bringing the company around.
Tata rose through the ranks of Tata Industries to become Chairman and was a driving force behind a slew of reforms. Tata Consultancy Services went public under his leadership, and Tata Motors was listed on the New York Stock Exchange, giving it greater international strength and prestige. He is recognised with directing the Tata Group’s successful bid for Corus, an Anglo-Dutch steel and aluminium company, as well as the Ford Company’s Jaguar and Land Rover brands.
During his leadership, the company saw the birth of the ‘Indica,’ India’s first fully Indian car. Tata was the designer of the vehicle. Tata’s food division purchased tea company Tetley for GBP 70 million in 2000. The group’s revenues increased nearly 12-fold in 2009-10, totaling USD 67.4 billion. Tata is also a member of the boards of Fiat SpA and Alcoa, as well as the international advisory boards of Mitsubishi Corporation, American International Group, JP Morgan Chase, Rolls Royce, Temasek Holdings, and the Singapore Monetary Authority.
He was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Indian government in the year 2000. Ohio State University awarded him an honorary doctorate in business administration, the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok awarded him an honorary doctorate in technology, and the University of Warwick awarded him an honorary doctorate in science. Tata’s personal fortune is around GBP 300 million, and he controls less than 1% of the conglomerate. Charitable trusts own about two-thirds of Tata Group, which helps to fund good causes.
During the 26/11 attacks, Tata offered a magnificent example of charity and leadership. He stood alone outside the Taj hotel, unarmed, and oversaw the actions aimed at assisting the victims. He shown his humanity by paying personal visits to the families of all 80 colleagues murdered or injured. He didn’t leave any stone unturned in his efforts to help the victims, even asking the victims’ families and dependents what they wanted him to do.
Tata has begun making arrangements for his post-retirement life, despite the fact that his retirement is still a year away. He intends to establish an international design centre with international standards and size. He has led the development of a number of groundbreaking designs and products, the most well-known of which is Nano. His concern for the safety of nuclear families commuting on two-wheelers inspired him to create Nano. He was the one who suggested that the little car just have one wiper on the windscreen. Its pricing and maintenance costs were decreased as a result.
He also spearheaded a strategy to deliver affordable and safe drinking water, and aided a group of Pune-based designers in developing Swach, a water filter that costs less than Rs 1,000. This 560-mm water purification device was created over the course of more than three years by Design Directions Private Limited.
Tata, who is a bachelor in real life, values privacy and avoids the limelight. Only CDs, books, and pets keep him company. In an unassuming Tata sedan, the business baron drives himself to work.
Ratan Tata, who stands tall among his peers with a tremendous fortune and global fame, has remarkably never made the Forbes billionaires list.
Despite the fact that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, the global beauty industry has never lost its allure. Along with its steady growth, the industry has amassed a dedicated consumer base that spans decades. What female doesn’t enjoy applying cosmetics? Cosmetics play an important role in all of our lives, from learning makeup tutorials to experimenting with different colours on free days, to adorning ourselves before a wedding or an event, or simply putting on a fast light application before work.
But we’ve come a long way from the days when consumers had to go to a cosmetic store in person. Why should brick-and-mortar stores be the sole option when there are now online cosmetics stores that allow clients to order things at any time and from anywhere.
Despite the fact that the Indian economy has hit unprecedented lows in recent months as a result of the COVID19 pandemic-induced shutdown, a handful of platforms have remained stable.
Nykaa is one of these e-commerce platforms for beauty and wellness products, and it has quickly become the preferred option for all cosmetic aficionados in India. Anyone who has even a passing interest in beauty and wellness products has probably heard of Nykaa at some time in their lives. This is an e-commerce site that specialises in cosmetics and beauty products. This platform, which was founded in 2012, has played a critical part in dispelling the idea that e-commerce and beauty retail do not do well in India.
Nykaa has recently become a household name across the country following the launch of its initial public offering (IPO) and the overwhelming response it received, propelling its founder Falguni Nayar into India’s elite group of self-made billionaire women, with her net worth rising to $6.5 billion following Nykaa’s record listing, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
We will provide you an overview of Nykaa’s platform, its creators, its business model, its funding, its success story, its inception, and its growth through this blog.
Nykaa’s Background
Nykaa is an Indian cosmetics company that specialises in multi-beauty and personal care items. It started off as a solo e-commerce platform before expanding into a variety of retail locations across the country.
For both women and men, the company specialises in providing a broad variety of cosmetics, skincare, haircare, perfumes, bath & body, luxury, and wellness items. The portal, which claims to receive more than 1.5 million visitors per month from across India, permits adequately prepared and priced branded products.Nykaa now has three types of stores: Luxe, On Trend, and Kiosks. Nykaa’s Luxe stores contain more premium and luxury brands such as Estee Lauder, Dior, Huda Beauty, and M.A.C Cosmetics, among others, whereas Nykaa On Trend goods are limited to trending and fashionable names.
Aside from women’s beauty, the Nykaa Man website and app, as well as Nykaa Network, an online community for beauty enthusiasts, offer a variety of grooming products for males. Currently, the organisation is a staunch believer in focusing on the vertical market.
Founders of Nykaa
Falguni Nayar, an MBA graduate from IIM Ahmedabad, began working in investment banking at Kotak Mahindra immediately after graduation. She was promoted to Managing Director of the same bank division in 2005.
She worked for Kotak Mahindra for nearly 18 years, during which time she decided to branch out from banking and try her hand at other fields.
She saw the untapped potential of the online beauty industry. Since there was a scarcity of accessible online brands and things that people could trust and purchase with confidence at the time, she saw an opportunity for Nykaa.
She wanted to change Indian women’s perceptions about personal grooming because she was passionate about makeup and beauty products. Nykaa was founded in 2012 by her with the goal of creating something unique to her.
Nykaa’s Beginnings
Nykaa was founded in 2012, and it all started there. Falguni Nayar was looking for a promising business opportunity in India when she discovered an inconsistency in the beauty items market in India, which wasn’t up to par with the product’s scope in other countries such as France or Japan, despite high demand, owing to a lack of product availability in many places. As a result, she and her husband, Sanjay Nayar, founded Nykaa.
Business Model of Nykaa
Nykaa’s inventory methodology is essentially what distinguishes it from its competitors. The products are obtained through brands and distributors and then sold directly to consumers in this arrangement. This is in contrast to a marketplace model, in which third-party vendors offer the products. Nykaa will be able to keep a tighter grip on its items as a result of this, reducing the chances of forged things making their way onto the platform.
Nykaa’s Recent Growth
As reported by Your Story, recently in the month of July of this year, the platform stated that it’s in-house brand Nykaa Beauty has now penetrated into travel care as well as home necessities.
Nykaa’s platform has come a long way since its inception in 2012, and it currently plays an important part in the advancement of the beauty industry.
Nykaa currently has over 5 million monthly active users, 80 outlets across India, and over 500 brands and 130,000 products available via its website, app, and stores, according to CNBCTV18.
The company’s transformation from an online approach to an omnichannel retail model has been a critical factor in its growth. This transformation has had a significant impact on how the brand is currently perceived by its audience, as well as allowing the brand to reach out to a previously untapped demographic.
According to the Economic Times, the Nykaa Fashion label has recently expanded into the intimate apparel area with its Nykd brand. On October 22, 2021, Nykaa announced the acquisition of Dot & Key Wellness, a domestic skincare platform.
Customers are gravitating toward key categories like personal skin and hair care, according to Nykaa.
Nykaa’s Initial Public Offering
The platform’s initial public offering (IPO) was open for subscription from October 28 to November 1, with a price range of Rs 1,085-1,125 per share. Nykaa’s initial public offering (IPO) was oversubscribed by 81.78 times the 2.64 crore shares available.
Investors reacted positively to Nykaa’s initial public offering (IPO) when it was made available for subscription. The platform was launched on the BSE and NSE on November 10 and entered the 1 lakh crore market capitalization club when its stocks closed at 2,206.70, nearly double the issue price, valuing the beauty firm at about $14 billion.
Nykaa Investments is a company that invests in startups.
Nykaa’s parent firm, FSN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd, said on October 27th 2021 that it had raised roughly Rs 2,396 crore from anchor investors prior to its IPO.
Fidelity Management & Research Company has previously invested an undisclosed amount in the platform in late November 2020.
In early April of 2020, the platform received a new $13 million fundraising round from previous investor Steadview Capital, cementing its status as a unicorn.
Steadview Capital, TPG Growth, and Lighthouse Funds are among the platform’s top investors.
Conclusion
Nykaa has recently launched a number of new items, some of which have celebrity endorsements. In addition, they have included a number of new collections into their personal brand.
The platform has a number of big plans in the works to make a difference in the beauty and fashion business, and it’s been focusing on delivering high-quality items and services to users at reasonable prices. The platform has a lot of promise in terms of developing and gaining a more dominant position in the future.
Emotional Intelligence or Intellectual Intelligence: Which is More Important in the Workplace?
Among all the good qualities that effective leaders bring to the workplace, research has proven that our emotional intelligence is more reliable than our IQ in predicting overall success (EI). EI is described as the ability to perceive and effectively manage our own and others’ personal emotions.
What is the Importance of Emotional Intelligence?
A strong proclivity for emotional intelligence, according to research published in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, improves one’s ability to make sound decisions, build and sustain collaborative relationships, deal effectively with stress, and cope to a greater degree with constant change. To wit, it enables an individual not only to perform well in the workplace, but also in accomplishing various other goals and objectives in his or her life.
What are the Benefits of Emotional Intelligence for Managers?
EI is also important for workplace conflict resolution, which entails being able to guide others through uncomfortable circumstances, politely bringing issues to the surface, and establishing solutions that everyone can agree on. Leaders who take the time to comprehend other points of view attempt to find a middle ground in conflicts. You can try to make others feel heard by paying attention to how others respond to one another, which will make them more open to compromise.
What is the Importance of Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace?
Emotional intelligence in the workplace begins with each individual from the inside out.. It entails understanding different parts of your feelings and emotions, as well as devoting time to developing self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. The online Master of Arts in Leadership (MAL) degree from Ottawa University provides you with the tools to assess and analyse your emotional intelligence levels. You’ll also learn ways for increasing your emotional intelligence at various phases of your career.
The 5 Elements of EI by Goleman
So, how does emotional intelligence play a role in workplace leadership? Emotional intelligence contains five critical parts, according to Daniel Goleman, an American psychologist and author of the breakthrough book “Emotional Intelligence.” When controlled, these elements enable leaders achieve a greater level of emotional intelligence.
Self-Awareness
Emotional intelligence includes the ability to detect and understand one’s own emotions. Being aware of the impact of your behaviours, moods, and emotions on others goes beyond simply acknowledging your emotions. You must be able to monitor your own emotions, recognise different emotional reactions, and accurately name each feeling in order to become self-aware. Self-conscious people are also aware of the connections between their feelings and their actions.
Self-Regulation
The ability to control and manage your emotions, which isn’t to mean that you’re putting your emotions on hold and disguising your genuine feelings. It merely entails waiting for the appropriate moment and location to express them. It’s all about expressing your emotions in a healthy way when it comes to self-regulation. Self-regulators are more adaptable and versatile in their approach to change. They’re also skilled at defusing stressful or challenging situations and managing conflict.
Motivation
In emotional intelligence, intrinsic motivation is also important. People who are emotionally intelligent are motivated by factors other than monetary gain, recognition, or acclaim. Instead, they are driven by a desire to meet their own personal demands and objectives.
Empathy Empathy – or the ability to comprehend how others are experiencing – is an essential component of emotional intelligence. However, it entails more than merely being able to perceive others’ emotional states. It also includes how you respond to others based on the information you’ve gathered. How do you react when you notice someone is unhappy, depressed, or disheartened? You may show them more care and concern, or you could make an attempt to cheer them up.
Social Skills Another key part of emotional intelligence is the ability to interact well with people. True emotional knowledge entails more than just thinking about your own and others’ feelings. You must also be able to apply this knowledge in your everyday interactions and conversations. Managers gain from being able to form relationships and connections with their staff in professional situations. Workers gain from being able to form strong bonds with their supervisors and coworkers. Active listening, vocal communication skills, nonverbal communication skills, leadership, and persuasiveness are all important social skills.
Given all of these considerations, it’s easy to see why emotional intelligence is important in the workplace. If this research-based theory piques your interest as a business professional, a graduate degree in leadership might be perfect for you. Ottawa University’s online Master of Arts in Leadership programme is the best, fastest, and most economical in Kansas City. The Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) has granted this competitive programme accreditation, indicating the excellent quality of business education provided. Ottawa University and its online programmes have been ranked near the top of the best colleges in Kansas City by U.S. News & World Report.
Gender inequality is visible in girls’ and boys’ homes and communities on a daily basis — in textbooks, the media, and among the adults who care for them.
Parents may shoulder disproportionate home responsibilities, with females shouldering the burden of caregiving and chores. Women make up the bulk of low-skilled and underpaid community health workers who work with children, with few opportunities for advancement.
In addition, many females receive less help in school than boys in order to pursue the studies they choose. This occurs for a number of reasons: Girls’ safety, hygiene, and sanitation needs may be overlooked, preventing them from attending class on a regular basis. Gender disparities in learning and skill development are also a result of discriminatory teaching styles and educational resources. As a result, approximately one out of every four girls between the ages of 15 and 19 is unemployed or in school or training, compared to one out of every ten boys.
Gender inequalities in early childhood, however, are minor. Girls have a better rate of survival at birth, are more likely to be on track developmentally, and are equally as likely to attend preschool. In every country where data is available, girls exceed boys in reading among those who reach secondary school.
Adolescence, on the other hand, can provide substantial challenges for females’ well-being. Unwanted pregnancies, HIV and AIDS, and malnutrition are all increased by gender stereotypes and discrimination. Girls are shut off from the information and equipment they need to stay healthy and safe, especially in emergency situations and locations where menstruation is still taboo.
Gender discrimination can become violent in its most insidious form. Around 13 million girls between the ages of 15 and 19 have been subjected to forced sex. Adolescent girls are the most vulnerable to gender-based violence in both peace and conflict. Hundreds of millions of girls around the world are still subjected to child marriage and female genital mutilation, despite the fact that both have been recognised as human rights crimes internationally. And violence can occur during childbirth, especially in areas where female infanticide is a problem.
At the highest levels, harmful gender norms are promoted. In other nations, laws and policies that fail to safeguard – or even violate – girls’ rights, such as laws prohibiting women from inheriting property, become established. Gender norms affect boys as well: social ideas of masculinity can fuel child labour, gang violence, school dropouts, and armed group recruitment.
What Progress has been made for Girls and Young Women?
Despite significant obstacles that continue to deny them equal rights, girls are unafraid to pursue their dreams. The globe has seen unequal progress since the signing of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 1995 – the most comprehensive policy agenda for gender equality.
Girls are attending and completing school in greater numbers, and fewer are marrying or becoming moms while still children. Discrimination and stereotypes persist, however. Girls face new problems as a result of technological advancements and humanitarian crises, while old ones — violence, entrenched biases, and limited learning and life chances – endure.
That is why young women from all areas of life are speaking out against inequity. Stopping child marriage and female genital mutilation, demanding action on climate change, and breaking new ground in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) are all examples of girl-led groups asserting their authority as global change-makers.
The suffocating sensation of your heart pounding and sinking, the feeling that there is nothing good around you and that you are continually imprisoned in a circle of negativity. This is something that we have all experienced at some point in our lives. Especially in light of the current situation, where the entire planet is on the verge of collapsing due to a virus, every occurrence sends shivers down the spines of practically everyone. We can’t deny that the current situation is having an impact on our emotional and mental health, but we also can’t give in and lose our spark in these trying times. We must gather our resources and fortify our resolve.
Nobody can tell you that being anxious is abnormal. What isn’t natural is succumbing to it and allowing your anxiety to rule you. You’ll need to gather your thoughts and get a handle on the problem before you can figure out how to cope with it. Anxiety is associated with feelings of despair, pessimism, and agitation, yet there are various ways to overcome it.
Nobody can tell you that being anxious is abnormal. What isn’t natural is succumbing to it and allowing your anxiety to rule you. You’ll need to gather your thoughts and get a handle on the problem before you can figure out how to cope with it. Anxiety is associated with feelings of despair, pessimism, and agitation, yet there are various ways to overcome it.
1. Mindfulness
When you feel like everything around you is spinning out of control and you need some time to step back and reflect on your life. Close your eyes and meditate while sitting calmly in fresh air. Meditation is a state of relaxation in which your body is put on hold and all of your muscles relax. The blood pressure drops, and you can feel your thoughts all the way down to your bones. You don’t need to have a clear mind right now; the thoughts that are bothering you need to be acknowledged, and only then will they be expelled from your system.Take a few deep breaths to relax and feel all of the stress leave your body. Be open to all of the positive energies that are all around you.
Meditation is an excellent approach to reduce stress and quiet a racing mind. It is the simplest method to set aside some time to address and eliminate the things that cause you anxiety.
2. Get some rest
A good sleeping routine is required to equip your body to withstand all of life’s instabilities. As simple as it may appear, only those who suffer from anxiety difficulties understand how tough it is to go asleep when your thoughts are continuously bothering you. Anxiety causes insomnia and prevents people from falling into a deep slumber where they are free of all their worries and thoughts. But, as a last note, if you hit the hay and are able to sleep nonetheless, there is a greater possibility that when you wake up, you will feel relaxed and refreshed.
‘A good night’s sleep is the bridge between despair and hope,’ as the saying goes. So, do the same and try to fall asleep, allowing your body and mind to recover on their own.
3. Communicate with your loved ones.
There is nothing more therapeutic than sitting down with your family, close friends, or loved ones and having a great talk with them about all the serious and random things that come up. You can moan, rant, and express your insecurities and thoughts, and after a while, you’ll find a heavy load of anxiety lifting from your shoulders. It is always recommended to people who are dwelling into the phase of anxiety to have a few people in their life who can be their 3 Am friends and can lend an ear to all the venting sessions to help them calm down.
Having a full-fledged conversation involving various shades of emotions helps in calming the mind as well as lightens the mood to its best.
‘A good night’s sleep is the bridge between despair and hope,’ as the saying goes. So, do the same and try to fall asleep, allowing your body and mind to recover on their own.
4. Treat yourself to a spa day.
It never hurts to indulge yourself. Even if you’re in the midst of a bad mood, a little self-pampering can completely transform your mood. It is not necessary to go all out, but a little something goes a long way. Give yourself a pedicure/manicure, take a hot shower, mask, and wear your favourite dress with subtle make-up to notice how this changes the entire dismal attitude into one of self-love.
‘A good night’s sleep is the bridge between despair and hope,’ as the saying goes. So, do the same and try to fall asleep, allowing your body and mind to recover on their own.
Anxiety is a mental illness, and sitting in a corner and obsessively thinking about it isn’t going to assist you at all. Instead, make an effort to do something that makes you feel wonderful and energised.
5. Relax and let go
This is a skill that we all need to master: letting go. You have no control over your cognitive process, and you never know what will trigger you at any given moment. There are a number of factors that make you anxious, and you have no control over them. The greatest approach to get rid of all these ideas and reflections is to scribble them down on a piece of paper. You must let go of everything that is bothering you on the inside and is affecting your mental well-being. And writing it out on paper and clearing your mind of all the toxicity will help you feel better in every way.
Writing is the best way to express oneself, and using it to liberate yourself from all the thinking thoughts in your head is one of the most effective ways to do so.
These were the five most straightforward methods for dealing with anxiety and overcoming it. Anxiety leads to sadness, and the only way to avoid slipping into this pit is to face your problems head on and deal with them as effectively as possible.
Anyone who notices a loved one showing signs of anxiety disorders needs to be empathic towards them so that they can be guided through the process with the utmost care and concern. If you believe they require professional care, do not hesitate to contact a psychologist or therapist to assist them in maintaining their mental health.
We hope that we were able to shed some light on the various approaches of dealing with anxiety problems. None of us is an expert or a licensed psychologist, so these suggestions are just based on our own personal experiences. They might work for some and might not for others, make sure to leave your comments down below if any of these were useful for you to relax your mind and soul and proved to be therapeutic for you.
Many teenagers’ lives are dominated by social media. According to a 2018 Pew Research Center survey of almost 750 13- to 17-year-olds, 45 percent of them are almost always online, and 97 percent use a social media platform like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat But how does social media use affect teenagers?
The Advantages of Social Media
Teens can use social media to establish online identities, engage with others, and form social networks. These networks can be extremely beneficial to youth, especially those who are socially excluded, have impairments, or suffer from chronic illnesses.
Social media is also used by teenagers for enjoyment and self-expression. Furthermore, the platforms can educate kids on a range of topics, including healthy behaviors, by exposing them to current events, allowing them to interact across geographic barriers, and exposing them to current events. Humorous or distracting social media, as well as social media that gives a genuine connection to peers and a large social network, may even help kids avoid sadness.
Social Media Harms
Social media use can also negatively affect teens, distracting them, disrupting their sleep, and exposing them to bullying, rumor spreading, unrealistic views of other people’s lives and peer pressure.
The risks might be related to how much social media teens use. A 2019 study of more than 6,500 12- to 15-year-olds in the U.S. found that those who spent more than three hours a day using social media might be at heightened risk for mental health problems. Another 2019 study of more than 12,000 13- to 16-year-olds in England found that using social media more than three times a day predicted poor mental health and well-being in teens.
Other research has found a link between excessive social media use and depression or anxiety symptoms. Greater social media use, midnight social media use, and emotional involvement in social media — such as feeling upset when unable to go on — were all connected to poor sleep quality and higher levels of anxiety and despair in a 2016 research of more than 450 teenagers.
The influence of social media may also be determined by how teens utilise it. According to a 2015 study, social comparison and feedback seeking by teenagers on social media and telephones is associated with depressed symptoms. Furthermore, a tiny 2013 study indicated that older teenagers who used social media passively, such as by just looking at other people’s images, had lower life satisfaction. These declines did not affect those who utilised social media to communicate with others or upload their own content.
And, according to a previous study on the impact of social media on undergraduate college students, the longer they used Facebook, the stronger their opinion that others were happier than they were. However, the more time students spent socialising with their peers, the less they felt this way.
Experts believe that kids who post information on social media are at danger of disclosing intimate images or highly personal stories due to their impulsive natures. Teens may be bullied, harassed, or even blackmailed as a result of this. Teens frequently make posts without thinking about the repercussions or privacy issues.
Protecting your Teen
You can take steps to encourage ethical social media use and mitigate some of its negative impacts. Consider the following suggestions:
Set sensible boundaries: Discuss with your teen how to keep social media from interfering with his or her activities, sleep, food, or homework. Encourage teens to follow a sleep ritual that excludes the use of electronic media, and keep cellphones and tablets out of their rooms. Set a good example by adhering to these guidelines.
Keep an eye on your teen’s social media profiles: Let your teen know that you’ll be reviewing his or her social media accounts on a frequent basis. You should try to perform it at least once a week. Make certain you complete the task.
Describe what isn’t acceptable: Encourage your kid not to gossip, spread rumours, bully, or harm someone’s reputation, whether online or off. Discuss what is proper and safe to publish on social media with your teen.
Encourage your pals to interact with you in person: This is especially crucial for teenagers who are prone to social anxiety.
Talk about social media: Discuss your own social media usage. Inquire about your teen’s use of social media and how it makes him or her feel. Remind your adolescent that social media is full of unreasonable expectations.
Every business’s story usually includes the four stages of a corporate life cycle. The specifics, as well as the length of time a corporation spends in each, will differ. Some businesses will experience setbacks or readjustments, forcing them to return to a former stage. Others, on the other hand, may take a different approach to the final stages. In this post, we go through what happens at each stage of the corporate life cycle in greater depth.
What is the Life Cycle of a Company?
A corporate life cycle is the progression of a company’s growth and development from its inception to its eventual demise, which can occur in a variety of ways. A business’s life cycle is divided into four stages:
Startup stage
Growth and establishment stage
Maturity stage
Decline or exit
Startup Stage
This is the stage at which the company begins planting, developing, or launching its product or providing services to customers. This can be separated into two parts: pre-launch research and fund-raising, and post-launch product or service production and launch.
The start-up stage spans the time between when a business is founded and when it reaches its first key degree of stability. The company’s founder creates prototypes or pilots, solicits and analyses comments, and seeks out potential investors or sources of funding at the start of this stage.
Other aspects of the start-up stage include:
Financial: The primary purpose of this stage is to secure funding. Owners require finances in order to rent space, purchase raw materials, pay employees, and purchase advertising. Due to the necessity to pay for capital inputs, startup costs are typically substantial, and profit will most certainly lag behind sales.
Personnel: Typically, the owner is the face and name of the company, and their identity is often confused with that of the brand. All significant decisions are made by the owner or owners, who, in the case of small beginning enterprises, play various responsibilities. They may create their own marketing materials, run their own social media accounts, manufacture or provide services, and keep track of their finances.
Goal: At this stage, the most important goals are to gain awareness and attract enough clients to fund the costs of running the business. Another goal is to constantly and swiftly refine the company’s offerings in order to respond to market changes.
Stages of Development and Establishment
The company has begun to generate steady income at this point, and both cash flow and revenue have improved. Redefining goals, reorganising departments, establishing an unified marketing plan, and beginning to explore community and business relationships are all good things to do now. Also, at this time, a distinct company culture may have evolved.
The following are some features of the growth and establishment stage:
Financial: Financially, the company’s profits should readily support wages and overhead at this time. Sales are likely to rise, and profit margins are likely to widen as the company continues to pay off capital investments and loans.
Personnel: Owners become more strategic in their hiring. This is when business leaders assemble teams to whom they entrust their vision and message communication. This necessitates clearly defining duties and responsibilities, as well as carefully hiring personnel who are capable of doing them. This will provide the owner more time and bandwidth to deepen existing client connections while also exploring new opportunities with potential clients and partners.
Goals: Profit and brand-driven goals are the primary objectives at this level. The company wants to be profitable in order to attract extra funding for expansion. It also aspires to increase its market share and strengthen its position.
Maturity Level
Sales may have reached a halt at this point, and earnings should remain stable. A corporate structure with levels of hierarchy and clearly defined positions is normally in place. The company has a well-defined business model and has a steady stream of clients and consumers, with new accounts being added on a regular basis. This may be the ultimate goal for several business owners. For many businesses, the expansion phase is when they look to expand their product line, launch new services, branch out into a new field, or enter a new geographic market.
This stage also has the following characteristics:
Financial: This stage is marked by slow but steady increases in profits and revenue, though the direction of the gain may start to flatten out as competitors and new entrants compete for market share. This is also the time to take advantage of that expansion by combining and utilising available money for expansion—almost like a second stage of the first. If a large-scale expansion is in the works, this could be the time when the company brings in new investors to help fund the project.
Personnel: Management and senior managers may be fully entrenched in their roles at this point.This stage also has the following characteristics: Managers are in charge of departments, and they have specific guidelines. Owners sometimes remove themselves from the equation at this stage as the needs of the firm change, employing individuals to run the company totally so they can focus on new initiatives or new directions within the same company.
Goals: At this stage, a mature company’s goals are focused on reinvention in order to stay relevant in a rapidly changing field.
Accept or Decline
This phase of the corporate life cycle could be viewed as a conclusion or a new beginning. Businesses frequently have two options: expand the business to the point of reinvention or withdraw completely, either by selling the company or handing over complete management to executives. There will be some overall change if the decision is taken to keep the company. Perhaps fresh branding, packaging, or a newly redesigned product to breathe new life into an old favourite.
Financial: At this point, business owners can go in a variety of directions. They can either reinvest in the firm to restart the growth cycle, or they can cash out by selling the company to another company or to the current management. Despite the fact that revenues appear to be stable at this point, practically all businesses will eventually find themselves sharing the market with competitors.
Personnel: The company has dispersed leadership at this time, and departments can operate within well-organized structures.
Goals: The fundamental purpose of this stage of the corporate life cycle is strategic planning. The owner and management must decide whether to continue the same, expand and evolve, or sell the business.
The Gurukul was India’s first educational system. It was a residential schooling system that began approximately 5000 BC, in which the shisya (student) and guru (teacher) lived in the guru’s ashram (residence) or in close vicinity. This allows for the development of an emotional attachment prior to the transmission of knowledge. The ancient Sanskrit language was used as a means of communication.
The foundation of learning was not just reading books and memorising facts, but a child’s well-rounded, holistic development. Their mental, cognitive, physical, and spiritual well-being were all considered. Religion, holy scriptures, medicine, philosophy, warfare, statecraft, astrology, and other topics were covered.
The focus was on instilling human values in students, such as self-reliance, appropriate behaviour, empathy, creativity, and strong moral and ethical principles. The goal was for knowledge to be applied in the future to develop solutions to real-world challenges.
The Gurukul students’ six educational goals are as follows:
The acquisition of highest knowledge: The Gurukul education system’s ultimate goal was to understand Brahma (God) and the universe beyond sensual pleasures in order to achieve immortality.
Character development: The student developed will-power, which is a necessity for excellent character, as a result of their study of the Vedas (old scriptures), allowing them to develop a more positive attitude and outlook on life.
Development in all areas: The optimum approach for entire living was thought to be learning to withdraw the senses inside and practising introversion. While completing various jobs at the Gurukul, pupils were able to become aware of the inner workings of the mind, as well as their responses and reactions.
Social virtues: The learner was motivated to only tell the truth and avoid deception and lying by training his body, mind, and heart. This was regarded as the pinnacle of human morality. They were also encouraged to believe in charitable giving, which made them more socially responsible.
Spiritual development: Ancient literature, especially Yagyas, recommend introversion as the best approach for spiritual development (rituals). As a result, the learner spent time in reflection and isolation from the outside world in order to gain self-knowledge and self-realisation by looking fully within himself.
Students presented food to a pedestrian or a guest once a year as part of their cultural education. This act was regarded as a sacrifice comparable to one’s social and religious obligations to others.
India’s Educational Statistics and Facts
Every child between the ages of three and eighteen is entitled to free and compulsory education under India’s Right to Education Act 2020.
According to India’s education statistics, over 26% of the population (1.39 billion) is between the ages of 0 and 14, which presents a significant opportunity for the primary education sector.
Furthermore, approximately 500 million people, or 18% of the population, are between the ages of 15 and 24, offering for prospects for expansion in India’s secondary and higher education institutions.
According to the Indian education data, the literacy rate for adults (15+ years) in India is 69.3%, with male literacy at 78.8% and female literacy at 59.3%.
Kerala has the highest literacy rate in India, with 96.2 percent as of 2018.
The University of Delhi is the most well-known Indian higher education institution, followed by the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.
In the 2019 English Proficiency Index, India was ranked 34 out of 100 countries, allowing for easy distribution of educational materials that satisfy Universal standards.
Goals for India’s educational future
India joined the United Nations’ E9 programme in April 2021, which aims to build a digital learning and skills initiative for marginalised children and youth, particularly girls.
The Indian government allotted a budget of US7.56 billion towards school education and literacy in the Union Budget 2021-22.
India’s higher education system is expected to feature more than 20 universities among the top 200 universities in the world by 2030. With an annual research and development (R&D) budget of US$140 billion, it is expected to be among the top five countries in the world in terms of research production.
What is the present Indian Educational System like?
It is obvious that modern Indian education differs from that of the “Gurukula.” The curriculum is generally taught in English or Hindi, and computer technology and skills have been integrated into learning systems. The focus is more on competitive examinations and grades than moral, ethical, and spiritual education.
In the 1830s, Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay introduced the modern school system to India for the first time. Metaphysics and philosophy were deemed unnecessary in favour of “modern” subjects like science and mathematics.
Until July 2020, India’s education system was based on the 10+2 system, which awarded a Secondary School Certificate (SSC) after finishing class 10th and a Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) after finishing class 12th.
This has been replaced by the 5+3+3+4 system as a result of the new National Education Policy (NEP). The phases have been divided to correspond to the stages of cognitive growth that a kid goes through naturally.
India’s obligatory education system is divided into four levels.
1. Establishing a foundation According to the NEP, the five-year foundational stage of education consists of three years of preschool followed by two years of primary school. This stage will include the development of linguistic abilities as well as age-appropriate play or activity-based strategies.
We have a course called English in Early Childhood: Learning Language Through Play for people working in early education that can help you understand the importance of play in language development and how to use play to teach language skills to children in a fun way. With our free online course, you can also learn how to Prevent and Manage Infections in Childcare and Pre-School.
2. Stage of preparation This three-year stage will continue to emphasise verbal development while also emphasising numeracy abilities. Classroom interactions will also be activity-based, with a strong emphasis on the aspect of discovery.
3. The middle stage The three-year focus moves to critical learning objectives, such as experiential learning in the sciences, mathematics, arts, social sciences, and humanities, for classes six through eight.
4. The second stage Students in grades 9 and 10, as well as grades 11 and 12, have a range of subject combinations to pick from and study, depending on their talents and interests.
Critical thinking, an open mind, and flexibility in the cognitive process are all encouraged at this level. Our course Volunteering in the Classroom: Bringing STEM Industry into Schools will boost your students’ thinking abilities while also encouraging their interest in the subject of STEM, which has a large skills deficit and hence has a great employment potential.
Higher education In India
At the undergraduate stage, students can choose to study at this level from age 18 onwards. The majority of students attend a free public college or university, while others choose a private institution for their education. Indian college and university degrees in the field of agriculture, engineering, pharmaceutics and technology usually take four years to complete. Law, medicine and architecture can take up to five years.
Post-graduate study in India
Known as master’s courses or doctorate degrees, they can take from two up to three years to complete, respectively. Post-graduate education in India is largely provided by universities, followed by colleges and the majority of students are women. Post-graduate study allows students to specialise in a chosen field and conduct large amounts of research.
Adult education India
Adult education aims to improve literacy and move illiterate adults over the age of 21 along the path to knowledge. The National Literacy Mission Authority (NLMA) in India is in charge of supporting and promoting adult literacy programmes.
Our course Online Teaching: Creating Courses for Adult Learners offers everything you need to educate adults online if you’re an adult education provider or thinking about becoming one.
In India, distance education is available.
The School of Correspondence Courses and Continuing Education at Delhi University was the first to implement distance learning in India in 1962. The goal was to allow people who had the desire and aptitude to learn more and improve their professional skills to do so.
Significant gains in online education in India have been made and continue to be made as technology advances. Due to rising consumer demand and the pandemic’s effects, Indian higher education institutions are focusing on developing online programmes. By 2026, India’s online education market is expected to be worth $11.6 billion.
In India, homeschooling and blended learning are popular.
While homeschooling is not common in India, nor is it usually acknowledged, distant learning is becoming the new standard as a result of the epidemic. As a result, many children will learn at home while also attending school, a practise known as blended learning.
Our course Blended Learning Essentials for Vocational Education and Training provides a complete introduction to blended learning for teachers and trainers.
What is India’s New Education Policy?
The Union Cabinet authorised a new National Education Policy (NEP) in July 2020, which will be fully implemented by 2040. They also changed the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) to the Ministry of Education, which will serve as the sole regulator for all Indian schools and higher education institutions.
The NEP was initially drafted in 1964 by a 17-member Education Committee and ratified by Parliament in 1968. Its objective is to provide the framework and lead the development of education in India. It has been updated three times since then, the most recent being under Narendra Modi’s Prime Ministership.
The 2020 NEP’s five major changes in school and higher education
1. School will begin at age three: The Right to Education Act (RTE) will now cover free and compulsory schooling from age three up to 18 years, instead of six to 14 years. This brings early childhood education of ages three to five, for the first time, under the scope of formal schooling.
2. Students will be taught in their mother tongue: Although not compulsory, the NEP suggests students until class five should be taught in their mother tongue or regional language as a way to help children learn and grasp non-trivial concepts quicker.
3. One umbrella body for the entire higher education system: Under the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI), public and private higher education institutions will be governed by the same set of norms for regulation, accreditation and academic standards
4. Higher education becomes multidisciplinary: By 2040, all universities and colleges are expected to be multidisciplinary, according to the policy. Students will be able to create their own subject combinations based on their skill set and areas of interest.
5. There will be a variety of exit alternatives for undergraduate degrees: Colleges and universities in India are now permitted to offer a certificate after one year of study in a discipline or a diploma after two years of study under the new regulation. After completing a three-year programme, a bachelor’s degree is conferred.
Conclusion
Because of the proactive nature of the NEP, India’s education system is in sync with the global reforms in education brought about by Covid-19. We have various teaching tools accessible to help you create a better influence on your students’ lives and your teaching abilities, as blended learning appears to be the future of education in India.
We hope you’ve gotten a better understanding of the facts that make up India’s education system, whether it’s merely to broaden your horizons or to take advantage of the rapidly expanding Indian education sector.
Internet fraud is a sort of deception that involves the use of the internet. It is not a single fraud; rather, it is a collection of frauds. Internet fraudsters are omnipresent, and they are always coming up with new ways to defraud people and drain their bank accounts. We’ll talk about the many types of internet scams in this blog.
Types of Internet Fraud
1. PHISHING OR AN EMAIL PHISHING SCAM
Fraudsters utilise this tactic to steal your personal information. Fraudsters send you emails impersonating as a legitimate or well-known organisation in this scam. The primary goal of the emails is to steal your financial information. A link or file is generally included in these emails. You will be directed to a phoney website if you click on those links. The false website will request critical information such as your credit card number, UPI code, and other bank account information. Furthermore, clicking on such links will infect your machine with a malware.
2. SCAMS IN ONLINE BUYING
It is one of the most significant online scams in recent years. Fraudsters use this method to build up bogus online shopping portals in order to defraud unsuspecting people of their hard-earned money. They display appealing products at a low price on their website. However, after paying for the transaction, either the fraudulent product is provided or the merchandise is not sent at all. There will be no return or refund procedures on these websites, and there will be no customer care personnel to contact.
3. THEFT OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
Identity theft occurs when criminals steal your personal information over the internet and use it to apply for a personal loan, a two-wheeler loan, or a bank credit card. When you take out a loan in your name, you are responsible for paying it back. Banks will give you a payback notification. If you do not repay the loan, your credit score will suffer and you will be labelled a loan defaulter.
Additionally, your stolen information might be utilized to construct phony social network accounts.
4. SCAMS INVOLVING WORK FROM HOME
The work-at-home scam is one of the most common types of online fraud. Fraudsters take advantage of those looking for work from home possibilities by suggesting that they may earn a lot of money by working from home for a few hours. Job searchers will be required to deposit a set amount of money for a job kit that will be useful for the employment in order to register for the scheme. There will be no record of employers once the money is deposited.
5. LOTTERY SWINDLE
Lottery fraud is one of India’s top three internet scams. Lottery fraud occurs when con artists phone you or send you emails and texts claiming you have won a lottery worth millions of rupees. You will be required to deposit money online in the name of tax in order to obtain the lottery money. When you visit phoney websites, you may be prompted to pay money. When you use those websites to make a payment, all of your card information is taken.
6. MATRIMONIAL DECEPTION
People use online matrimony sites to find their life partners in our fast-paced world. However, the sad reality is that many people lose lakhs of dollars when searching for their soulmates on matrimony websites. Innocent people are duped by fraudsters who create phoney profiles. In addition, various gangs have been formed to carry out this scam. First, the perpetrators persuade victims to trust them. Money is taken from the victims once the trust has been established.
7. TAX EVASION
This type of fraud usually occurs during tax season, when taxpayers are expecting a return. Taxpayers receive phoney refund SMS and emails from fraudsters pretending to be from the IRS. These messages are mostly delivered with the goal of gathering personal information such as I-T Department internet login credentials, bank account information, and so on. You will be requested to give sensitive bank information in order for the refund money to be credited to your bank account.
8. FRAUDLENT USE OF CREDIT CARD REWARD POINTS
Credit card firms offer reward points or loyalty points to encourage people to use their cards. Frauds involving credit card reward points have also been reported. Credit cardholders are contacted by fraudsters pretending to be from their credit card provider and offering to assist them in redeeming their credit card reward points. They generate a sense of urgency among cardholders by emphasising that the deal will expire soon. Cardholders will be required to enter their card details as well as an OTP in order to redeem their reward points. Fraudsters use these details to carry out fraudulent transactions.
9. OLX FRAUD
OLX fraud has become all too widespread, and many people have lost money while buying and selling items on the platform. Fraudsters pose as Army troops and place ads on the platform, which is a common occurrence on OLX. To gain people’s trust, fraudsters exploit army personnel’s stolen identification cards. They take money from the buyer in exchange for the claimed product, but they never deliver it. Fraudsters take advantage of the goodwill associated with the armed forces to defraud people of their hard-earned money.
10. SCAMS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
As the number of people utilizing social media grows, so does the number of social media hoaxes. Cyberbullying is one of the most common forms of social media fraud, and many youngsters have fallen victim to it. Cyberbullying is the use of social networking sites to bully people. There are also other more social media scams, such as a Facebook friend fraud.
The selling of products or services to other businesses and organizations is known as business-to-business marketing. It differs from B2C marketing, which is focused on customers, in various ways.
In general, B2B marketing content is more informative and simpler than B2C marketing content. This is because, in contrast to consumer purchases, company purchases are driven by bottom-line revenue impact. Return on investment (ROI) is rarely a financial factor for the average person, but it is a top priority for corporate decision makers.
Who is B2B Marketing for?
Any business that sells to other businesses. B2B can take various forms, including subscriptions to software-as-a-service (SaaS), security solutions, tools, accessories, and office supplies, to mention a few. Many businesses come under both the B2B and B2C categories.
Any individual(s) who has power or influence over purchase decisions is the target of B2B marketing initiatives. From entry-level end-users to the C-suite, this can contain a wide range of titles and functions.
Creating a B2B Marketing Strategy
There is a lot of competition for clients and their attention. Building a successful B2B strategy needs careful planning, implementation, and administration. Here’s a high-level look at how B2B organisations differentiate themselves in a crowded market:
Step 1: Create a Big Picture Vision If you don’t plan, you’re planning to fail. This axiom holds true indefinitely. Select defined and measurable business objectives before you start cranking out adverts and content. Then you’ll want to create or adopt a framework for achieving them through your B2B marketing strategy.
Step 2: Establish your target market and buyer personas This is especially important for B2B companies. B2B items and services are typically marketed to a specific set of consumers with specific difficulties and demands, whereas B2C goods are often promoted to a larger and more general audience. The more precisely you can define this audience, the better you’ll be able to communicate with them directly. It’s a good idea to make a dossier for your target buyer persona. To qualify leads, conduct demographic research, interview industry experts, and study your best customers to develop a list of criteria that you can compare against prospects.
Step 3: Determine B2B Marketing Channels and Tactics
After you’ve gathered good information about your target audience, you’ll need to figure out how and where you’ll reach them. This one should be guided by the knowledge you gained in the previous stage. You’ll want to ask yourself questions about your ideal consumers and prospects, such as these:
What do they do with their time on the internet?
What are the questions they’re posing to search engines?
What social media platforms do they favour?
What can you do to close the gaps that your competitors are leaving?
What industry events do they attend?
Step 4: Develop Assets and Launch Campaigns Now that you have a strategy in place, it’s time to put it into action. Make sure you’re following best practices for each channel you’re using in your approach. A unique strategy, relevant information, sophisticated targeting, and powerful calls to action are all essential parts in successful campaigns.
5th Step: Evaluate and Improve This is a continuous procedure that keeps you on the right track. Simply put, you want to figure out why your high-performing content succeeds and your low-performing content fails. If you understand this, you’ll be able to spend your time and money more wisely. The more diligent you are about consulting analytics and applying what you’ve learned, the more likely you’ll be to keep improving and exceeding your objectives. Even with a solid research basis, creating content and campaigns entails a lot of guesswork until you have solid engagement and conversion statistics to work with.
B2B Marketing Tactics and Content Formats
Here are some of the most frequent B2B marketing methods and content formats to think about incorporating into your plan:
Blogs: Blogs are a must-have for practically any content marketing team. Regularly updated blogs increase your site’s organic visibility and boost inbound visitors. Your blog may accommodate a wide range of material types and formats.
Search: SEO recommended practises change as frequently as Google’s algorithm (which is a lot), making this a difficult space to navigate, but any B2B marketing strategy must account for it. In recent months, the emphasis has shifted away from keywords and metadata and toward searcher intent signals.
Social Media: Both organic and sponsored social media should be included in the mix. You can reach out to prospects on social media and engage them where they are. B2B buyers are increasingly turning to these platforms to research potential vendors before making a purchase.
Whitepapers, eBooks, and infographics: Whitepapers, eBooks, and infographics are all good options. These downloaded papers can be gated (meaning a user must give contact information or perform another action to get access) or ungated (meaning a user must supply contact information or perform another action to gain access). Frequently used to generate B2B leads.
Email: Email will not go away anytime soon, even though its usefulness is fading in the age of spam filters and inbox shock. Video: This content type can be used in several of the preceding categories (blogs, social media, and emails), but it’s worth mentioning because it’s at the heart of many effective B2B initiatives.
Livestream events and Webinars: LinkedIn Live videos receive 7x more reactions and 24x more comments on average than native video generated by the same presenters during livestream events and seminars. LinkedIn Live is useful for more than just promoting an event. Use this feature to demonstrate expertise, showcase innovation, or provide a behind-the-scenes look into your company’s culture to LinkedIn members.
Case studies and customer testimonials: Case studies and customer testimonials are essential for B2B marketing strategists to establish credibility. Customer testimonials and case studies aren’t the most imaginative endeavours, but they’re essential nonetheless.
Podcasts: Podcasting is expected to grow in popularity even more than it currently has. Do you have a podcast aimed towards professionals? Are you considering starting one? Increase your podcast’s listenership by promoting it on LinkedIn.
B2B Marketing Best Practices
How can you set yourself up for success in B2B marketing? Here are a few tried-and-true pillars to help your team stand out and make an impression.
Be Human Yes, you’re attempting to gain a consumer, but you’re not marketing to a building or an intangible thing. You’re attempting to communicate with genuine employees, who, like any other human being, are motivated by emotional and cognitive factors.
Don’t limit your research to the firms and accounts you’re interested in. Learn about the people who work there, and tailor your marketing to their needs. Although business decisions are more sensible and logical, that doesn’t mean your content and tone should be robotic.
Target with Both Precision and Volume in Mind Multiple stakeholders affect the majority of B2B purchasing decisions. When it comes to targeting, one of the most typical blunders is attempting to pinpoint the decision maker. However, in almost all cases, that one decision maker does not exist. As a result, it’s critical to target all stakeholders who may have an impact on the purchasing decision.
B2B buying cycles are complicated, and stakeholders’ professions and roles are continuously changing. This is only one of many reasons why brand familiarity is so important. The following tools can assist B2B marketers in reaching out to decision-makers who can both influence and authorise purchases. They let you get as specific as you want, and you can use sophisticated automation to extend your target group as necessary.
Keep Context in Mind Today, personalization and relevance are required to gain attention. Yes, you want to speak your consumers’ language, but you also want to present content and advertising that are thematically appropriate for where they’re being viewed. Shorter videos with rapid hooks, for example, perform better on social media feeds, whereas a longer style is most likely better suited for YouTube. Catching someone looking through LinkedIn requires a different text angle than catching someone scrolling through other social media platforms. Put yourself in the shoes of the end user. When they’re watching your content, try to comprehend their current position, including their “surroundings,” and fit your message with their attitude.
B2B Marketing Solutions on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the most-used social media network for B2B marketers, according to the CMI and MarketingProfs report B2B Content Marketing 2021: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends (at 96 percent ).
LinkedIn was also the leading paid social media site for B2B marketing. The most recent survey did not ask respondents which paid platform had the best results, although respondents in the prior survey said LinkedIn.
At a basic level, we strongly advocate that every B2B company create an optimised LinkedIn Page, which you can do for free on LinkedIn, since this will serve as your brand’s hub on the platform and a popular location for buyer research. Posting updates on a regular basis will keep you top of mind with your target audience and help you gain followers. There are a variety of LinkedIn marketing solutions and services you can use to target and engage the ideal users for maximum business impact and B2B marketing ROI.
Native Ads Native adverts are referred to as Sponsored Content on LinkedIn. These adverts show alongside the user-generated material that LinkedIn members come to see. For thought leadership, brand recognition, and driving strategic traffic, this is a great tool.
Lead Generation Many B2B marketers are judged on their lead generation abilities. Because they pre-populate the viewing member’s LinkedIn profile data and don’t require the user to leave the site, Lead Gen Forms are particularly useful for this purpose. It’s a win-win situation for both marketers and members. When it comes to accessing deals and information, members get a consistent experience. Lead data is of excellent quality for B2B marketers.
Retargeting The LinkedIn Insight Tag allows you to track LinkedIn visitors that come to your website and promote to them while they’re there. These people are more likely to be interested in your business and goods, increasing your conversion chances.
Message Ads LinkedIn Message Ads are becoming more advantageous as reaching professional inboxes (and sometimes even finding email addresses) becomes increasingly difficult. You can use this feature to send personalised direct messages to LinkedIn members, even if you aren’t linked yet.
Dynamic Ads These ads are tailored to the individual who is viewing them. To stand out and grab attention, they instantly populate with profile photographs and essential details.
Breaking Down B2B Marketing
Here are some essential factors to bear in mind as we summarise the most important conclusions from our investigation of modern B2B marketing:
Even though you’re doing business-to-business marketing, you’re still dealing with people. The most successful B2B marketers combine logic and passion.
Developing your goal, defining your audience, identifying techniques and channels, putting content and campaigns in action, and then continuously monitoring for optimization are the core processes in developing a B2B marketing strategy.
When targeting, strike a balance between precision and volume to ensure that you reach all of the most critical stakeholders who may have a say in the decision.
Truly effective B2B marketing is conversational, targeted, and contextually relevant.
Thought leadership content can help you gain a competitive advantage, but if it falls short of expectations, it might backfire.
It’s critical to understand the context. Market to your target audience where they are and try to fit your messaging with their attitude.
Every business, whether for profit or not, public or private, needs well-trained and experienced staff to carry out the operations necessary to meet the organization’s objectives.
Employees must be trained to improve their skill levels as well as their versatility and adaptability.
Inadequate work performance, productivity declines, changes resulting from job restructuring, or technological breakthroughs all necessitate some form of training and development.
Training Process in HRM – Steps, Process and Phases
A training is not a one-size-fits-all event; rather, it is a step-by-step procedure that can only be finished after all of the required tasks have been done successfully.
Assessment of Training Needs Prior to training someone, it is evident that it is necessary to determine whether the individual requires training and, if so, what the instruction should accomplish. As a result, establishing what training is required is generally the first step in the training process. Whether you’re training new or existing staff will affect how you analyse training needs.
The most important step in determining new employee training needs is to figure out what the work requires and split it down into subtasks, which you then teach to the new hires. Analysing existing employee demands can be more difficult because you also have to decide whether training is the best option.
The training needs are analysed with the help of following types of analysis:
The entire organisation is examined in terms of its goals, resources, resource allocation and utilisation, growth potential, and the environment in this analysis. The goal of this analysis is to establish where in the organisation training should be prioritised.
Under organisational analysis the following elements are studied:
(i)Organisational Analysis:
(a) Analysis of Objectives and Strategies: The entire organisation is examined in terms of its goals, resources, resource allocation and utilisation, growth potential, and the environment in this analysis. The goal of this analysis is to establish where in the organisation training should be prioritised.
(b) Resource Utilisation Analysis: The major goal of this investigation is to see how organisational resources are used. This analysis looks at the contributions of several departments by generating efficiency indices for each unit, which aid in estimating the human resource contribution.
(c) Environmental Analysis: This analysis looks at the organization’s economic, social, political, and technological surroundings. The major goal of this analysis is to determine the organization’s controllable and uncontrolled components.
(d) Organisational Climate Analysis: The attitude of management and employees is examined in this analysis, as the support of management and their attitude toward employees is required for planning and implementing the training programme.
(ii) Role or Task Analysis: It is a thorough assessment of all facets of the profession. It investigates the numerous operations as well as the conditions in which they are to be carried out.
Following procedure is involved in the task analysis:
(a) The duties and responsibilities of the task in question are listed using the job description as a guide. (b) Creating a list of the job’s performance standards. (c) Making a comparison between the actual and expected results. (d) Identifying the components of the task that are causing problems in the effective performance of the job if there is a gap between the two. (e) Identifying the training requirements to address the issues.
(iii) Manpower Analysis: The fundamental goal of this examination is to examine the individual’s abilities, skills, and growth and development. The manpower analysis aids in determining an individual’s strengths and shortcomings. It also aids in deciding whether or not he requires training. If that’s the case, what kind of instruction does he need?
The various sources of such information are as follows:
(a) Employee observation in the workplace. (b) Conducting an interview with the employee’s boss and coworkers. (c) The employee’s personal files. (d) Tests and records of production. These sources will supply information on the employee’s current skills and attitude, which he should have.
2. Preparing the Training Programme: The second step in the training process is to construct the training programme to suit these needs after determining the training needs.
The training programme should take into account the following considerations:
(i)New and experienced trainees (ii) The kind of training materials that are needed (iii) A person who will provide training as a resource (iv) A training programme that is either on-the-job or off-the-job (v) The length of the training programme (vi) The training method.
3. Preparing the Learners: The trainees who will participate in the training programme must be well-prepared for it. They will not be interested in learning the main components of the training programme if they are not prepared. As a result, learners should be adequately prepared so that they may get the most out of the training session.
Following steps are required for the preparation of learners for the training programme:
(i)Making the students feel at ease, especially if they are beginners, so that they are not frightened on the job. (ii) Ensuring that the learners comprehend the relevance of the job and how it relates to the overall process. (iii) Assisting learners in comprehending the training’s demands and objectives in respect to their jobs. (iv) Creating interest in the training programme among learners to motivate them to learn. (v) If on-the-job training is used, trainees should be placed as close to their employment as practicable. (vi) Getting the students acquainted with the equipment, materials, and tools, among other things.
4. Implementing Training Programme: This is the training program’s action phase. The trainer teaches and illustrates the new methods and knowledge to the learners during this phase. At this stage, the students are exposed to a variety of training exercises. To make the training a successful learning experience for the employees, the main topics are emphasised and one item is explained at a time.
To keep the learners’ attention in the training programme, audio-visual aids are employed to exhibit and illustrate, and the trainer encourages them to ask questions.
5. Performance Try Out: The learner is asked to repeat the job multiple times, slowly, at this point. The trainees’ errors are addressed, and the technical and tough portions are explained again if necessary.
6. Evaluation of the Training Programme: Training evaluation is an attempt to acquire information (feedback) on the impacts of a training programme and determine the training’s worth in light of that information. While organisations may spend a lot of money and time developing and implementing training programmes, the evaluation aspect is sometimes overlooked. This could be due to the assumption that determining the efficiency of training is difficult, if not impossible.
Only a comprehensive assessment of the real change in behaviour and performance on the job, over a long period of time, can determine the true success of training and development activities. As a result, the fundamental goal of training is to impart new knowledge, skills, and change in attitude and behaviour.
If training does not result in changes in any of these areas, it is completely useless. As a result, training is solely evaluated in terms of changes in skills, knowledge, attitude, and behaviour.
Under organisational analysis the following elements are studied:
“Meditation can wipe away the day’s stress, bringing with it inner peace. See how you can easily learn to practice meditation whenever you need it most.”
Mayo Clinic Staff
If stress makes you feel uncomfortable, tense, or worried, try meditation. Even a few minutes of meditation might help you regain your sense of calm and inner serenity.
Meditation is something that everybody can do. It’s easy to accomplish and doesn’t cost a lot of money, and it doesn’t require any special equipment.
And you can meditate anywhere you are: on a walk, on the bus, in line at the doctor’s office, or even in the middle of a tense work meeting.
Understanding Meditation
For thousands of years, people have been meditating. Meditation was created to aid in the comprehension of life’s sacred and mystical powers. Meditation is widely utilised these days for relaxation and stress reduction.
Meditation is a sort of supplementary treatment for the mind and body. Meditation can help you achieve a deep state of relaxation as well as a calm mind.
During meditation, you concentrate your attention and clear your mind of the muddled thoughts that may be bothering you and producing stress. Physical and emotional well-being may be improved as a result of this process.
Benefits of Meditation
Meditation can help you achieve a sense of quiet, peace, and balance, which can improve your emotional well-being as well as your general health.
And the advantages don’t stop when you stop meditating. Meditation can help you stay calmer throughout the day and may even aid in the management of symptoms associated with some medical problems.
Meditation and Emotional Well-Being When you meditate, you can rid your mind of the information overload that accumulates throughout the day and contributes to stress.
The following are some of the emotional advantages of meditation:
Taking a fresh look at challenging situations
Developing stress management skills and increasing self-awareness
Reducing unpleasant emotions by focusing on the present
Increasing creativity and imagination
Increasing tolerance and patience
Meditation and Illness If you have a medical problem, especially one that is exacerbated by stress, meditation may be beneficial.
Despite the fact that a growing body of scientific evidence supports the health advantages of meditation, other academics say it is still too early to draw judgments about its potential benefits.
In light of this, some study suggests that meditation may aid in the management of symptoms associated with diseases such as:
Anxiety
Asthma
Cancer
Chronic pain
Depression
Heart disease
High blood pressure
Irritable bowel syndrome
Sleep problems
Tension headaches
If you have any of these conditions or other health issues, talk to your health care practitioner about the benefits and drawbacks of meditation. Meditation has been shown to exacerbate symptoms of mental and physical illnesses in certain people. Traditional medical care is not replaced by meditation. However, it can be a good complement to your current treatment.
Types of Meditation
Meditation is a broad phrase that encompasses a variety of approaches to achieving a calm state of mind. Meditation can be found in a wide range of relaxation and meditation techniques. All of them are striving for the same thing: inner serenity.
Meditation can be done in a variety of ways, including:
Guided Meditation: This type of meditation, also known as guided imagery or visualisation, involves creating mental images of places or circumstances that you find pleasant.
You strive to employ all of your senses, including smells, sights, sounds, and textures. A mentor or teacher may accompany you through this procedure.
Mantra meditation: To avoid distracting ideas, you silently repeat a calming word, concept, or phrase in this style of meditation.
Mindfulness meditation: Being mindful, or having a greater awareness and acceptance of living in the present moment, is the foundation of this style of meditation.
You increase your conscious awareness by practising mindfulness meditation. During meditation, you concentrate on what you’re feeling, such as the flow of your breath. You can watch your thoughts and emotions but not judge them as they pass.
Qi gong: To restore and sustain balance, this practise typically involves meditation, relaxation, physical activity, and breathing techniques. Traditional Chinese medicine includes qi gong (CHEE-gung).
Tai chi: Tai chi is a Chinese martial art. This is a moderate kind of Chinese martial arts. You do a self-paced set of postures or motions in a calm, graceful manner while practising deep breathing in tai chi (TIE-CHEE).
Transcendental Meditation: It is a type of meditation that focuses on the present moment. Transcendental Meditation is a straightforward, natural practise. You silently repeat a personally allocated mantra, such as a word, sound, or phrase, in a precise way in Transcendental Meditation.
Without the need of attention or effort, this type of meditation may help your body to settle into a state of profound rest and relaxation and your mind to achieve a state of inner peace.
Yoga: To build a more flexible body and a tranquil mind, you execute a sequence of postures and controlled breathing exercises. You’re urged to focus less on your hectic day and more on the present moment as you go through positions that demand balance and concentration.
Elements of Meditation
Distinct styles of meditation may have different qualities to assist you in your meditation. These may differ depending on who you follow for advice or who is giving a lesson. The following are some of the most common elements of meditation:
Focused Attention: One of the most crucial aspects of meditation is focusing your attention. The ability to focus your attention is what allows your mind to be free of the numerous distractions that bring stress and concern. You can concentrate your attention on a single object, an image, a mantra, or even your breathing.
Relaxed Breathing: Deep, even-paced breathing using the diaphragm muscle to expand your lungs is used in this technique. The goal is to breathe more efficiently by slowing your breathing, taking in more oxygen, and reducing the use of shoulder, neck, and upper chest muscles while breathing.
Aquiet setting: If you’re a beginner, practising meditation in a peaceful place with few distractions, such as no television, radio, or telephone, may be easier.
You may be able to meditate anyplace as you gain experience, especially in high-stress situations where it is most beneficial, such as a traffic jam, a tough work meeting, or a long wait at the grocery store.
A comfortable position: Meditation can be done while sitting, lying down, walking, or in any other position or activity. Simply attempt to relax in order to get the most out of your meditation. During meditation, try to maintain a decent posture.
Open attitude: Allow your thoughts to flow through your head without judging them.
Everyday Ways to Practice Meditation
Don’t let the prospect of meditating “properly” add to your anxiety. You can go to dedicated meditation facilities or group programmes guided by certified instructors if you want to. However, you may easily practise meditation on your own.
And you may make meditation as formal or informal as you want, depending on your preferences and circumstances. Some people make it a habit to meditate every day. They could, for example, meditate for an hour at the start and finish of each day. However, all you truly need is a few minutes of great meditation time.
Here are some methods for practising meditation on your own whenever you want:
Breathe Deeply: Take a deep breath. Because breathing is a natural function, this approach is suitable for beginners.
Concentrate solely on your breathing. As you inhale and exhale through your nose, focus on feeling and listening. Slowly and deeply inhale. When your mind wanders, gently bring it back to your breathing.
Examine your entire body: Focus your attention on different parts of your body when practising this technique. Become conscious of your body’s many sensations, including pain, tension, warmth, and relaxation.
Combine body scanning with breathing exercises, imagining yourself inhaling heat or relaxation into and out of various body areas.
Repeat a manta: You can come up with your own mantra, whether religious or not. The Jesus Prayer in Christianity, the holy name of God in Judaism, and the om mantra in Hinduism, Buddhism, and other Eastern religions are examples of religious mantras.
Walk and mediate: A walk combined with meditation is an effective and healthful method to unwind. This strategy can be used anyplace you’re strolling, even in a peaceful forest, on a metropolitan sidewalk, or at the mall.
Slow down your walking pace when using this strategy so you can concentrate on each leg or foot action. Don’t put too much emphasis on a specific location. Lift each foot, move your leg forward, and set your foot on the ground, concentrating on your legs and feet and repeating action phrases like “raising,” “moving,” and “placing” in your head.
Participate in prayer: The most well-known and widely performed form of meditation is prayer. Most faith traditions include both spoken and written prayers.
You can pray in your own words or read other people’s prayers. Examples can be found in the self-help section of your local bookstore. Discuss available resources with your rabbi, priest, pastor, or other spiritual leader.
You can also listen to religious music, spoken words, or any other type of music that relaxes or inspires you. You might want to document your thoughts or talk about them with a friend or spiritual leader.
Concentrate your gratitude and loveConcentrate your gratitude and love: You focus your attention on a sacred picture or entity in this style of meditation, weaving feelings of love, compassion, and gratitude into your thoughts. You can also utilise your imagination or gaze at reproductions of the image if you close your eyes.
Read and reflect: Many people say that reading poems or spiritual texts and taking a few moments to ponder on their significance helps them.
With each transaction, successful businesses produce value for their customers in the form of satisfaction, as well as for themselves and their shareholders in the form of profit. Companies that provide more value with each sale have a better chance of profiting than those that produce less value. It’s vital to understand your company’s value chain in order to assess how much value it generates.
Here’s an overview of what a value chain is, why it’s important to understand it, and how you can use it to help your business create and keep more value from its sales.
Understanding Value Chain
The phrase “value chain” refers to all of the commercial activities and procedures that go into making a product or providing a service. A value chain can span various stages of a product’s lifecycle, from research and development through sales and all in between. In his book The Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter developed the notion.
Taking stock of the processes that make up your company’s value chain will give you a better understanding of what goes into each transaction. Your organisation can be better positioned to share more value with consumers while capturing a larger portion of the value created at each point in the chain by maximising the value created at each point in the chain. Similarly, understanding how your company creates value can help you better appreciate its competitive edge.
Components of Value Chain
All of the activities that make up a firm’s value chain, according to Porter’s concept, can be divided into two groups that contribute to its margin: primary activities and support activities.
Primary activities are those that directly contribute to the development of a product or the delivery of a service, such as:
Receiving, warehousing, and inventory management of source materials and components are all part of inbound logistics.
Raw materials and components are turned into a completed product through operations.
Outbound logistics refers to distribution-related activities such as packaging, sorting, and shipping.
Marketing and sales activities include promotion, advertising, and pricing strategy, all of which are relevant to the marketing and sale of a product or service.
Installation, training, quality assurance, repair, and customer service are examples of after-sales services that take place after a sale has been completed.
Secondary activities are divided into the following categories to help primary operations become more efficient, hence creating a competitive advantage:
Procurement refers to the activities involved in obtaining raw materials, components, equipment, and services.
Product design, market research, and process development are examples of activities associated to technological advancement.
Employee recruitment, hiring, training, development, retention, and remuneration are all part of human resources management.
Infrastructure includes activities such as funding and planning that are related to the company’s overhead and management.
What is Value Chain Analysis?
Value chain analysis is a method of assessing each activity in a company’s value chain to determine where improvements might be made.
A value chain analysis forces you to analyse how each step contributes to or detracts from the value of your end product or service. As a result, you may be able to gain a competitive edge, such as:
Cost savings are achieved by making each operation in the value chain more efficient and thus less costly.
Product differentiation can be achieved by devoting more time and resources to tasks such as research and development, design, and marketing.
In most cases, improving one of the four secondary activities will help at least one of the primary activities.
How to Conduct Value Chain Analysis
Identify Value Chain Activities Understanding all of the main and secondary actions that go into the creation of your product or service is the first step in doing a value chain analysis. If your organization sells a variety of items or services, this procedure should be followed for each one.
Determine the Cost and Value of Activities After identifying the major and secondary operations, the next step is to assess the value that each activity brings to the process, as well as the associated expenses.
When considering the value provided by activities, consider how each contributes to the end user’s satisfaction or enjoyment. How does it add value to my company? Is it true that using particular materials to build a product makes it more durable or luxury for the user? Is it more likely that your company will benefit from network effects and more business if you include a given feature?
Similarly, knowing the expenses associated with each step in the process is critical. Depending on your circumstances, you may discover that cutting costs is a simple method to increase the value of each transaction.
3. Identify Opportunities for Competitive Advantage You may assess your value chain through the lens of whatever competitive advantage you’re seeking to acquire once you’ve compiled it and understand the cost and value associated with each stage.
If your primary goal is to lower your company’s costs, for example, you should assess each component of your value chain through the lens of cost reduction. Which steps could be made more productive? Are there any that don’t add much value and could be outsourced or deleted entirely to save money?
Similarly, if product differentiation is your primary goal, which portions of your value chain provide the best potential to achieve that goal? Would the added value justify the expenditure of more resources?
You can identify multiple opportunities for your company through value chain analysis, which can be tough to prioritise. It’s usually better to start with the changes that require the least amount of effort yet provide the highest return on investment.
According to a 2020 survey by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, only 47% of Americans use budgeting tools to keep track of their spending. A budget, on the other hand, as the most basic instrument in the financial planning process, might make it easier to meet your financial objectives.
Not only does a budget help you keep track of where your money is going, but it also gives you more control over that process. Without a clear plan for your cash flow, you could be spending against your own best interests without even knowing it.
How a proper Budget can power your Financial Independence?
Budgeting isn’t always enjoyable, but it’s one of the most crucial steps you can do to better your financial situation. Here are a few examples of how living on a budget might help.
– It aligns your spending with your goals: You may decide how you’ll spend your money each month depending on what’s most important to you by setting and sticking to a budget.
– It can improve your debt repayment strategy: If you’re trying to pay off student loans, credit cards, or other types of debt, a budget might help you set aside more money so you can get out of debt.
– It can help you achieve your savings goals: A budget can help you figure out how much you’re going to save toward your goal at the beginning of the month, whether you want to save more for retirement, develop your emergency fund, or put money down for your next vacation.
5 Budgeting Methods to Consider
1. Zero- Based Budget A zero-based budgeting strategy is straightforward: income minus expenses equals zero.
This budgeting strategy is best for persons who have a fixed monthly income or can at least anticipate their monthly income. Add your monthly spending and savings to equal your monthly income after you’ve calculated your monthly income.
It’s critical to budget for all of your spending as precisely as possible. If you go over budget in one category, you’ll have to make up the difference by taking money from another. And forgetting about a significant expense can throw your budget off.
A zero-based budget may be a better alternative for someone who has been budgeting for some time because there is less space for error. Even so, keeping additional cash in your bank account as a buffer is a wise idea. Also, keep a modest emergency money on hand in case you face a major unexpected bill.
2. Pay-yourself-first budget Another simple budgeting strategy that focuses on savings and debt reduction is the pay-yourself-first budget.
Simply put, every time you are paid, you set away a particular amount for savings and debt payments, then spend the remainder of your money as you see fit. This allows you to prioritise your savings and debt payback goals while making do with the leftovers.
For instance, you might prioritise paying off high-interest debt first while gradually creating an emergency fund. However, once you’ve paid off your high-interest debt, you may concentrate on other savings goals.
Of course, prioritizing your necessary expenses and obligations is critical. However, because you’ve already taken care of what’s most essential to you, you don’t need to be concerned about where you spend your discretionary spending. This budget is ideal for someone who has trouble saving each month or doesn’t want to spend too much time planning out each spending.
3. Envelope System Budget This way of budgeting is similar to the zero-based budget, but there is one major difference: everything is done in cash. An envelope budgeting strategy is planning out how you’ll spend your money each month and using an envelope for each category of spending. Then, according to your budget, you withdraw as much cash as you need to fill each envelope.
Take your grocery envelope with you when you go grocery shopping, for example, and pay for your purchases with cash. If you run out, unless you choose to withdraw cash from other envelopes, that’s all you can spend in that area for the month. However, don’t raid other envelopes too frequently, as this might lead to a snowball effect, and you could run out of money before the end of the month.
The envelope system is endorsed by financial expert Dave Ramsey, so it’s a good alternative for folks who share his money ideals, which emphasize paying down debt rapidly and utilizing cash rather than credit cards.
However, it’s not a smart budgeting approach for someone who doesn’t like having a lot of cash on hand or prefers to use credit or debit cards.
4. 50/30/20 Budget The 50/30/20 budgeting method is simple and requires less effort than the envelope and zero-based budgeting methods. The goal is to categorize your spending into three groups
Necessary expenses (50%)
Discretionary expenses (30%)
Savings and Debt Payments (20%)
This budgeting strategy is ideal for rookie budgeters because it does not necessitate detailed spending tracking. You can stick to this budget as long as you understand what constitutes a want vs a need and allocate adequate funds to savings and debt repayment.
The biggest disadvantage is that the 50/30/20 rule may be impossible for people who have a lot of debt or want to save a lot of money because 20% isn’t a lot of money.
However, the good news is that you may tailor it to your own requirements. For example, you might wish to consider raising savings and debt repayments while minimising discretionary and necessary expenses.
To put it another way, don’t get too fixated on the 50/30/20 ratio. Make the concept fit your requirements.
5. The ‘no’ budget This unique budgeting strategy is totally based on not spending money that you don’t have, as the name implies. Rather than making a budget, you should:
Keep an eye on the balance of your bank account. To keep track of your spending, use a budgeting app or your bank’s online banking or mobile app.
Keep track of when your recurring expenses are due. Keeping a list in a spreadsheet, Microsoft Word document, or on a piece of paper is one way to do this.
Set money aside for savings and additional debt repayments. Increase your automatic monthly debt payments and use automatic transfers from checking to savings wherever possible.
Spend the remainder of your funds without being overdrawn on your account. You’ll be better equipped to determine how much money is remaining after key costs if you keep an eye on your account balance.
While the “no” budget sounds easier than the other techniques we’ve discussed, telling oneself “no” isn’t always easy. This budgeting strategy works best if you’ve shown spending restraint in the past and are confident in your ability to do so again.
Today, there is a plan for everything, but before you can design one, you must first comprehend the fundamentals. For example, understanding marketing ideas is critical if you want to develop a great marketing plan. You can find out the best marketing approach for you by following the five fundamental marketing concepts. Simply put, execution is a critical element in marketing that occurs only after extensive study and strategizing.
What is Marketing?
The art and process of building, implementing, and maintaining an exchange connection is known as marketing. You start by acquiring clients, then create a relationship with them, and then keep it by meeting their demands. Customers or other businesses can be that customer; thus, marketing can be B2B or B2C depending on the situation. The fundamental goal of marketing, however, remains the same: to develop a relationship with clients and meet their needs by meeting their requirements.
Telecommunications, for example, develops a marketing plan that entices and persuades customers to utilize their phone, message, and internet bundles. When users start using, they are encouraged to rate their service by giving it a star rating.
What are the Marketing Concepts?
When a corporation prepares and implements strategies to increase profits by increasing sales, meeting consumer requirements, and outperforming competitors, it is referred to as marketing. The goal is to create a condition that benefits both the customer and the business.
The marketing concept is based on the idea of anticipating and satisfying customer requirements and wants better than competitors. Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith’s work, was the source of the marketing concepts. However, it remained unknown to the rest of the world until the twenty-first century. To completely comprehend the marketing notion, we must first comprehend needs, desires, and demands.
Needs: Needs are unavoidable for life to survive; without them, various negative consequences can arise. Death would be the worst-case scenario. Food, shelter, self-development, security, social belonging, self-esteem, and respect are all examples of needs.
Wants – Wants are our desires and wishes in life are shaped by our social environment and culture.
Demand: Demands are created when our desires, needs, and wants are backed by our ability to pay.
5 Basic Marketing Concepts
1. The Production Concept Customers will be more drawn to products that are easily available and can be acquired for cheaper than rival products of the same kind, according to the manufacturing principle. This concept arose from the rise of early capitalism in the 1950s, when businesses were focused on production efficiency to assure maximum profits and scalability.
This mindset can be beneficial when a company markets in a rapidly growing field, but it also comes with a danger. Businesses that are unduly focused on low-cost production might easily lose touch with client wants and, as a result, lose revenue, despite their low-cost and widely accessible goods.
2. The Product Concept The product concept is the polar opposite of the production concept in that it assumes that customer buying habits are not influenced by availability or price, and that people value quality, innovation, and performance over low cost. As a result, this marketing approach emphasises product improvement and innovation on a regular basis.
Apple Inc. is a great example of how this principle works. Its target demographic anticipates the company’s new releases with bated breath. Many people will not compromise solely to save money, even if there are off-brand products that perform many of the same functions for a lower price. However, if a marketer relies solely on this idea, he or she may miss out on people who are also influenced by availability and pricing.
3. The Selling Concept Marketing based on the selling concept focuses on getting the customer to the actual transaction without regard for the client’s wants or product quality – a costly technique. This approach generally overlooks customer satisfaction efforts and rarely results in repeat purchases.
Because a product or service isn’t a need, the selling notion is based on the belief that you must persuade a buyer to acquire it by aggressive promotion of its merits. Soda pop is an example. Have you ever wondered why, despite the brand’s popularity, you keep seeing advertisements for Coca-Cola? Everyone understands what Coke has to offer, but it’s also common knowledge that soda is devoid of nutrients and harmful to one’s health. Coca-Cola understands this, which is why they spend such large sums of money to promote their product.
4. The Marketing Concept The marketing concept is based on a company’s capacity to compete and maximise revenues by promoting the ways in which it provides customers with higher value than its competitors. It all comes down to knowing your target market, sensing its wants, and efficiently providing those demands. This is referred described as the “customer-first strategy” by many.
Glossier is a well-known example of this type of marketing. The brand recognises that many women are dissatisfied with the way cosmetics affects their skin’s health. Women are also tired up with being instructed what makeup items to use, according to the researchers. With this in mind, Glossier launched a line of skincare and beauty products that not only hydrate the skin but also promote individualism and personal expression through the use of makeup.
5. The Societal Concept The societal marketing concept is a new one that stresses societal well-being. It’s founded on the premise that, regardless of a company’s sales goals, marketers have a moral responsibility to sell ethically to promote what’s good for people over what people may want. Employees of a corporation live in the communities to which they market, and they should advertise in the best interests of their community.
The fast-food sector is an example of the type of problem that the societal notion seeks to solve. Fast food is in high demand in our society, but it is high in fat and sugar and adds to waste. Despite the fact that the industry is catering to modern consumer wishes, it is harming our health and undermining our society’s goal of environmental sustainability.
Loans, such as mortgages, vehicle loans, personal loans, and credit card debt, are the most common types of debt. The borrower is obligated to repay the loan balance by a particular date, usually several years in the future, according to the terms of the loan. The amount of interest that the borrower must pay annually, stated as a percentage of the loan amount, is also specified in the loan terms. Interest is used to reward the lender for taking on the risk of the loan, as well as to encourage the borrower to repay the loan fast in order to reduce their total interest expense.
Credit card debt works similarly to a loan, with the exception that the borrowed amount fluctuates over time based on the borrower’s needs—up to a predetermined limit—and has a rolling, or open-ended, repayment date. Consolidating loans, such as student loans and personal loans, is an option.
Types of Debt
1. Secured Debt Putting yourself in the position of a lender might help you understand secured debt. When someone asks for a loan, the lender must examine whether the debt will be repaid. Creditors can limit their risk by using secured debt. Because secured debt is backed by an asset (also known as collateral), this is the case. To put it another way, the collateral acts as a “security” for the loan.
Cash or property can be used as collateral. It can also be taken if borrowers do not make timely payments. Failure to repay a secured debt might result in additional consequences. Missed payments, for example, could be reported to credit bureaus. In addition, an unpaid debt may be referred to collections.
For example, a secured credit card needs a cash deposit before it may be used to make transactions. Consider it similar to the security deposit you’d put down when renting an apartment. Secured debt includes mortgages and auto loans. With these, the collateral is usually the purchased property, such as a house or a car. However, there is a silver lining to collateral: For the borrower, a lower risk to the lender could mean more attractive lending conditions and rates. Furthermore, some lenders may be less stringent when it comes to credit score requirements.
2. Unsecured Debt When a debt is unsecured, there is no need for collateral. Consider student debts, credit cards, and personal loans. If you don’t have any collateral, your credit will usually play a significant role in determining whether you qualify for unsecured debt—though there are some exceptions, such as school loans.
Credit reports are used by lenders to assess your credit. That is true for the majority of debts. However, loan criteria may vary. Creditors typically consider factors such as your payment history and outstanding debt. Credit scores—another instrument that lenders may employ—are calculated using similar principles.
In general, the higher your credit score, the more possibilities you have. A higher credit score, for example, could help you qualify for bigger credit limits or cheaper interest rates on an unsecured credit card. Some credit cards may provide benefits such as cash back, miles, or points. Remember that a higher credit score does not guarantee that you will be approved for unsecured credit cards or other loans. And just because a loan is “unsecured” doesn’t imply it’s okay to skip payments. If you go behind on your payments, it may harm your credit and lead to collections or a lawsuit.
3. Revolving Debt You may already be familiar with revolving debt if you have a secured or unsecured credit card. A revolving credit account is open-ended, which means you can charge and pay off your debt as many times as you like as long as the account is in good standing. Revolving credit includes personal lines of credit and home equity lines of credit.
If you qualify for a revolving credit line, your lender will set a credit limit for you, which is the most you can charge on the account. The amount of credit you have available changes month to month based on how much you utilise it. The minimum payment amounts may also alter month to month. Any unpaid debt will be carried over to the following payment cycle, along with interest. What’s the greatest way to avoid paying interest? Each time you receive a bill, pay it in full.
4. Installment Debt In some respects, instalment debt varies from revolving debt. This sort of loan is closed-ended, unlike revolving credit. That is, it is paid back over a set length of time. And, as the name implies, payments are usually made monthly in equal increments. Payments may be needed more regularly depending on the loan agreement.
Installment loans are available. Car loans and mortgages are examples of this. Unsecured instalment loans are also available. Student loans are an example of this. Another sort of instalment loan is a buy-now-pay-later loan, sometimes known as a BNPL. When you pay off a loan in instalments, you’re repaying both the principal and the interest. As the debt is paid down, the amount of each payment that goes toward interest usually decreases. Amortization is the term for this procedure.
The four Ps of marketing are the most important aspects of selling a product or service. They are a good or service’s product, pricing, location, and promotion. The four Ps, often known as the marketing mix, are influenced by both internal and external elements in the broader corporate environment, and they interact heavily.
Companies utilise the 4 Ps to figure out what their customers want from them, how their product or service fulfils or fails to satisfy those demands, how their product or service is viewed in the world, how they differentiate themselves from their competitors, and how they engage with their customers.
Understanding 4Ps
In the 1950s, Neil Borden popularized the concept of the marketing mix—and the concepts that would eventually be known as the four Ps. Borden was a Harvard University advertising professor. His article “The Concept of the Marketing Mix,” published in 1964, illustrated how businesses should employ advertising methods to engage their customers. Companies are still advertising their goods and services using the themes that Borden popularized decades later.
The marketing mix helped corporations account for the physical hurdles that impeded widespread product adoption when it was originally coined. Today, the Internet has aided businesses in achieving a higher level of integration with their customers, as well as overcoming some of these hurdles. People, process, and physical evidence are additions to the classic four Ps that are more relevant to today’s marketing trends.
The 4Ps
1. Product Any object or service that satisfies a customer’s wants or preferences is referred to as a product. It can also be characterised as a collection of utilities with physical characteristics such as design, volume, and brand name. The perceived value of a product is influenced by its type, which allows businesses to price it profitably. It also has an impact on things like product placement and advertising.
To achieve their goals, businesses might alter packaging, after-sales service, warranties, and pricing ranges, as well as expand into new areas. Marketers must comprehend the product life cycle and devise strategies for each step, including introduction, growth, maturity, and decline.
2. Price The price of a product has a direct impact on sales volume and, as a result, earnings. Demand, cost, rival price patterns, and government laws are all important considerations in determining pricing. The price of a thing usually reflects its perceived value rather than its actual value. As a result, cost can be raised to promote exclusivity or lowered to promote accessibility.
As a result, pricing entails making judgments on the base price, discounts, price changes, credit terms, freight payments, and so on. It’s also crucial to determine when and if discounting strategies are necessary or appropriate.
3. Promotion Advertising, salesforce, direct marketing, public relations, advertising budgets, and other considerations are all part of promotion. The fundamental goal of promotion is to raise awareness of a company’s products and services. It aids in influencing customers to choose one product over others available on the market. The following are examples of promotional efforts:
Advertising: Advertising is a method of promoting a product, service, or concept by sending out a sponsored, non-personal communication about it.
Public Relations: Management and control of the flow and matter of information from one’s organisation to the general public or other institutions is what public relations entails.
Marketing Strategy: Marketing strategy is determining the correct target market and employing methods like advertising to enter it. Online variables such as defining the class of Google search operations that may trigger corresponding or targeted adverts for the product, the design and layout of a company’s webpage, or the content shared on social media accounts like Twitter and Instagram are all examples of promotion.
4. Place (or Distribution) The term “place” refers to the location where things will be made available for purchase. The fundamental goal of trade channel management is to guarantee that the product is available to the customer at the appropriate time and location. It also includes judgments about where wholesale and retail stores should be located and how much they should cost. After a cost-benefit analysis, distribution options such as outsourcing or business transport fleets are chosen. Smaller data, such as department store shelf space devoted to the product, are also mentioned.
Extensions of 4Ps of Marketing
The 4 P’s of Marketing should be expanded to cover services, according to new marketers. They are as follows:
People: Servicing entails direct engagement between service providers and users, increasing the potential for subjectivity. Appearances, communication, discretion, consumer engagement, demeanour, and service attitude are all critical factors. Physical Evidence: The atmosphere, layout, and style of a workplace can have a significant impact on a product’s brand image.
Process: When it comes to policy, processes, systems, and consumer interaction, standardised procedures are frequently used to ensure consistency in service delivery.
The underlying rules, assumptions, and conditions that establish the parameters and restrictions within which accounting operates are known as accounting concepts. In other words, accounting concepts are generally accepted accounting principles that serve as the foundation for regularly preparing universal financial accounts.
Basic accounting concepts will also assist you in making timely but informed operational decisions on a daily basis. As an entrepreneur, this will save you time and money, two of your most significant resources. Even if you use accounting software for your firm, you need have a basic awareness of these ideas.
Finally, knowing the fundamentals of accounting will help you have productive conversations with your financial advisors as you strategize for your company’s future.
Objectives of Accounting Concepts
The main objective of accounting concepts is to establish uniformity and consistency in financial statement preparation and maintenance.
It serves as a foundational idea for accountants in the preparation and maintenance of business records.
Its goal is to develop a common understanding of the norms or assumptions that all types of companies must follow, allowing for more comprehensive and comparable financial data.
Basic Accounting Concepts
Business Entity Concept: According to the business entity concept, business’s transactions must be recorded separately from those of its owners or other businesses. This necessitates the use of separate accounting records for the organization that are fully free of any other entity’s or the owner’s assets and liabilities. Without this idea, several businesses’ records would be mixed together, making it difficult to distinguish the financial or taxable results of a single company. For example, The only shareholder of a company receives a $1,000 payout. This results in a loss of equity in the company’s books, as well as $1,000 in taxable income for the shareholder.
Money Measurement Concept: The money measurement concept is an essential accounting concept that is based on the premise that a corporation should record only those transactions on the financial statement that can be quantified or described in monetary terms. Money measurement idea, also known as Measurability Concept, asserts that while recording financial transactions, transactions that cannot be stated in terms of monetary worth should not be recorded.
Periodicity Concept: The notion of periodicity states that an institution or corporation must account for a specific period of time, usually a financial year. The frequency with which financial statements are prepared can range from monthly to quarterly to annually. It aids in the detection of any changes that occur throughout time.
Accrual Concept: The accrual basis of accounting is based on the principle of recording revenues and expenses as they are incurred. The usage of this approach has an impact on the balance sheet, as receivables and payables may be reported even if there is no accompanying cash receipt or payment.
Both generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and international financial reporting standards support the accrual basis of accounting (IFRS). Both of these accounting frameworks offer guidance on how to account for revenue and expense transactions when there are no cash receipts or payments to trigger the recording of a transaction under the cash basis of accounting.
Matching Concept: The matching concept is linked to the Accrual and Periodicity concepts. According to the matching principle, the entity must account for just those expenses that are related to the period for which revenue is being examined. It implies that the organization must keep track of both revenue and expenses for the same time period.
Going Concern Concept: A going concern is an accounting term for a corporation that has the financial resources to continue functioning indefinitely unless it can show otherwise. The ability of a corporation to produce enough money to stay afloat or avoid bankruptcy is sometimes referred to by this word. If a company is no longer in operation, it has gone bankrupt and its assets have been liquidated.
Cost Concept: All acquisitions of items (e.g., assets or items needed for expenditure) should be recorded and held in books at cost, according to the cost concept of accounting. As a result, unless otherwise mentioned, if a balance sheet shows an asset at a given value, it should be presumed that this is its cost. For example, If a building is purchased for $500,000, for example, it will remain in the books at that price regardless of its market worth.
Realization Concept: This concept is linked to the concept of cost. The realization idea states that an asset should be recorded at cost until and unless the asset’s realizable value is realized. In practice, it’s true to say that the entity will record the asset’s realized value once it’s been sold or disposed of, as the case may be.
Dual Aspect Concept: According to the dual aspect concept, every company transaction must be recorded in two independent accounts. This idea underpins double entry accounting, which is required by all accounting systems in order to produce trustworthy financial accounts. The theory is based on the accounting equation, which states:
Assets= Equity+ Liabilities
The accounting equation is obvious in the balance sheet, where all assets must equal all liabilities and equity. Most company transactions will have an effect on the balance sheet in some form, therefore at least one portion of every transaction will involve assets, liabilities, or equity.
Conservatism Concept: When there is uncertainty about the outcome, the conservative principle states that expenses and liabilities should be recognized as soon as feasible, while income and assets should only be recognized when they are guaranteed to be received. When offered a choice between numerous events with equal probabilities of occurrence, you should acknowledge the transaction that results in a smaller profit, or at the very least a profit deferral. Recognize the transaction resulting in a lower recorded asset valuation if a choice of outcomes with similar probabilities of occurrence may effect the value of an asset.
Consistency Concept: According to the consistency principle, businesses should employ the same accounting procedures or principles throughout their accounting periods so that users of financial statements or information can draw meaningful inferences from the data.
The consistency concept is important for determining company patterns that span multiple accounting periods. If a company’s accounting techniques are constantly changing, it will cause confusion and financial statements will not be comparable between accounting periods.
Materiality Concept:
The concept of materiality in accounting relates to the idea that all material elements should be appropriately recorded in financial statements. Material elements are those whose inclusion or absence causes major changes in the decision-making process for business information users.
The concept of materiality also allows for the disregard of other accounting principles if doing so has no impact on the financial statements of the company in question.
As a result, the financial statements’ information must be complete in terms of all material aspects in order to present an accurate picture of the business. The users of financial statements can be shareholders, auditors and investors, etc.
Group Discussion comprises of group of individuals who discuss a topic of similar interest, either formally or informally. Group Discussion tests the individual’s leadership skills, general awareness, communication skills, social skills and behavior, listening skills, confidence and problem solving skills. Formal Group Discussion normally comprises 10-15 members and lasts for 15-20 minutes. The seating arrangement for a group discussion is circular, semi- circular, horseshoe or rectangular. Usually 3-5 minutes are given for preparation after the topic is given by the moderator. After the start of the discussion, the moderator(s) silently observes the speakers and judges them on various parameters. Anyone can start or end the discussion and moderator doesn’t help anyone with the topic.
How to prepare for a Group Discussion?
Reading: Reading is a never ending process. The more you read the better. Reading helps you in gaining knowledge on various topics. Its important to be in touch with current affairs, debate topics, etc. It is also important to read different articles on same topic to know various perspectives about the topic.
Mocks: We all are aware of the fact that practice makes a man perfect. Forming a group discussion group and practicing helps to overcome shyness and confident. Also, it improves the communication skills.
Initiating a Group Discussion
Initiating a Group Discussion is the best way to grab moderator’s attention. It is a high profit- high loss strategy. Initiating a group discussion grabs the attention of moderator and fellow candidates however stuttering or stammering while initiating causes irreparable damage, that is why it is important to initiate only when there is in-depth knowledge about the topic. However, make sure to participate later also even if you initiate.
Techniques to initiate a Group Discussion:
1. Quotes: Starting with a quote is an effective way to start the group discussion. Quoting something catchy which is relevant to the topic grabs the attention of fellow candidates and moderator. For example, Customer is King- There is one boss: the customer.
2. Definition: Defining the topic is also an effective way. Any discussion should always start with definition of the topic. You can always start a group discussion by giving introduction or by defining the topic. For example, Advertising is a diplomatic way of telling a lie- define advertising.
3. Question: Asking a question related to the topic and then answering it yourself is also an effective way to start a group discussion. Also, it promotes a flow of ideas. For example, “What does war bring to the people of the nation”?
4. Shock Statement: Starting a group discussion about the topic with a shock statement immediately grabs the attention. For example, Impact of population on Indian Economy- “At the center of the Indian capital stands a population clock that ticks away relentlessly, It tracks 33 births a minute.”
5. Facts, figures and statistics: Telling a facts, figures and statistics about a topic shows your knowledge about the topic and can give you an advantage if you start with it. However, make sure you quote only correct facts because wrong facts adds to disadvantage.
6. Short story: Initiating with a short story is also an effective way to start a group discussion.
7. General Statement: You can also start group discussion with a general statement to put it in the right perspective. For example, Should Sonia Gandhi be the Prime Minister of India? – Before jumping into conclusions like, “Yes Sonia Gandhi should be…”
How to interrupt someone in Group Discussion?
“Excuse me, but I feel that what you are saying isn’t universally true..“
“Yes, I agree with your idea, and I would like to further add to it..”
“Yes, I think you are right when you say that, but could you clarify what if…”
How to ward off stubbornness and aggressiveness in Group Discussion?
Ignore the person and address the others.
Be assertive and inform the person that he is wrong.
Point out to him that his point is well taken and the group must progress and discuss other views.
How to conclude in a Group Discussion?
Most group discussions do not have any conclusions but it is important to summarize a group discussion. A group discussion can be summarized if the time is available on hand otherwise no summary is needed.
How to summarize a group discussion:- – Avoiding raising new points – Avoid stating only your views – Avoid concentrating on only one aspect of group discussion – Keep it brief and concise – Include/Incorporate all important points – Summarization includes end of Group Discussion – Do not add anything after Summarization.
Pricing strategies are used to determine the cost of goods and services. The factors that are used to determine the price of a product or a service are demand for the product, cost of goods sold, consumer behavior and market conditions. Business owners can determine the right pricing strategy based on goals of the business, for example whether their goal is to maximize profits, gain market share or reduce the inventory.
Types of Pricing Strategies
Penetration Pricing Penetration Pricing is a pricing strategy to gain market share. In this strategy, a business tries to gain market share by entering the market by keeping the prices for their products or services lower than that of competitors. This helps the business to build customer base. In this pricing strategy, a business will incur losses initially but if they are able to build a loyal customer base, they can rise their prices to cover up the costs.
Skimming Pricing Skimming Pricing is a pricing strategy in which a business keeps highest price for their products or services and reduces the prices overtime. When the demand for first customers are satisfied and competition enters the market, the business lowers it price to attract new segment of customers. Businesses that sell high-tech or novelty products typically use price skimming.
High-low Pricing High-low Pricing is a common retail pricing strategy where a product or sometimes a service is introduced at higher prices in the market when the demand is high and when the product becomes less desirable, it is sold at discount or through clearance sales. Retail businesses that sell seasonal products use a high-low strategy.
Premium Pricing Premium Pricing Strategy is used by businesses when prices are set higher than the competitors because of the perceived value, quality or luxury of the product. Usually, premium prices are set by businesses who have a positive brand perception in the market, because of this customers are willing to pay high prices for their product. For example- Rolex watches
Psychological Pricing Psychological Pricing is a pricing strategy in which businesses keep prices slightly lower than the whole number. For example, keeping price of a product 499 rupees instead of 500. This pricing is done on the belief that customers don’t round up these prices, so they treat them as lower prices than they really are. Mostly, retail and restaurant businesses employ this method.
Bundle Pricing Bundle Pricing is a pricing strategy in which companies package separate products together and offer them at reduced price. Competitive bundling is an excellent way for you to push more product, stand out from the crowd, and connect with your audience in an intriguing way. With the help of Bundle Pricing, customers are able to discover more products which they didn’t plan to initially.
Competitive Pricing Competitive Pricing is a pricing strategy in which prices are set based on the market rate. The price for a product or service is determined based on the prevailing prices in the industry which helps the business stay competitive. A business can price the product up or below the market rate as long as it is still in the range of competitors in the industry.
Cost- Plus Pricing Cost- Plus Pricing is a pricing strategy in which a business charges a fixed percentage above the cost to determine the final price. A business can decide on the markup percentage by determining how much profit a business wants from each product sold. A pizza shop adds up the cost of its ingredients and labor, then sets the pizza price to receive a 20% profit margin.
Dynamic Pricing Dynamic pricing, often known as real-time pricing, is a method of determining a product’s or service’s cost that is highly adaptable. Dynamic pricing enables a corporation selling goods or services via the Internet to alter prices on the fly in response to market needs.
Financial markets is a marketplace where buying and selling of securities like stocks, bonds, derivatives, commodities, currencies, etc. occur. These markets may include securities which are listed on an regulated exchanges or are traded Over-The-Counter(OTC). Financial markets basically provide a way for those who have excess money to invest and those who are in need to money to borrow.
Financial markets play an important role in creating liquidity for capitalist economies. Financial markets are transparent as they ensure that the prices set are efficient and appropriate.
Types of Financial Markets
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Stock Markets
Stock markets are a place where trading of equities occur. Equity is the value of shares issued by the company. In a stock market, securities are traded via Primary Market and Secondary Market. In Primary Market, securities are issued to investors directly by the issuer. Companies raise capital by an Initial Public Offering(IPO). Primary markets are also known as New Issue Markets.
Secondary markets are where investors buy and sell securities they already own. The secondary market, also called the aftermarket and follow on public offering, is the financial market in which previously issued financial instruments are traded.
The most popular stock exchanges in India are National Stock Exchange(NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange(BSE).
Bond Markets
The Bond Market is a marketplace where participants can issue new debt, known as primary market and buy and sell debt securities, known as secondary market. A bond is an financial instrument in which an investor loans money for a specific period of time at a pre-determined interest rate. Bonds are issues by municipalities, states, and sovereign governments to finance projects and operations. Debt securities usually include bonds, but it may include notes, bills, and so for public and private expenditures.
Money Markets
Money Markets involves trading of securities that are highly liquid and are issued for short time period with low interest rates. Money market consists of various financial institutions and dealers, who seek to borrow or loan securities. Examples of securities traded in money markets are treasury bills, commercial papers and certificate of deposits. Money markets are considered a safe place to invest as they have high liquidity.
Money markets are Over-The-Counter(OTC) markets which means that they are not regulated and not structured. Money markets give lesser returns however they offer a variety of products.
Derivatives Market
Derivatives markets are financial markets for derivatives like futures, options, forwards, etc. Derivatives are financial instruments whose value is determined by the value of the financial instruments like bonds, commodities, currencies, interest rates, market indexes, and stocks. The four major types of derivative contracts are options, forwards, futures and swaps. Futures and Options are listed and traded on stock exchanges while forwards and swaps are not.
Forex Market
The forex (foreign exchange) market is a market where people can buy, trade, hedge, and speculate on currency pairs’ exchange rates. Because cash is the most liquid of assets, the Forex market is the most liquid in the world. The currency market conducts more than $5 trillion in daily transactions, which is higher than the combined volume of the futures and stock markets. The forex market, like the OTC markets, is decentralized and is made up of a global network of computers and brokers from all over the world. Banks, commercial companies, central banks, investment management firms, hedge funds, and retail forex brokers and investors make up the forex market.
Commodities Market
Commodities markets are gathering places for producers and consumers to trade physical commodities like maize, livestock, and soybeans, as well as energy goods (oil, gas, and carbon credits), precious metals (gold, silver, and platinum), and “soft” commodities (such as cotton, coffee, and sugar). Spot commodities markets are those where tangible things are exchanged for money.
Cryptocurrency Markets
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, which are decentralised digital assets based on blockchain technology, have been introduced and have grown in popularity over the last few years. Hundreds of cryptocurrency tokens are now accessible and traded on a patchwork of independent online crypto exchanges throughout the world. These exchanges provide traders with digital wallets via which they can exchange one cryptocurrency for another or fiat currencies like dollars or euros.
I am sure most of you face or might have faced anxiety before giving an interview. Various questions like what to prepare, how to conduct yourself, what are the things that will make you stand out among the candidates might come into your mind. While, there is no guaranteed method to crack an interview, however there are still some aspects you can focus on to increase your chances of getting selected. This article provides some tips to help you with your interview.
What Aspects are Tested?
Past relationship with boss and co-workers Employers want to know if you’re a team player when you’re applying for positions that require you to collaborate with others. They may ask you a series of questions to learn about your prior coworkers’ relationships with you. You should demonstrate in your responses that you can get along with everyone and work well with others to form an effective team.
Respect for the value of others In a diverse workplace, there are people from different backgrounds and have different values. Employees might not love or enjoy everyone’s personalities and not believe in their values but they must respect their work in order to fulfil their objectives and remain professional.
Ability to meet deadlines Demonstrating your ability to manage your time can help you stand out as a job prospect. It would be hard to meet deadlines and complete each project to the best of abilities if you do not have good time management skills.
Ability to multi task A hiring manager will almost always ask if you can juggle multiple tasks at once. It’s a reasonable issue, given the volume of phone calls, emails, and meetings that can occur in a single day.
Value oriented approach to problem solving Value-based interviewing (VBI) is a type of interview that focuses on the ‘how’ and ‘why’ an applicant makes decisions in the workplace and aims to uncover the reasons for their actions. It gives managers a thorough grasp of and insight into candidates’ beliefs and behaviors, as well as how they align with the company’s.
Other aspects that employers check are how efficiently you use time, thorough knowledge of the industry, commitment to continual learning, ability to address small problems but always focused on the bigger picture.
Your personal values play a key role in your selection in an interview. Personal values include your integrity, your enthusiasm, accountability, team orientation, work ethics, respect for people, etc. Also, your technical expertise matters the most.
Dealing with Pre-Interview Nervousness
Make sure you sleep properly the night before the interview so that you are rested well and you give the interview with a fresh mind.
Go easy on caffeine before the meeting.
Give positive affirmations to yourself to give yourself motivation and to get rid of the negative thoughts.
Listen to the calming music on your way to the interview.
Look at the job opportunity as an interview to shine.
Welcome the challenge
Breathe
Exhibit interest in job instead of trying to be interesting.
Stay focused and positive.
Ten Variables for the First Impression
Arrive on time for the interview
Dress in a professional manner
Take good rest and be alert
Be respectful to everyone you meet during the interview process
Be honest
Clearly express your clarifications for the job
Show your interest in job and company
Responses to the questions should be specific and informed
Ask relevant questions
Your personality should fit well with the organization
The Big Five personality traits is a proposed scientific classification, or gathering, for personality characteristics, created from the 1980s forward in psychological trait theory. At the point when factor analysis (a statistical technique) is applied to personality survey data, it uncovers semantic affiliations, which are words used to portray parts of character. These affiliations are regularly applied to a similar individual. For instance, somebody portrayed as conscientious is bound to be depicted as “arranged all of the time” rather than “untidy”. These affiliations recommend five broad aspects utilized in like manner language to portray the human personality, demeanor and psyche.
It is essential to take note of that every one of the five character factors addresses a range between two limits. For instance, extraversion addresses a continuum between extreme extraversion and extreme introversion. In reality, a many people lie some place in the middle of the two ends of each dimension.
The Big 5 personality traits are described below:
Openness
Characteristics like inventiveness and insight are present in this trait. 1 People that score well on this attribute also have a diverse set of interests. They are curious about the world and other people, and they are ready to learn new things and participate in new activities.
People with a high level of this personality trait are more daring and inventive. People that score low on this feature tend to be more traditional and may have difficulty thinking abstractly.
Conscientiousness
High degrees of thinking, good impulse control, and goal-directed behaviours are all common characteristics of this dimension. People that are highly conscientious are usually well-organized and detail-oriented. They think ahead, consider how their actions influence others, and keep track of deadlines.
Extraversion
Excitability, friendliness, talkativeness, assertiveness, and high levels of emotional expressiveness are all characteristics of extraversion (or extroversion). People with a high level of extraversion are gregarious and thrive in social circumstances. They become invigorated and delighted when they are in the company of others.
People with low extraversion (or introversion) are more restrained in social situations and have less energy to exert. Introverts frequently require a period of solitude and silence to “recharge” after attending social activities.
Agreeableness
Trust, benevolence, friendliness, affection, and other prosocial actions are included in this personality characteristic. People with a high level of agreeableness are more cooperative, whereas those with a low level of agreeableness are more competitive and even manipulative.
Neuroticism
Sadness, moodiness, and emotional instability are all characteristics of neuroticism. Mood fluctuations, anxiety, impatience, and sorrow are common in those who score high on this attribute. Those who score low on this attribute are more emotionally stable and resilient.
Yoga is a collection of physical, mental, and spiritual activities that originated in ancient India that aim to control and still the mind the mind by recognizing a detached witness-consciousness that is unaffected by the mind or ordinary sorrow.
The name ‘Yoga’ comes from the Sanskrit root ‘Yuj,’ which means ‘to join, yoke, or unify.’ Yoga, according to Yogic texts, leads to the union of individual consciousness with that of the Universal Consciousness, implying complete harmony between the mind and body, as well as between Man and Nature. Everything in the universe, according to modern scientists, is just a manifestation of the same quantum firmament. A yogi is someone who has experienced this oneness of existence and has attained the state of freedom known as mukti, nirvana, or moksha. As a result, the goal of Yoga is to achieve Self-realization, which leads to ‘the state of liberation’ (Moksha) or ‘freedom’ (Kaivalya).
Yoga’s beginnings may be traced back over 5,000 years to northern India. The Rig Veda, an old sacred scripture, is where the word yoga first appeared. Yoga is one of Hinduism’s six schools of philosophy, and it’s also a big part of Buddhism’s meditation practices.
Terminology of Yoga
Here are a few words you could hear during a yoga practice and what they mean: Āsana An Āsana is a body posture that includes reclining, standing, inverted, twisting, and balancing poses. It was originally and still is a general term for a sitting meditation pose, but it was later extended in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise to any type of position, including balancing, twisting, and balancing poses.
Prānāyāma In Sanskrit, Prānāyāma refers to the life energy that pervades all living things. The term Prānāyāma is used in modern-day yoga sessions to describe breathing exercises that erase physical and mental blockages in our bodies to release the breath.
Yoga Postures
When you first begin practising yoga, there will be specific postures that will form the foundation of your practice. You may receive the benefits of yoga by anchoring your practice with these postures: flexibility, greater muscle strength, spine protection, increased blood flow, and even improved happiness.
It is believed that there are 19 different types of yoga and 66 basic yoga postures. Some of the basic postures are:
ŚĪRṢĀSANA – HEADSTAND You balance on your elbows, arms, and head in this asana. The Headstand is the first in the sequence and is known as the “King of āsanas” due to its numerous benefits. “Head-stand is a panacea, a cure-all, a sovereign specific for all diseases,” Swami Sivananda said.
SARVĀṄGĀSANA – SHOULDERSTAND With the body resting on the shoulders, this is an inverted stance. Sarvangāsana denotes totality. Sarvangāsana, also known as the “Queen of āsanas,” strengthens the entire body. Because the chin is forced on the throat in this position, the thyroid gland is regulated, which in turn balances all other glands in the body, ensuring that all bodily systems and organs function properly.
HALĀSANA – PLOUGH A plough-like stance with hands and feet on the floor. Its name comes from the Sanskrit word hala, which means plough. Halasana strengthens and tones the spine, as well as correcting a pronounced lower back curvature (lordosis). As the abdominal organs are massaged, it reduces problems like indigestion and constipation.
MATSYĀSANA – FISH Matsyāsana posture is resting on the arms, arching the back and expanding the chest. The name Matsyāsana comes from the fact that it allows one to float in water like a fish. This posture promotes improved lung capacity and better breathing, which aids in the treatment of respiratory illnesses such as chronic bronchitis and asthma.
PAŚCIMOTTĀNĀSANA – SITTING FORWARD BEND Paścimottānāsana Posture is stretching the spine forward. This seemingly simple pose is one of the most powerful and significant of all postures. It relieves the pressure on the spine generated by standing erect. Continuous practice helps to keep the back supple, the joints mobile, the nervous system energized, and the internal organs toned. It also helps to prevent diabetes by massaging the pancreas naturally.
BHUJAṄGĀSANA – COBRA This posture is arching the upper body and expanding the chest. This position enhances flexibility, rejuvenates spinal nerves, and provides a rich blood supply to the spine by arching the spine. It helps to support the neck and upper back.
ŚALABHĀSANA – LOCUST Śalabhāsana Posture is lying on the front with lifted legs. Śalabhāsana improves the operation of the intestines, strengthens the abdominal walls, and improves digestion. This posture enhances cervical flexibility and helps lower back pain and sciatica by bending the spine backwards. This posture aids in the development of willpower.
DHANURĀSANA – BOW Dhanurāsana Posture is balancing on the abdomen in the shape of a bow. The benefits of Cobra and Locust positions are combined and enhanced in Dhanurāsana. This posture increases flexibility in the cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and sacral regions by working on the entire spine. It massages and energizes the digestive organs, which aids in the treatment of a variety of diseases. Another good āsana for women because it helps with menstrual difficulties.
ARDHA MATSYENDRĀSANA – HALF SPINAL TWIST Ardha Matsyendrāsana Posture is a twist for the entire spine. This asana is named after Matsyendranath, a renowned yogi. The Half Spinal Twist increases the mobility of the spine by twisting the vertebrae in both directions. In this position, the abdominal organs receive a deep massage, which helps to relieve digestive disorders.
KAKĀSANA – CROW Kakāsana Posture is balancing in a squatting position. Kakāsana helps to strengthen the arm, wrists, and shoulders while also stretching the hips. It improves concentration and fosters mental and physical balance, as do all balancing poses.
PĀDAHASTĀSANA – STANDING FORWARD BEND Pādahastāsana is a bending forward in a standing position. Pādahastāsana stretches the spine and mobilizes the joints, making it more elastic. It improves the neurological system by increasing blood flow to the brain. Standing Forward Bend is an exercise that promotes eternal youth.
TRIKOṆĀSANA – TRIANGLE Posture is a lateral bend resembling a triangle. Trikonansa’s lateral stretch elongates the spine and improves hip and leg flexibility. The circulatory system is stimulated, the liver and spleen are massaged, and the digestive tract’s peristalsis is boosted. Other asanas improve as the body becomes lighter.
Cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that uses cryptography to verify transactions, which makes counterfeiting and double-spending practically impossible. Cryptocurrencies are not regulated or facilitated by a central or regulating authority, instead it uses decentralized network called blockchain technology. Since cryptocurrency are not issued by any central authority, it makes them theoretically immune to government interference or manipulation.
Understanding Cryptocurrency
The first cryptocurrency named Bitcoin was invented by an unknown person or a group of people named Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008. It was put into use in 2009 when the currency’s implementation was released as open-source software.
Cryptocurrencies are based on the blockchain, a distributed public database that keeps track of all transactions and is updated by currency holders.
Cryptocurrency units are formed through a process known as mining, which entails employing computer processing power to solve complex mathematical problems in order to earn coins. Users can also purchase the currencies from brokers, which they can then store and spend using encrypted wallets.
You don’t possess anything concrete if you own cryptocurrency. What you possess is a key that enables you to transfer a record or a unit of measurement from one person to another without the involvement of a trustworthy third party. Although Bitcoin has been present since 2009, cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies are still in their infancy in terms of financial applications, with more to come in the future. Bonds, stocks, and other financial assets might all be traded via the technology in the future.
Types of Cryptocurrency
Bitcoin: As mentioned earlier, Bitcoin was invented in 2008 and is the first cryptocurrency that was invented. Bitcoin is still the most popular and well-known crypto currency.
Ethereum: Ethereum is a blockchain platform that has its own cryptocurrency, Ether (ETH) or Ethereum. It was created in 2015. After Bitcoin, it is the most widely used cryptocurrency.
Litecoin: This money is quite similar to bitcoin, but it has moved faster to build new innovations, such as speedier payments and processes that allow for more transactions.
Ripple: Ripple was founded in 2012 as a distributed ledger technology. Not only can Ripple be used to track cryptocurrency transactions, but it can also be used to track other types of transactions. Its creators have collaborated with a number of banks and financial institutions.
How to buy cryptocurrency?
There are 3 steps involved in purchasing of cryptocurrency. Please find them below:
Step 1:Choosing a platform Before choosing a platform, compare various platforms on the basis of which cryptocurrencies are on offer, what fees they charge, their security features, storage and withdrawal options, and any educational resources. Typically, there are two main platforms which one can choose for trading of cryptocurrency:-
Traditional brokers: These are online brokers that allow you to purchase and sell cryptocurrencies as well as other financial assets such as stocks, bonds, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These platforms are known for having reduced trading fees but fewer crypto features.
Cryptocurrency exchanges: There are a variety of cryptocurrency exchanges to choose from, each with its own set of cryptocurrencies, wallet storage options, interest-bearing account options, and other features. Asset-based fees are charged by several exchanges.
Step 2: Funding your account After you’ve decided on a platform, you’ll need to fund your account before you can start trading. Most crypto exchanges allow users to buy crypto with fiat (government-issued) currencies like the US Dollar, British Pound, or Euro using their debit or credit cards, though this varies per platform.
ACH and wire transfers are also accepted by some sites. The payment methods that are accepted and the time it takes to deposit or withdraw money vary each platform. Likewise, the time it takes for deposits to clear varies depending on the payment type.
Fees are an essential consideration. These fees could include transaction fees for deposits and withdrawals, as well as trading fees. Fees will vary depending on the payment method and platform, so do your homework ahead of time.
Step 3: Placing an order You can use the web or mobile platform of your broker or exchange to make an order. If you wish to buy cryptocurrencies, go to “buy,” select the order type, enter the number of coins you want to buy, and confirm the order. Orders to “sell” follow the same procedure.
There are other ways to invest in cryptocurrency as well. PayPal, Cash App, and Venmo are examples of payment platforms that allow customers to buy, trade, or store cryptocurrencies. In addition, the following investment vehicles are available:
Bitcoin trusts: Bitcoin trusts can be purchased with a conventional brokerage account. Through the stock market, these vehicles provide regular investors with access to cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin mutual funds: You can select between Bitcoin ETFs and Bitcoin mutual funds.
Blockchain stocks or ETFs: Blockchain companies that specialize in the technology behind crypto and crypto transactions are another way to indirectly invest in crypto. Alternatively, you might invest in blockchain-related equities or exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
How to store cryptocurrency?
Once you’ve purchased cryptocurrency, you’ll need to keep it safe to avoid being hacked or stolen. Cryptocurrencies are typically stored in crypto wallets, which are physical devices or online software that securely store the private keys to your cryptocurrencies. Some exchanges offer wallet services, allowing you to store your funds directly on the platform. However, not all exchanges or brokers will automatically give you with a wallet.
There are a variety of wallet providers from which you can choose. The terms “hot wallet” and “cold wallet” are used to describe two types of wallets-
Hot wallet storage: “Hot wallets” refers to cryptocurrency storage that use internet software to safeguard your assets’ private keys.
Cold wallet storage: Unlike hot wallets, cold wallets (also known as hardware wallets) save your private keys on offline electronic devices.
Cold wallets typically charge fees, whereas hot wallets do not.
Union Budget 2022 and Cryptocurrency
In the Union Budget 2022-23, the government has imposed a 30 percent fixed tax rate on all crypto trading profits, with the goal of introducing the Digital Rupee in 2022–23.
The Digital Rupee, India’s first Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) project, will be a digital version of the rupee that would be fully regulated and overseen by the government.
The Finance Ministry has suggested a 30% tax on the trading of all virtual assets, including cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens, in these regulations. Losses on these crypto-assets cannot be offset at a later point, according to the report. This means that any losses incurred when trading these assets will not be offset by other sources of income and will be carried forward to later years.
Virtual currency gifts are likewise subject to taxation, with the recipient carrying the burden of any such deductions.
Further elaborating on the taxes approach for such virtual currencies, the Finance Minister stated that all crypto transfers exceeding a specific monetary level will be subject to a 1% TDS deduction, which will aid the authorities in keeping track of their movement in the economy.
I am sure most of you might be aware of the famous American television sitcom named- “Friends” and for some of you( I think many of you), it might be your favorite. I, myself am a very big fan of this sitcom. I guess some of you might have this question in your mind- “Why write about a sitcom that is already well-known and loved by most?” Well, my answer would be because this show made me feel that your ordinary life is beautiful. And even if it makes me one of those cliched fans, I am fine with it.
About F.R.I.E.N.D.S
The sitcom Friends was created by David Crane and Martha Kauffman which aired on NBC for ten years from 1994 to 2004. It is a story of 6 friends starring Jennifer Aniston as ‘Rachel Green’, Courteney Cox as ‘Monica Gellar’, Lisa Kudrow as ‘Phoebe Buffay’, Matt LeBlanc as ‘Joey Tribbiani’, Matthew Perry as ‘ Chandler Bing’ and David Schwimmer as ‘Ross Gellar’ residing in the New York city. The story revolves around the lives of these 6 friends showing how they deal with their daily lives, relationship problems and career issues.
Friends was a critically acclaimed television series that went on to become one of the most successful shows of all time. The series received 62 Primetime Emmy nominations, with its eighth season winning Outstanding Comedy Series in 2002. The show was voted no. 7 on Empire magazine’s The 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time and no. 21 on TV Guide’s 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
F.R.I.E.N.D.S teaches its audience to get through the difficult times
Rachel Rachel Green, a woman who belonged from a rich family, who never thought of taking a job flees on her wedding day because she was not in love with her fiancée and restarts her life on her own without taking any financial support from her father. She struggles initially, working as a waitress in a coffee shop for 2 years after which she finally quits to pursue her career in Fashion. Gradually, she ends up working for good fashion companies and establishes identity of her own.
Another striking incident in Rachel’s life was when she got pregnant with a child on a one-night-stand with her ex-boyfriend Ross. She was obviously scared and unprepared but she learns and manages to be a good single mother.
Monica Monica with her dream of opening her own restaurant or becoming head chef of one, struggles in New York City for many years until finally she becomes one.
She also wanted to be in a committed relationship and get married one day. In the journey of finding “the guy” for her, she gets into very unusual and unstable relationships which sometimes breaks her heart until finally she falls in love with her best-friend, Chandler with whom she gets married.
Monica also always wanted to have children and broke-up with her ex-boyfriend, Richard, whom she loved very much because he didn’t want them. After she got married to Chandler, they tried to have kids but there were some complications so they decided to adopt.
Phoebe Phoebe, the weird but kindest one in the group had a rough life since childhood as her father abandons her family and her mother commits suicide after few years. She faces all kinds of troubles- not having a shelter, food and any guardians.
As a grown-up she works as a masseuse, always wanting a family of her own. Finally, she marries Mike and starts her new life with him.
Joey Joey, a handsome young man who pursues a career in acting struggles to make his ends meet because of his unstable career choice and not getting a good role in a movie or a show. Nevertheless, he never gives up and finally gets a show in the end.
Chandler Chandler, the sarcastic guy of the show, had commitment issues because of his parents’ divorce when we was a child. He panics during the times when he realizes that things are getting serious with his girlfriend, Monica. But because of his true love and Monica’s support he overcomes his commitment issues and lives a happily married life with her.
Ross Ross, a paleontologist marries a woman who after seven years of marriage realizes that she is a lesbian which leads to their divorce. He marries another woman, named Emily after few years and that marriage also ends because he takes the name of his ex girlfriend, Rachel during his wedding vows. The series of divorce doesn’t end here because he gets divorced again as he gets married to Rachel in Vegas while drunk and not in his senses.
Conclusion
No matter how difficult life got for these 6 friends, they always fought, learned and moved forward. They always kept hope of better things and worked towards their flaws. They all lived ordinary lives like we all do, faced struggles like we all do but smiled through the pain. I think that is all what we should do. Whatever is the pain or struggle in our lives, with the right set of people, we can always overcome it, some people are always going to believe in you. I would like to quote some lines from the theme song of F.R.I.E.N.D.S-
“So no one told you life was gonna be this way Your job’s a joke, you’re broke Your love life’s DOA It’s like you’re always stuck in second gear When it hasn’t been your day, your week, your month Or even your year, but I’ll be there for you”
What view is better than a view from the top of the lighthouse along the coastline? So, next time when you are in Kerala, think about visiting these lighthouses for bliss and peace.
Thangaserry Lighthouse
Thangaserry Lighthouse was built in 1902 and is located on the coast at Tangaserri in Kollam city of Kerala. It has a height of 135ft and it is one of the most visited lighthouses of Kerala. Tourists can visit this lighthouse between 11am to 5pm on all days except Mondays. The lighthouse also has a elevator facility for tourists.
Alappuzha Lighthouse
Alappuzha Lighthouse was built in 1862 and is located on the coast at Alappuzha town of Kerala, which was one of the busiest ports and trade centers of Kerala. Alappuzha Lighthouse has a height of 92ft and is a major tourist attraction. Visitors are only allowed on weekdays between 3pm to 4:30pm.
Vypin Lighthouse
The Vypin Lighthouse started fuctioning in 1979 and is situated at Puthuvype in Kochi, Kerala. It has a height of 151ft and is the tallest lighthouse in Kerala. The light beam of the lighthouse has the range of 52 kilometers. The lighthouse is open for tourists on all days except Monday between 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 6pm.
Kadalpur Point Lighthouse
The Kadalpur Point Lighthouse started functioning in 1907 and is situated at Kadalpur, in Kozhikode District of Kerala. It is situated on the coast of Arabian Sea and has a height of 112ft. The Lighthouse is painted with black and white bands. The lighthouse is thought to have been built following a shipwreck on the rocky cliffs of the point, and the wreckage may still be seen.
Vizhinjam Lighthouse
Vizhinjam Lighthouse started functioning in 1972 and is situated near Kovalam beach in Kerala. Vizhinjam was a busy port in eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The Lighthouse has a height of 118ft.
Every year around 2,30,000 people appear for CAT(Common Admission Test) in India and given the limited number of seats, only 5100 are able to get a seat in IIMs. This article is for all the MBA aspirants who wish to secure a seat in a top-notch MBA college but are not aware of their options. Apart from IIMs, there are many other Tier-1 and Tier-2 colleges in India which provide good education. So, to ease your confusion, below is the list of entrances and colleges in which you can apply to-
CAT The Common Admission Test(CAT) is held on the last Sunday of November every year. The registration for it generally starts from the first week of August. The minimum eligibility criteria to fill the form is a Bachelor’s Degree with 50% percent marks or an equivalent CGPA. Candidates in the final year of their graduation can also apply.
CAT Expected Test Pattern -Mode of examination- Online – Duration of the Exam- 120 minutes (2 hours) – Number of Sections- 3 – Name of the Sections- 1. Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension 2. Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning 3. Quantitative Aptitude – Time allocated per section- 40 minutes for each section – Number of questions- 66 – Total marks- 198 – Marking Scheme- +3 marks for every correct question -1 for every wrong answer in MCQs No-negative marking for Non- MCQs
The second round after the entrance exam would be a Group Discussion or a Written Ability Test along with Personal Interview. This round is only for the candidates who clear the cut-offs.
Colleges accepting CAT scores – All the IIMs – FMS Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Roorkee, IIT Madras – MDI Gurgaon – JBIMS Mumbai – SPJIMR Mumbai – IMT Ghaziabad – Goa Institute of Management, Great Lakes Chennai, KJ Somaiya Mumbai, TAPMI Manipal, XIMB, Bhubaneshwar
IIFT Indian Institute of Foreign Trade is one of the best B-Schools in India. MBA in International Business is their flagship program and they have their campuses at Delhi, Kolkata and Kakinada. The minimum eligibility criteria to fill the form is a Bachelor’s Degree with 50% percent marks or an equivalent CGPA. Candidates in the final year of their graduation can also apply.
IIFT expected Test Pattern -Mode of examination- Online – Duration of the Exam- 120 minutes (2 hours) – Number of Sections- 4 – Name of the Sections- 1. Quantitative Aptitude 2. Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension 3. Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning 4. General Knowledge – Time allocated per section- No sectional time limit – Number of questions- 110 – Total marks- 300 – Marking Scheme +3 marks for every correct question in Section 1,2 and 3 +1.5 marks for every correct question in Section 4 -1/3rd of marks allocated for a question
The second round after the entrance exam would be a Group Discussion or a Written Ability Test along with Personal Interview. This round is only for the candidates who clear the cut-offs.
NMATby GMAC NMAT or NMAT by GMAC is a national level entrance test conducted for MBA admissions at NMIMS University and other reputed B-Schools in India as well as abroad. The minimum eligibility criteria to fill the form is a Bachelor’s Degree with 50% percent marks or an equivalent CGPA. Candidates in the final year of their graduation can also apply.
NMAT expected Test Pattern -Mode of examination- Online( from exam center or remote proctored exam from home) – Frequency of Exam- Once a year(74 days exam window) – Duration of the Exam- 120 minutes (2 hours) – Number of Sections- 3 – Name of the Sections- 1. Language Skills 2. Quantitative Skills 3. Logical Reasoning – Time allocated per section- 1. Language Skills- 28 minutes for 36 questions 2. Quantitative Skills- 52 minutes for 36 questions 3. Logical Reasoning- 40 minutes for 36 questions – Number of questions- 108 – Total marks- 324 – Marking Scheme +3 marks for every correct question in Section 1,2 and 3 No negative marking
Colleges accepting NMAT scores – NMIMS Mumbai -NMIMS Bangalore, Hyderabad, Indore – KJ Somaiya, Mumbai – Goa Institute of Management
The second round after the entrance exam would be a Group Discussion or a Written Ability Test along with Personal Interview. This round is only for the candidates who clear the cut-offs.
SNAP Symbiosis National Aptitude Test (SNAP) is a national-level MBA entrance exam conducted by Symbiosis International University (SIU) for admission to management programs offered by its affiliated institutes and several other private B-schools. The minimum eligibility criteria to fill the form is a Bachelor’s Degree with 50% percent marks or an equivalent CGPA. Candidates in the final year of their graduation can also apply.
SNAP expected Test Pattern -Mode of examination- Online – Duration of the Exam- 60 minutes (1 hour) – Number of Sections- 3 – Name of the Sections- 1. General English 2. Quantitative, Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency 3. Analytical & Logical Reasoning – Number of questions- 60 – Total marks- 60 – Marking Scheme Each wrong answer will attract 25% negative marks
Colleges accepting SNAP scores – SIBM Pune – SCHMRD Pune – SIIB Pune – SIBM, Bangalore – SIOM, Nashik – SIDTM, Pune – SIMS, Pune – SIBM Hyderabad, Nagpur
The second round after the entrance exam would be a Group Discussion or a Written Ability Test along with Personal Interview. This round is only for the candidates who clear the cut-offs.
Other management entrance exams which offer good colleges in India are XAT, CMAT, ATMA, TISSNET, etc.
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