Category: Business Strategy

The Oldest Joint Stock Bank of the Country, Allahabad Bank was founded in April 24th of the year 1865 at the confluence city of Allahabad by a group of Europeans. At that occasion Organized Industry, Trade and Banking started taking shape in India. Thus, the History of the Bank spread over three Centuries – namely Nineteenth, Twentieth and Twenty-First. As a leading public sector commercial banks in India, Allahabad Bank offering banking products and services to corporate and commercial customers and retail customers. The Bank particularly focuses on the retail banking while serving all sectors of the Indian economy. Bank’s operations for corporate and commercial customers cater to large corporate customers as well as to small and middle market businesses and Government entities. Corporate and commercial products include Term Loans, Bill Discounting, Export Credit and other business credit and financing products. Also the bank offers a wide range of retail products including Home Loans, Personal Loans and Automobile Loans as well as Debit Cards. In addition, specialised products and services to the agricultural sector also one of entity of the bank. All the above products and services of the bank offered through extensive branch network, extension counters, ATMs, phone banking and the Internet. This article will be helpful in writing Project Report on Marketing.In Twentieth Century, The Bank became a part of P & O Banking Corporation’s group with a bid price of Rs.436 per share in 1920. The Head Office of the Bank was shifted to Calcutta on business considerations during the year of 1923. The Bank crossed its century year in 1965. In July 19th of the year 1969, Allahabad Bank was nationalized (with 151Branches – Rs.119 crores of Deposits and Rs.82 crores of Advances) along with 13 other banks. United Industrial Bank Ltd was merged with the bank in October of the year1989. The Bank made a foray into merchant banking activity in 1984 and subsequently instituted AllBank Finance Ltd as a wholly owned subsidiary for Merchant Banking in the year of 1991. The Official Language Implementation Committee of Calcutta awarded the Rajbhasha Shield to the Bank as Second Prize for its best performance for the year 1991. During the year 1995, The Bank had entered into an MOU with the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for financing small-scale industrial units. In 1996, The Bank had set up Information Technology Centre to provide in-depth computer training to Officers at Calcutta and Lucknow. Consequent to the SEBI Rules and Regulation the company surrendered its merchant banking registration in 1998 and got it registered as a Non Banking Financial Company (NBFC) with Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In the same year of 1998, the bank had received permission from the RBI for gold trading. Allahabad Bank has entered into an arrangement, informally though, with IDBI and ICICI in regard to funding of infrastructure projects. During the year 1999, Allahabad Bank has launched two new schemes to increase the pace of credit off take and in the same period TATA Consultancy Services (TCS) has entered into a contract with Bank for implementing the Integrated Standard Banking System (ISBS), a branch mechanisation package at 60 branches. The Bank bagged three major core sector clients, namely the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Power Grid Corporation and Indian Railway Finance Corporation Ltd (IRFC). This report shows that Allahabad Bank has performed well which is reflected in its Ratio Analysis Reports In Twenty-First Century, Allahabad Bank has launched its new personal loan scheme for pensioners in the year of 2001. As at October of the year 2002, the bank came out with Initial Public Offer (IPO) of 10 crores share of face value Rs.10 each, reducing Government shareholding to 71.16% and in the same year 2002, Allahabad has tied up with National Institute of Banking Management, Crisil and Earnst & Young for development of HRM, risk Management and general business strategy. The Bank has seized the commercial assets of the Guarantors of Ramolene Fabrics (P) Ltd in 2003 at Mumbai and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Corporation Bank for mutual sharing of their ATM Network. The Bank has entered into an MOU in the year of 2004 with the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India (ECGC) for distribution of their products to the exporters. UTI Mutual Fund and Allahabad Bank on April 5, 2004 announced a strategic tie-up for distribution of UTI MF schemes. During April of the year 2005, the bank made Follow on Public Offer (FPO) of 10 crores equity shares of face value Rs.10 each with a premium of Rs.72, reducing Government shareholding to 55.23%. The Bank has signed MoU with Mahindra Gujarat Tractor Ltd in the identical year 2005 for financing Hindustan brand tractor under special finance scheme. Allahabad Bank transcended beyond the National Boundary, Allahabad bank had opened a representative office at Shenzen, China in June 2006. In October of the same year 2006, the bank rolled out its first branch under Core Banking Services (CBS). During February of the year 2007, The Bank opened its first overseas branch at Hong Kong. During the calendar year of 2007, 100 more branches opened throughout the country, the total number of branches were stirred from 2042 to 2142 of which rural are 983 (46%), semi-urban 402 (19%), urban 450 (21%) and metropolitan 307 (14%). There is no doubt that reading Banking Industry Reports is essential for knowing the history of a bank. Allahabad Bank has opened its 2154th branch in at Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu during March of the year 2008. The Bank has 211 ATM’s and Card members can now have access at over 16500 ATM’s all across the country under National Financial Switch. One of the premier nationalised banks of the country, Allahabad Bank has commenced the process of implementing the Agricultural Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme-2008 in June of the year 2008. The Bank has improved its performance and established its visibility and strong presence in the market. The Bank is steadily moving at a faster pace to consolidate its position in the coming days introducing extensive computerization to ensure the state-of-the-art service comfort for its customers. The Bank has already in hand 116 authorizations for opening of new branches. Bank’s plan is to expand in areas where the Bank’s presence is not very much visible now and where business potentiality is good.

Record labels continue to consolidate and internal departments continue to merge. However, it is important for future record industry executives to have some idea of the internal mechanisms that exist within a major label. In fact, independent labels have to incorporate many of the same responsibilities within their infrastructure in order to compete in todays marketplace.

Some of the departments may seem obvious to some of the more experienced readers. However, even you can benefit from knowing what tasks need to be tackled and accomplished in order to be a fully functional recording labelindependent or major.

It is important to remember that a record company is defined by foundational concepts:
1. Equity in the copyright of the sound recording
2. An ability to promote
3. An ability to distribute

Keeping these underlying concepts in mind, a label can then be about anything the owners want it to be about. Many people hate to concede to the idea that a record label is ultimately about making money, then hopefully about making great music. Although, the latter has been falling farther and farther behind in todays marketplace.
Suffice it to say, the labels departments must also be working toward the common goal in their own ways. Below is a general list of departments within a record label and the responsibilities of each department. Remember with smaller labels, departments are smaller and therefore, many tasks are accomplished by fewer people.

CEO
1. Crafts strategy and implements agenda of corporate parent company
2. May not be involved in day-to-day operations
3. May be responsible for the business affairs of all affiliated labels under the corporate umbrella
4. Reports to executive at corporate parent company

PRESIDENT
1. Responsible for entire record label
2. Reports to CEO
3. Less removed than CEO and may be involved in day-to-day operations and high profile signings

BUSINESS AFFAIRS
Responsible for all contract negotiations and legal affairs

FINANCE/ACCOUNTING
Responsible for all financial functions, payroll, royalty accounting and financial reporting

LABEL LIAISON
1. One person or a small group of people
2. Serves as liaison between record companys distribution company and the record company
3. Helps decide when to release an album and makes sure it doesnt conflict with any other labels the record company owns

A&R
1. Finds new artists (works with a research team to uncover important market research statistics/numbers)
2. Finding artists material
3. Liaison between artist and all other departments of the record company
4. Coordinates across departments for projects
5. Product Manager (your manager within the label)

PROMOTIONS
1. Primary function is to service radio stations with product and secure airplay
2. Manages independent promoters and contractors
3. Works closely with radio stations on contests, concerts, giveaways, etc.
4. Works closely with new media and marketing

SALES
1. Primary function is to service retail with product and oversee retail initiatives
2. Services national and independent accounts
3. Instrumental in planning release schedule, initial unit volume, and solicitation strategies
4. Works closely with marketing and promotion to track radio airplay

MARKETING
1. Creates strategic marketing plan for the company as well as, specific artists and their releases
2. Instrumental in seeking strategic alliances for the label (Consumer Products, advertising, radio/tv/film)

PUBLICITY
1. Gets the word out
2. Writes press releases
3. Helps secure personal appearances radio interviews, television exposure, featured articles
4. Works with artists independent publicist if applicable

NEW MEDIA
1. Responsible for dealing with some of the newer aspects of the music business
2. Creates Online Presence social networks, online reviews and feature, blogs, website, streaming music, etc.
3. Responsible for producing and creating music videos for the artist

MANUFACTURING AND DISTRIBUTION
1. Coordinates
2. Pressing
3. Packaging
4. Shipping
5. Warehousing and Inventory Management
6. Digital Distribution
7. Rack Jobbers, One Stops, Record Clubs

The aforementioned departments and their tasks are for general reference only. Each specific label has their own way of accomplishing tasks, assigning names to departments, and ultimately selling product. However, note the information, use it to perhaps build your labels infrastructure or to possibly look for a position in the music business, and then build upon it for further success in the music business.

A confidentiality agreement is typically the first agreement entered into by the parties considering a potential merger or acquisition. While seemingly straightforward, the issue of confidentiality is often critical to the success or failure of the transaction. Both buyers and sellers have several key reasons to be concerned about confidentiality, including client/customer and employee reactions, market intelligence, and competitors.

2010 continues to show signs that merger and acquisition activity will increase, such as increased confidence in private and public sectors, companies with plenty with cash on hand, and improving economic indicators. As such, sellers in 2010 and 2011 can reasonably expect that they will encounter an M&A market with multiple targets looking to be acquired and an increased number of buyers looking to pay better multiples.

Wyatt Matas & Associates expects strategic buyers (competitors or those in similar businesses as the seller) to be the most active buyers and be willing to pay better valuations. Financial buyers are still reliant debt markets to finance much of the transactions, which have yet to work themselves out. To this end, managing the vetting of the buyer, due diligence, and transaction process while maintaining confidentiality will be very difficult and more important.

Given the challenges in protecting confidentiality, companies should consider the following to help mitigate risk, manage confidentiality, and ensure a smooth transaction process.

While a confidentiality agreement is typically the first agreement to be entered into during a M&A transaction, the importance of confidentiality starts when the seller decides to pursue a sale.

The following are key points for confidentiality in the beginning of the M&A process:

Limiting exposure early on is key. Those sellers that plan on using an M&A advisor should be careful to pick an advisor that can access key decision makers directly. Do not sign with a broker that lists businesses for sale on websites, blast faxes or emails. These approaches are typical for business brokers. The vast majority of responses to business-for-sale advertisements are not serious or qualified. Businesses need to protect exposure to only serious buyers during this process. A broker will place a blind ad to attract interest and prematurely divulge information before appropriate buyer due diligence has been preformed. Typically, an investment banker will vet a potential buyer before contacting them and have the credibility to access C-level executives directly, assuming the strategic route is the preferred strategy. This allows for a frank conversation about the real interest of the potential buyer and how confidentiality will be handled within the buying company.

Identify potential warning signs early in the process. While time consuming, the potential buyer vetting process is critical to protect confidentiality. If asked in a blind call without the appropriate due diligence, most potential strategic and financial buyers will initially express interest in reviewing the sellers selling documents, if only to gain insight into a competitor or industry. While these selling documents are a necessary part of the acquisition process, only those qualified buyers should receive such documents. The vetting process should serve to identify potential buyers business plans, legal structures, competition approvals, and other strategic considerations that could potentially enhance or derail the deal later.

Avoid premature disclosure. As mentioned above, it is necessary to disclose certain information about the sellers business in order to have productive conversations with potential buyers. However, sellers have significant motivation to avoid the premature disclosure of certain information that might do irreputable harm to the business if the transaction does not close or if they do not decide to sell. Failing to manage the release of information or preparing for the inevitable rumors surrounding a deal can result in several unfavorable consequences:

If employees learn their company is looking to sell, they may quit out of fear of the unknown. Disruptions in staff or operations can serve as a deterrent to potential buyers to continue the deal.
Competitors may use the information to undermine your companys standing with clients/customers and other business partners by painting an air of weakness or uncertainty.
If there are negative issues within the selling company that will eventually need to be disclosed to a potential buyer, managing the release and positioning of that information is essential to preventing the derailment of the transaction.

Maintain confidentiality throughout the transaction. Confidentiality does not stop with the introduction of the selling company to one or multiple buyers at the start of the acquisition process. Protection of confidentiality continues through the transaction process all the way through the closing of the potential deal. This requires some give and take from both the buyer and seller. The seller wants to be assured that the transaction will close on the terms agreed to in the letter of intent, and the buyer wants to be assured that they are buying what they were presented during the pre-LOI stages. Protecting confidentiality during this stage of the transaction requires a firm hand on the sellers part where appropriate, but a willingness to compromise once milestones are hit by the potential buyer.

If a transaction is being managed properly, weekly calls between the buyer and seller will take place to update each side on the progress of the transaction. Part of the weekly agenda should be a discussion of confidentiality issues that might develop in the coming week. This reminds the buyer that confidentiality is important to seller and addresses how to proactively handle specific areas of concerns before they occur.

Ensuring confidentiality in the M&A process is key for a successful deal. While deals typically do not suffer from too much discretion, a failure to limit exposure, manage information, and protect information can derail a transaction and have negative consequences for a company. Enlisting the services of an real advisor helps to ensure appropriate confidentiality throughout the transaction.

Brochure ideas for students are a great help for those who just started to learn how to design brochures and other similar printed promotional materials as with their help anyone will be able to learn the basics of brochure making.

There are different types of brochures that vary in sizes and qualities. Some are developed just for advertising and promotional purposes, while some just act like informative pieces of material. But for students or anyone studying graphic design, brochure ideas for students can prove to be great learning tools.

A lot of different brochure design ideas can be found online as there are websites that focus on providing free access to numerous brochure ideas where some of them are free and some might require a small fee. Also, it is important to note that brochure ideas should make someones first experience in making brochures fun and exciting, but in order to find the best models that will guide you through this process you should definitely have research and analytic skills as there could be many of these online.

It is quite evident that brochures can help in boosting a companys marketing effort and there are also no doubts that brochure printing is necessary for a business owner to learn the ways on how they can get top quality brochures. The truth is that printed materials such as brochures still have an effect on consumers. Because of this, it is highly necessary for a business to find high quality brochures.

If you as a company want to make the most out of corporate brochure printing, you should definitely consider some things first. The truth is that there are elements that can build a brochures efficiency but some of these crucial elements are normally overlooked because of lack of information.

Some of the most efficient elements of a brochure is its size. The right size must suit the purpose of the brochure. Most importantly, it must be big enough to catch customers attention and at the same time to contain the intended message. Another thing to consider in the entire layout of brochures is the bleed. The purpose of the bleed is to ensure that the brochures will come out perfectly when printed.

Overall, when looking to start a marketing campaign, you must look for high quality corporate brochure printing services that will give the ultimate value for your budget.

Brochure Design Layout services

Brochures are a vital part of a businesss marketing strategy and if this advertising material is done in high quality them it is able to say a lot about the status of a business. Once a business owner decides to make use of brochures, it is important to settle for the best brochure design layout service.

Design services are offered by both online print companies and local print stores. However, most of the companies opt for online store because they are much more convenient. It is important that one finds a reliable print store and to make successful promotional material which can get a businesss message across effectively. Another advantage of brochures is that they can make the audience realize the brands value in the industry. Because of all the mentioned facts, it is important for one to look for the most suitable brochure design.

When choosing a brochure design layout service it is strongly advised for a business owner to check out several offers and quotes before purchasing an order.

Business plan writing can be a very time consuming task. For writing business plan, business plan writer has to consider some steps that will define the goals and reason for startup or expansion of a business. Business plan writers must consider these areas before writing a business plan:
Business plan outline: It is the most important point; outline should be prepared before writing the business plan
Vision statement: You may know why you want to start a business and where do you want to see it in the near and distant future. This information is only known by the owners of the company. Keep your vision statement precise
Define your mission: Set the goals and objectives of the business. This step contains both specific goals that you want to achieve, as well as action-oriented goals
Define your USP/Business strategy: Business strategy is a definition of steps you’ll take to make your business successful
Target Market: Future success of the business depends on market analysis. There are number of companies providing the same service. You should be 100% confident that your product is different from their product. It requires proper research
Research the demand for your business: Before spending large amount of capital on your business, it is important to know the demand for your product. It is necessary that demand of your product exceeds supply
Financial statements: Financial statements are the most important tool for investors. It contains: Income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement
Take action: This is the most crucial step. Take action! You have distinguished your action-oriented goals, now create an action plan from these goals
Review & Editing: A well-written business plan opens the door to success; after completing all the steps make sure to review and edit the plan
Business planning is not easy but by following the above steps for writing business plan, a business plan writer can write a successful plan that will lead the business to success.