A critical study of credit risk management in the First Bank of Dissertation - 1

A critical study of credit risk management in the First Bank of Nigeria PLC - Dissertation Example In designing the credit policies, due considerations are given to the commitment of the bank which involves: Creating, monitoring and managing credit risk in a way that complies with all the applicable laws and bank regulations (Basel III: A global regulatory framework for more resilient banks and banking systems, 2010) Identifying the credit risk in every investment, loan or in other activities of the Bank (Risk management disclosure, 2011). Utilizing appropriate, accurate as well as timely tools to measure the credit risk in every department (Risk management disclosure, 2011). Adopting a risk-based approach in determining the appropriate pricing strategy while lending products and service offerings (Risk management disclosure, 2010). Setting an acceptable risk parameter. Maintaining an acceptable level of credit risk for the existing individual credit exposures. Maintaining acceptable levels in the overall credit risks for the portfolio of the bank. Coordinating the credit risk man agement and other risks that are inherent within the Bank’s business activities. Setting remedial and recovery measures and actions (Risk management disclosure, 2012). To effectively handle its credit policies and practices in the first bank of Nigeria, five departments have been formed that control and manage credit processing functions. This are- 1. Credit Analysis & Processing (CAP) which is responsible in developing the appraisal of non-specialized credit requests and processing in order to obtain requisite approvals that are in line with the Bank’s policies (Credit Risk Management, 2009). 2. Specialized Lending Department (SLD) is responsible for the appraisals of credit requests and processing till its final decision to sanction specialized types of credit which are peculiar because of the size and complexity involved in such transactions (Transformation, 2010). It handles departments like power, oil and gas both upstream and downstream, utilities such as water p rojects, etc, transportation like mass transit, aviation, commercial real estate business projects which are the business proposals that are conceived for commercial gain, infrastructure that would also include concessions in public assets. 3. Credit Risk Management (CRM) which is concerned with the planning, monitoring and the reporting of the credit portfolios (Principles for the Management of Credit Risk, 2012) 4. Remedial Management Unit (RMU) that would have a bias for the proactive work-out of accounts that would show early signs of weaknesses and 5. Classified Assets Management (CAM) that would be concerned with for the recovery of the classified retail loans which are 90 days past their due date, wholesale accounts that are classified as lost with days past their due period (DPD) by over 540 days and accounts that are written off from the on-balance sheet into their CAM SOL (Risk management disclosure, 2012). 4.2 Internal ratings scale In measuring the credit risk of loans a nd advances to their customers and to the banks at a counterparty level, the Group considers the following features. The first feature concentrates on the character and the capacity to make payments by the client or the counterparty on their contractual obligations. The second feature surrounds the current exposure of the bank to the counterparty and its likely development in future. The third and the last feature center around the credit history analysis of the counterparty and its likely recovery ratio in the cases of default obligations (Risk management disclosure, 2012). The Group also has internal credit limits for approval for various levels in the credit process. The levels are shown in the following table. Approval levels Investment grade

Importance of the Internet in Modern Education

Importance of the Internet in Modern Education IMPORTANCE OF INTERNET IN MODERN EDUCATION Things are changing rapidly as the world is progressing. in this modern world people are using advanced machines to do their work. Computer is the most advanced machine that people use to do their work. This particular machine is used in every field of life. Advanced techniques are used with help of computers to diagnose dangerous diseases. Advanced manufacturing techniques are used with the help of computers to manufacture the products. Computers are extensively used in the field of engineering. In past one machine was used to perform only a single task but now-a-days with the help of computers you can perform different tasks at one time. In modern business environment computers have special importance. A huge amount of time is saved due to multitasking. In business terms time is money, so if you are saving time you are saving money as well. Due to multitasking the costs of businesses have reduced. What is the meaning of multitasking? It means that running several programs simultane ously. Since modern computers typically execute instructions several orders of magnitude faster than human perception, it may appear that many programs are running at the same time even though only one is ever executing in any given instant. Multitasking may slow down a computer that is running several programs at one time. Many advanced computers are designed to share their work across many CPUs. This process is called multiprocessing. This technique is generally used in powerful computers such as super computers, mainframe computers and serves. Thus, the entire world is fully dependent on computers. Due to this factor demand of computers has been increased. Computers have changed the way we work, be it any profession. Therefore, it is only but natural the role of computers in education has been given a lot of prominence in the recent years. Computers play a vital role in every field . How Is Distance Learning Different From Online Education? Distance learning institutes are serving a very important cause by enabling the less privileged sectors of the society to pursue higher education of their choice. The Distance learning program has come a long way as a medium of providing education to the professionals as well as the others who could not get chances to avail regular education. For this reason, a skeptical opinion about the prospects of distance learning courses has taken a bright turn. Distance learning is the modern term used for conventional correspondence courses. An off-campus educational program is just like a traditional one except the student will not have to spend as much, if any, time away from their homes to attend classes. This is a great for option for the working people who can not think of quitting their jobs in lieu of studying further. Although some people tend to associate distance learning with online education, a thin line of distinction exists between the two. While all the online degree programs belong to the family of the distance learning program, it is improper to term the distance-learning courses as the online ones. This is because the technology used in both the modes may be different in some cases. An online mode of education can be termed as a system which allows you to complete your bachelor degree or even master degree with the regular updates from the university you have enrolled yourself into. In case of a distance learning program you dont have any option to interact with you mentors or and clear you doubts or queries. In India, benefits of the distance learning program are more than the online education system. India is a developing country, so it not possible for the majority of the citizens to surf internet to complete their higher studies. Distance Learning Courses in India is increasingly becoming popular. The easy access to any of the distance learning courses enables a person to pursue education from any state or university according to his or her preference. As the fees of these courses are lesser than that of the regular courses, distance-learning courses in India have also become popular in the rural areas. There are, at present eleven open universities in India that provide distance education for those who are interested in taking up any of the educational courses in accordance with their wishes. Digital Signs For Education: Technology Continues To Evolve Our Centers Of Education Education is a dynamic process in any society, and experts agree that it takes a wide range of different communication styles to get across to all the different learning styles that exist. As our modern world evolves and becomes more sophisticated, so do our learning institutions. And one way technology is being used to continually adapt to the complicated learning process and make it more efficient than ever is by using digital signs for education. Here are just 5 ways that interactive digital media is being used in our top learning centers. Bulletin Boards Digital platforms are an extremely efficient means for replacing the drab bulletin boards of the past and create a vibrant, attention-getting visual display with video and audio for maximum effect. The bulletin boards were a waste of paper that was always being thrown out and after time even the boards themselves broke down and needed to be wasted. A video wall does not produce this kind of waste and gives information in way that will be noticed and not easily forgotten. Navigation Bigger universities are finding that interactive displays are excellent tools for assisting navigation around new universities for students and visitors alike. Complex mapping systems that plan out your route with a couple touches of the finger and concierge displays delivering essential information provide a great way to communicate with someone who is unsure of where to go and what to do. Less freshmen stumbling around with a dazed look on their face and less wasted time for employees giving directions for the hundredth time in a day. Donor Recognition Many of our top universities survived under the support of generous donors who wanted to give back to society or had a special place in their heart for that particular university. Interactive displays provide creative means of recognizing those contributions in a modern, eye-catching way that does wonders for the image of everyone involved. Donors feel a significant effort has gone into showing appreciation for their efforts and universities show they are embracing modern technology and staying ahead of trends. Posters Part of education involves other ways of communicating with studentssuch as informing about societal issues, advertising necessary services relevant to college students, and simply providing entertainment venues to keep college life exciting and welcoming. This is why you so often see posters plastered across the campus. Digital signs once again take away the need for wasted paper and communicate much more effectively. And instead of tearing down all the old stuff again and again, you can simply enter new data into online software from any comfortable location. Emergency Systems We all wish university life consisted of nothing but learning, growing, and having good times together. Unfortunately, bad things do happen, and certain aspects of modern culture have made tragic universities occurrences all to commonplace. And any venue this size needs an organized emergency system. A network of digital signs can provide that immediately, broadcasting images and announcements all prepared in advance. Advantages And Disadvantages Of Online Education Online education is to learn via a computer with internet connection. Getting an online education has become tremendous in these days. It provides opportunity to new educational program for students of all ages no matter if you are looking for a diploma or degree program or some specialized certification to supplement your knowledge. People considering online education should carefully weigh the advantages and disadvantages; here are the major advantages and disadvantages of online education that you must know. One of the major advantages of online education is the convenience. In todays busy lifestyle, most people have no time to have traditional learning to take time off from your schedule to attend regular and routine educational institution. Online education provides access to learn at any time, allows the flexibility to schedule your learning, what you need to have only computer and internet connection at home. Online education is also a great choice for those students with physical handicaps, which may prevent them from travelling to a college or university. Similarly, if you are shy or linguistically-challenged, learning in an online course may be a great option to learn in a class. Besides that, students can learn from anywhere in the world through online education, it benefits students who wish to study in a different country, they can learn different culture and knowledge from different country. In the contrary, one of the major disadvantages of online education is having the discipline of time management. If you cant able to manage time and schedule, online education will not be a suitable method of learning for you. You will probably perform better with the structure of traditional learning. If you are this kind of person, letting yourself to study at your own place and cant concentrate and be aggressive with your own schedule, you are not the right candidate for online education. Another disadvantage is the lack of oral communication. Since online education encourages communication through e-mail or text chatting only, you do not have opportunity to hear questions and discussion from other students. You may be deprived of scope to improve your oral communication skills. Before you pursue your online education, think twice that are you able to communicate well through words and texts? Online education isnt for everyone, it depends on the kind of attitude and personality you are. e-Learning initiatives in India in last few years Arguably, the most talked about Indian e-Learning project is the NPTEL project. NPTEL (National Programme onTechnology Enhanced Learning) was conceived in 1999 and funded by MHRD (Ministry of Human Resource and Development). Under the project, 7 IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology) and IISc (Indian Institute of Science) Bangalore, worked on the Rs 20.5 crore project from 2003 to 2006, to create 112 video courses and 116 web courses. All these courses are on undergraduate engineering topics, and made to meet most of the requirements of an engineering undergraduate program (at any Indian university). These courses are available to students, working professionals and colleges (both government-aided and private) at virtually no cost or very low cost . Coming to the usage of NPTEL resources, here are some interesting statistics Number of visitors In the initial 10 month period since September 2006, there were 580,000 visitors to the site and of which 160,000 registered . NPTEL site usage now As per Alexa site, 21% of visitors to iitm.ac.in website visit the NPTEL section. The iitm.ac.in website has a rank of 9813 in India. ( http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/nptel.iitm.ac.in) NPTEL video course details from YouTube As per YouTube site, it is YouTube Indias most subscribed channel with 10,148 subscribers and 353,632 views of the channel ( as on 22nd January 2009, http://in.youtube.com/user/nptelhrd) One of the observations is that there is lot of interest (more so during initial launch period), but it is not getting converted into results. The students/ institutions still need to be able to convert this into a usable experience, and improve their learning. Another commercially successful initiative is MBA Programs being conducted for Working Professionals using Satellite Video technology, by institutions like IIM-Calcutta, IIM-Calicut, IIT-Delhi, IIFT, IIT Bombay, XLRI etc. This was done by these instituions using services provided by companies like HughesNet (formerly Hughes Direcway), Reliance Infocom and now NIIT Imperia. The author could not find reliable information on number of students using these programs, but it is estimated at close to 10,000 annually. HughesNet itself has 2000 such centres in India. This is a successful example in the sense that it met the demand for quality education for working professionals in the city where they are located. It has been an economically viable model for the institutes, the technology providers as well as the students. It will do well to enlist what made this a success Premier institutes like IIMs, IITs, XLRI etc provided faculty who take the classes, run the program, ensure quality and institutes provide certificates to students. Institutes spent valuable faculty time and effort in creating and upgrading courseware specifically for these programs during the last 10 years or so. The vendor companies opened centres across India, for students to come in and view lectures and attend classes. Satellite-based video technology is used to beam live lectures from the institute studio to the centres. Learning Management System software is used to supplement this for giving assignments, reading material and collaboration among students and faculty. The companies also set-up studios in partner institutes to enable lecture beaming. And as we see, it was a comprehensive solution encompassing quality content, great technology, and services (marketing, infrastructure etc) to meet student need. Sakshat Portal from MHRD is another well-known e-Learning initiative. Modelled on lines of MIT OCW, it has been designed and developed by IGNOU for Ministry of HRD, as a repository of eBooks, eJournals, Digital Repository and other student-relevant information [4]. Study material is classified into various topics. Another related initiative again from IGNOU is eGyankosh another digital repository for learning resources. It has been developed with the objective of long-term preservation of learning materials. Some of the other lesser known e-Learning initiatives/ projects in India are Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham This initiative launched in 2004 uses satellite technology to connect 4 campuses of Amrita University located in 4 cities of South India. There is a collaboration with US universities also, and the project was expected to expand to 200 universities. It was based on technological support from ISRO [ BITS Pilani It has established a virtual university, with DIT sponsorship. BITS has been one of the pioneers in distance education. BITS has been providing courses for working professionals in distance education mode leveraging technology . Jadavpur University It started a new inter-disciplinary Masters in Multimedia Development course in2000-01 as a distance education course using print material, CD ROM, and web-based learning environment. Technology was provided by CDAC Kolkatta and CMC. Aligarh Muslim University It worked on a project in 2006-07 to take its distance education program online, starting with a few courses which are industry-relevant. Central Institute of English and Foreign Language, Hyderabad It had a project for online learning software set-up and usage in 2006. Many other universities and colleges had had small projects/ initiatives where they bought software, hardware and other technology products, got content development done for e-Learning launch. It included the likes of Hyderabad University, Kerala University, Terna College Mumbai, MDI Gurgaon, etc. Remarks Based on the survey results, several suggestions are offered to improve the quality of web-based instruction for the statistical educations. It will be a useful guide for the best role of the internet in statistical education The highest priority needs are the improvement of hardware and network environment. Students need more fluent voice service and image file. The drawback is that we need a huge memory. Integration of library resources, dynamic lecture notes like videos or frequent animation into web-based courses was needed. Encouragement of active student-instructer and student-student interactions. Providing of initial training and continual support to students and instructors. Adoption of professional instructional design strategies. It is better to develop new paradigm of teaching statistics. For example more high technology computer based method, team teaching, problem based learning system etc. Continual monitoring of courses.

The Whiskey Rebellion :: essays research papers

The Whiskey Rebellion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On August 1, 1794, President George Washington was once again leading troops. Only this time Washington was not striking out against the British but rather against fellow Americans. The occasion for this was the Whiskey Rebellion. Various efforts had been made to diminish the heated opposition towards the tax on distilled liquors. However, there was only one man who has derived the best course of action. That man, President George Washington, deserves all the credit and recognition for his actions concerning the Whiskey Rebellion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In September 1791 the western counties of Pennsylvania broke out in rebellion against a federal â€Å"excise† tax on the distillation of liquor. After local and federal officials were attacked, President Washington and his advisors decided to send troops to assuage the region. On August 14, 1792, under the militia law, Henry Knox (secretary of war) had called for 12,950 troops. After this, many problems arose, both political and logistical. These dilemmas had to be overcome, and by October, 1794 the men were on the march towards Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. There, they contained the mob hysteria and anger. This event represented the first use of the Militia Law of 1792 enabling the militia to â€Å" execute the laws of the union, and suppress insurrection† (The Whiskey Rebellion of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is clear that George Washington was the source of success in the Whiskey Rebellion. When the militia, with Washington and Hamilton at its lead, reached western Pennsylvania, it became clear that there would be no armed resistance. Evidence of Washington's leadership in this rebellion took place when the â€Å"Representatives of the insurgents asked for clemency, and Washington granted it with stipulation that they comply with federal laws thereafter† (The Precipice of Power). This agreement forced the public to abide by the rules of the government and their taxes without any destructive rebellions. It was evident that Alexander Hamilton was not the backbone of this success. â€Å"His actions provided undeniable proof to Republicans that Hamilton was a monster who would stop at nothing to defend his corrupt policies, a budding Caesar bent on establishing monarchy† (A Biography of Alexander Hamilton). Hamilton did not care as much about the success of his government but of himself and his beliefs on the nation. Furthermore, Hamilton was planning on resigning, hence making it crucial to him to entrench the policies he had put into place. â€Å"For the remainder of his life Hamilton worried that his work would be destroyed, his

Dbq Essay-European History-Assumptions on Children

During early modern Europe, children were viewed in many different ways which changed how parents chose to raise their children. During the 1500’s, the mortality rates for children were high, therefore children were viewed as if they were adults and very precious if they survived, many people believed that they needed to treat children harshly to make them strong. In the 1600’s, children were raised tenderly as they were rational beings that could use reason.Children were viewed in many ways during early modern Europe to be rational, precious, and in need of guidance where these views determined the parents’ choice in child rearing to behaving harshly to kind guidance. Society sought for guidance for their children in a very caring way. In a letter Martin Luther, a leader of the Protestant Reformation in the 1500’s, it is written that his thirteen year old daughter had just died and that he is very disheartened by the loss. He loves his respectful daughter .As a father and leader of the protestant reformation, Luther is disheartened at his daughter’s loss, but he loves and respects God taking her away (Doc 2). A common stereotype about women is their personalities and perceptions toward children. Traditionally, the female stereotypic role is to marry and have children. She is also to put her family's welfare before her own; be loving, compassionate, caring, nurturing, and sympathetic. Margaret Cavendish, a duchess, a scientist, and a philosopher expresses her sincerity and is apprehensive of how society should treat children to help them reach their potential (Doc 9).Through the knowledge of a philosophe, Jean-Jacques Rousseau thought that it would be best if you let children make their own decisions, because they will be stubborn if you try to stop them (Doc 12). Children’s Games, by Pieter Brueghel, displays the children absorbed in their games with the seriousness displayed by adults in their apparently more important pursuits (Doc 5). Another way people taught their children was through reasoning. Christoph Scheurl believed children are a great reward.He is biased though because he has a son himself and knows of the emotional attachment and bond bearing a child creates, he speaks with only gratitude and expresses his love of his child (Doc 1). Theoretically speaking though, Jean Benedicti â€Å"obligates the child to obey under pain of mortal sin. † Being a preacher, he expects a child to honor God and obey his wisdom (Doc 7). This follows the same circumstances stated in document 10. The English Catholic Gentleman expects highly of his daughter to have reliance on God and help her understand to make her amends to confess her sins to God.John Locke, a philosopher who wrote â€Å"Two Treasies on Government† writes that a person must reason with children to their capacity of understanding. As a member of the Enlightenment, Locke believes people are rational and tabula rasa (blank sl ates) where they can be taught what to do. Changing ideas of the1600’s into the enlightenment allowed for parents to treat children kindly and rationally (Doc 11). Although some parents taught their children in a kind manner beneficial for the child, some punished their children by putting a negative impact on their well-being.As depicted in document 3, it states that if a man truly cares about his child, he will whip him occasionally to make a man out of him. Generally, Russian households of the 17th century were harsh conditions to live under, therefore the nobility expected harsh discipline as a means to better their children. Michel de Montaigne expresses his opinion on children in a very different way though. He shows absolutely no passion or love for children. The tendency in his essays to digress into anecdotes and personal contemplations was seen as detrimental to proper style rather than as an innovation (Doc 6).In an autobiography, Benevenuto Cellini, a metal crafte r and sculptor, writes that he visited his son that was born out of wedlock and abruptly left the boy crying as he didn’t want Cellini to leave. Since Cellini’s child was born out of wedlock, he will be treated harshly and will be shunned as accustomed of the 1500’s (Doc 4). As for Henry IV, he was whipped as a child. In a letter to the governess Madame de Montglat, Henry commands her to whip his six year old son every time he misbehaves. Whipping children was common for people to do during the 1500’s.As king of France, Henry IV wants his son to be strong when he heirs. He believes whipping him will make him a better person. Children were treated in different ways due to the accepted ideas and attitudes of the time from serfdom, the religion, the mortality rates and the Enlightenment. Being the precious gifts from God, children were being treated kindly and also harshly as they were objects as well. Different views of children and raising procedures chang e throughout history due to changes in secular ideas and different cultural movements.

What is the history of UK tobacco taxation policy, what are the outcomes from the past to date?

Introduction The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced (WHO). Research has shown that there are 1.1 billion smokers in the world today and if this current number continues to rise at the current rate, then that number is expected to rise to 1.6 billion by the year 2025 (WHO). Tobacco smoke is harmful to smokers and harms nearly every organ of the body, diminishing a person`s overall health. Millions of people have health problems caused by smoking tobacco and it is a leading cause of cancer causing cancers of the lung, larynx, mouth, pancreas, stomach, as well as acute myeloid leukemia and cardiovascular diseases. Around the world smoking causes not only diseases and disability, it kills enormous numbers of people. As research has shown tobacco is responsible for approximately 443,000 deaths – one in every five deaths – each year in the United States (U.S DoH, 2010)In the United Kingdom, it is responsible for more than 120,000 deaths a year, more than all other drugs combined (Peto et al., 1994). Treating smoking related diseases costs the National Health Service in excess of ?1.5 thousand million a year. Furthermore, a report by the Policy Exchange in 2010 estimated the total cost to society of the smoking to be ?13.74 billion (bn); ?2.7bn includes cost to the NHS but also the loss in productivity from smoking breaks (?2.9 bn) and increased absenteeism (?2.5bn). As the Policy Exchange estimated, costs also include: the cost of fires (?507m), the loss of economic output from the death of smokers (?4.1bn) and passive smokers (?713m) In the 2011-12 financial year, the Government spent ?88.2 million on the stop smoking services in the United Kingdom alone plus additional ?66.4 million on medicinal aids.The rise of tobacco taxation The United Kingdom Government already intervenes in many ways to prevent, minimize the consequences of the harms caused by smoking. In an effort to reduce the number of smoking-related deaths, the Department of Health has introduced a number of measures including media and education campaigns about the dangers and harms of tobacco smoke, stop-smoking and nicotine replacement therapies – available through the NHS service, a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising and promotion and regulation of the contents and labeling of tobacco products. However, since evidence shows that price increases have a major effect on decreasing both smoking prevalence and consumption above all other tried and tested measure, increasing the price has therefore become the main tool in the policy of the United Kingdom to reduce smoking (BMA, 2010). Cigarettes, which are the most popular of all tobacco products in England, are now sold at historically exorbitant prices. In order to understand how the prices of tobacco products have become so high, it is therefore necessary to first gain an overview of the history of the tobacco tax and its development. Somewhat surprisingly, the United Kingdom has a very long history of tobacco taxation policy. Excise tax on tobacco was first introduced only one century after tobacco first was introduced into the United Kingdom in 1660 – although the present framework of the specific and ad valorem excise duty on cigarettes was introduced in 1976 in order to ease tax harmonization within the EEC. However, it was then not until the past two decades that tobacco taxation really became the main tool and policy in fighting the ills of smoking on society.From November 1993 to November 1999 there was a clear commitment made by the government to increase tobacco duties annually in real terms, in itially by at least 3% on average per annum. This was carried out diligently for a while until in July 1997 the Labour Government announced it would raise cigarette taxes by at least 5% above the rate of inflation each year. This new commitment was carried through in both the 1998 and 1999 budgets, but in November 1999 the Chancellor abandoned this policy. Instead, it was announced that extra revenue raised from future tobacco tax rises would be spent on health care of Great Britain. Thus, from 2001 until 2008 tobacco taxes rose only in line with inflation. However, in 2009, tobacco duties were increased again by 2% on the basis of a deflationary forecast in the Retail Price Index of – 3%, therefore representing increase an on 5% in real terms (HM Treasury, 2009) The Chancellor then announced in 2010, that tobacco duty would rise by 1% above inflation for the current year. Furthermore, a commitment was made to rising tobacco duty by 2% above inflation from 2011 to 2014. Th is was implemented by the current new Conservative-led coalition Government in the 2011 Budget. Moreover, legislation was introduced in the Finance Act 2012 to increase the duty rates for all tobacco products by 5% above the rate of inflation (based on RPI) from the 21st March 2012. This added 37 pence to the price of 20 cigarettes, 12 pence to the price of pack of five small cigars, 37 pence to the price of a 25g pouch of hand-rolling tobacco, and 20 pence to the price of a 25g pouch of a pipe tobacco (HM Treasury, 2012). Thus one can perceive that although it is not a consistent implementation of policy, there is a growing severity in the percentage of tax. Against the effects of increased taxation the tobacco industry, however, has been fighting back by keeping the price of its cheapest cigarettes almost static despite various increases in tobacco taxes. This therefore has had an effect in limiting the effectiveness of the United Kingdom’s public health policy to reduce s moking through higher prices (Bath University Tobacco Control Research Group).As a result, the price of cheaper cigarettes has remained almost unchanged since 2006 and their market share has doubled compared to expensive premium cigarettes. This therefore suggests that as cigarette taxes are raised, many smokers will down trade to cheaper cigarettes and just carry on smoking.Criticisms of the tobacco taxSince the Government started launching a full-scale attack on the tobacco industry, a lot has been written about the Tobacco taxation policy. A number of studies have shown that taxes can indeed be significant in reducing smoking. By way of example, John A. Bishop and Jang H. Yoo (1985) determined that the consumption of cigarettes is significantly affected by taxes that are levied on the tobacco products. The tax, they found, had more of an effect on consumption than did any other interventions previously implemented. Additionally, W. Kip Viscusi (1990) found that excise taxes disco urage smoking by serving as a monetary cost for the risks associated with smoking. From this it can be perceived that raising tobacco prices are therefore one of the most effective means of reducing tobacco use, especially among price-sensitive smokers such as younger member of society and people with low incomes. The specific question of whether the youth are more or less responsive to prices than adults, has been examined in a number of studies using individual-level data (Lewit, et al., 1981; Lewit and Coate, 1982; Grossman et al., 1983; Wasserman et al., 1991; Chaloupka and Grossman, 1996; Farrelly, et al., 1998, and Tauras and Chaloupka, 1998). However, findings from those studies are mixed. The earlier studies on this issue (Lewit, et al., 1981; Lewit and Coate, 1982; and Grossman et al., 1983) found that the youth are more sensitive to prices than are adults; however, they are far more likely to smoke. Interestingly, a recent study in the United Kingdom found that smoking cessation before middle age avoids more that 90% of the lung cancer mortality risk attr ibutable to tobacco which may affect the younger members of society’s views on the risks associated with it and may lessen the health warnings (Peto et al, 2000). It can also be seen that studies from high-income countries are consistent with those from low and middle-income countries, in that they both find strong and consistent evidence that increases in the prices of tobacco products lead to the significant reductions in cigarette smoking regardless of location or the country’s wealth. However, a number of other arguments have been raised for tobacco taxation policy and need to be considered. To elucidate, there are a number of political, economic, and social arguments that have long been used as arguments against significant tax increases in tobacco taxes. It has been argued by critics that higher tobacco taxes will lead to increased smuggling and other related criminal activity such as black market cigarettes sold without tax, or even encourage fake cigarettes than can be even worse for health. A second common objection to tobacco tax increases is that they will usually fall disproportionately on the poor who have less expendable income to indulge such habits compared to wealthy individuals who will not notice the increase so much. Growing amounts of literature suggest that tobacco tax increases might be progressive (Gabe, 2009). As discussed above, several studies have concluded that people who live on a lower income are more responsive to changes in cigarettes prices than higher income persons, implying that high taxes reduce smoking by more in lower income groups. A final major argument that is often employed in the debate over increased cigarettes taxes is that these tax increases would lead to reductions in employment. As HM Reve nue and Customs has estimated, in the United Kingdom the tobacco industry employs around 17,000 people in direct manufacture in the tobacco trade alone (HM Revenue & Customs, 2010). As shown, the significant consideration on the current literature on tobacco has been the critical analysis of Tobacco taxation policy, but there has been shown to be little to answer the question about the actual stakeholders involved in the policy itself and what determines their actual positions and interest. Therefore, to shed some valuable light on this, the stakeholder analysis will be used in this essay. Moreover, the value creation framework will also be used in order to understand the hypothesized causal chain of how political policy can exert influence on tobacco use behavior. Finally, available empirical data provided by HM Revenue and Customs will be used to base the judgments on both quantitative and qualities data. Identifying the stakeholders of Tobacco taxation policyTobacco control strategist’s need finely honed analytical skills in order to identify all the stakeholders involved in tobacco taxation policy and to determine their positions through research and interviews of each stakeholder. In addition, they will also need to assess each stakeholder`s relative power and influence over other stakeholders. On the basis of this analysis, strategists from tobacco control must therefore facilitate an alliance between the supportive and the neutral groups by accentuating common interests and goals, emphasizing the shared benefits of a tobacco tax increase. Chevalier identifies three key attributes to be examined in a stakeholder analysis. 1. Power (authoritative, command and control and legislative power) 2. Legitimacy (righteousness, impartiality or technical credibility)3. Sense of urgency or interests with regard to the subject matter. This will therefore be utilized in the examination of the different types of stakeholders this essay will identify. Figure 1. Stakeholder typology. Source: Mitchell et.al. (1997) The possible combination of the attributes in Figure 1 above explains the different types of stakeholders in their main groups. In sum, definitive stakeholders possess all three of the attributes mentioned by Chevalier. Dependent stakeholders, however, they have keen interests and legitimacy but no power. Contrastingly, dominant stakeholders have power and legitimacy but have no urgency or interest. Dangerous stakeholders on the other hand have power and a keen interest but not legitimacy. Moreover, dangerous stakeholders do not possess the technical expertise and wisdom and as such could do more harm than good in the attempt to increase tobacco taxes. Figure 1. helps us to understand which of the stakeholders are likely to support, and which are likely to oppose an increase in excise tax for tobacco products. I shall now explain and elucidate the major four groups that appear from these six types:Group 1: Bureaucrats 1. Excise Department within the Treasury. 2.National Tobacco Control office and Ministry of Health. 3.Local governments. The first of this group, the Excise Department, is within the Ministry of Finance and is usually interested in revenue generation and thus supports the tobacco tax increases. The Customs Department Officers and their policy, however, can also overvalue the effect of tobacco tax rise on smuggling. Unless they are brought on board through incentive schemes and advocacy, they may be against tax increases. However, if confiscation incentives are attractive then they may also support tax rises on tobacco and tobacco related products. The Fiscal Policy Office and the Bureau of Budget might have a more conservative view about tax increases in general, but they would be likely to support an increase of taxes on tobacco products. The Ministry of Health and National Tobacco control office are usually strongly supportive of decreasing tobacco product consumption through economic and non-price measures. They are the most legitimate with keen interests but no power in law. They therefore have to form an alliance with the Excise Department and other stakeholders to ensure the adoption of a tax increase on tobacco products. Local Governments also generally supports an excise tax because it usually means more revenue for local government units.Group 2: Tobacco Industry. 1.Local manufacturers. 2.Tobacco industry 3.Importers (the proxies of the transitional tobacco industry) 4.Tobacco growers group and association, local tobacco growing industry. As evidence shows, as it is perhaps be expected, the Tobacco Industry resists any and all tobacco tax increases, because this results in a lower profit margin for its stakeholders. The Tobacco Industry`s own documents they disseminate prove that the industry can resort to dishonorable tactics to persuade governments to maintain the lowest possible retail price for tobacco products. For example, when ad valorem taxes are used, manufacturers have been known to sell cigarettes to a related marketing company at an artificial low price, therefore reducing their tax liability. In the case of absence of good governance the tobacco industry may provide direct and indirect incentives to government official to block or even delay actions to raise tobacco excise taxes. In this situation the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is critical as an NGO can bring unethical practices to the attention of the public; they are also able to apply pressure on government officials to remain accoun table to the population.Group 3: NGO and media 1.Community-based organizations 2.Civic organizations 3.Media 4.Other special interests groups. The NGO community can be characterized as a very demanding stakeholder, because they have a strong interest in protecting health against tobacco; therefore, NGOs will support tax increase measures. When, they are equipped with knowledge on the subject matter, they become legitimate dependent stakeholders. Thus, the crucial role of NGOs acting a society`s â€Å"watch dogs†. The media`s role is from a different angle and is to inform the public about the issues surrounding the debate on tobacco taxes, its increases and decreases. Accordingly, the media can have a huge influence on tobacco awareness and taxation as the media can shape and influence public opinion. Media that is accurately briefed on the benefits of tax increases to reduce tobacco consumption can, however, be transformed into legitimate stakeholders who support increasing the tobacco taxes. Although it should not be forgotten that the tobacco industry also had the ability to apply pressure on the media, through d irect bribes or the threat of withholding advertising revenue, in order to discredit the value of tobacco tax increases. So they therefore are a group that could go both ways.Group 4: Academia and professional associations.1.Economists. 2.Physician`s groups. 3.Health associations (Cancer society, heart associations etc.) 4.Other health professionals group. The academic community and the professional community are to be considered as dependent stakeholders. They have both legitimacy and an interest in the subject matter but no decision making power. However, this category of stakeholders can play significant role as credible experts in validating the evidence provided to the media and the general public. Applying the value creation framework. The value creation framework was developed by International Tobacco Control (2006) in order to measure the impacts of tobacco control policy. Figure 2. This is a conceptual model illustrating a hypothesized casual chain of how policy exerts influence on tobacco use behavior. The conceptual model (figure 2) assumes that policy ultimately has an influence on behavior through a specific casual chain of psychological events as can be seen in the diagram. It is a general framework for thinking about policy and its effects on a broad array of important psychosocial and behavioral variables, and for testing how policy distinctions relate to their effectiveness.From the framework it can be seen that policy potentially affects individuals due to a variety of psychosocial and behavioral variables, of which there are two classes. 1. The most immediate effects are those on the policy-specific variables – that is, price which affects perceived costs of cigarettes. This is the price of tobacco products, which has increased since policy-makers started interventions to date. 2. Psychosocial mediators, which are conceptually distant from the policy and which theorized to be affected by multiple means, not just policies. These are variables such as self-efficacy and intentions, beliefs and attitudes, which come from well-known psychosocial models of health behavior. Accordingly, tobacco taxation is effective in a two-fold way: Policy-specific variables such as the price of cigarettes affect smoking habits as psychological mediators that affect psychological smoking habits themselves. The evaluation of the control policies used for combating tobacco at the population level is still in its fundamental stages of development, accordingly, studies conducted on the effectiveness of policies to control tobacco intake are hindered by the same limitations. Cross-sectional studies are lacking in validity as they are poor in their ability to contribute attributions – although longitudinal studies are naturally greater in internal validity. Sadly the limited number of such research into tobacco policy means there is a general lack of comparison available for analysis. Evaluation of tobacco smoking control policy data should come to fruition further once time has followed its natural course and there is more material to draw on from the new data that is currently emerging. Accordingly, it should indeed be not too long until a true evaluation analysis can be done so the theory can be analyzed properly. It is put forward that the positive accelerating trajectory of the use of tobacco and its effects in the 21st century signifies a foremost threat to global health, that requires a mobilisation and alignment of ‘researchers, advocates, and governments toward meeting the threat’ (Fong, 2006). By way of demonstration the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project (the ITC Project) describes the challenges of evaluating the national-level policies of the tobacco taxation illustrating the application of the conceptual model in measuring policy effects on tobacco use behaviours and the psychosocial precursors of such behaviours. In so doing it was found that the tobacco taxation signifies an extraordinary landmark in global tobacco control over use and its terrors, however the path from the promise of effective tobacco control policies to the actual reality of strong implementation of tobacco taxation policies was not found to be easy.The ITC project found many countries have not yet ratified tobacco taxation policies, and in many countries that have, there is still residual pressure either to delay the implementation or to implement policies in ways that will render them less effective than their potential. The mission of the ITC Project was to conduct evaluation of such policies to establish the evidence base that will give policymakers throughout the world the evidence that will allow adoption of tobacco taxation policies in countries that have not yet ratified such methods, and also to provide for and encourage a strong implementation in those countries that have ratified. Conclusion It has been shown that tobacco has a long history of taxation in this country that has snowballed in severity over the last half decade. It has also been shown there are a number of different vital stakeholders that contribute to the molding of taxation policy. If the conceptual model is indeed correct, higher taxation will continue to reduce smoking substantially. However, as has been highlighted in the criticisms against the taxation policy, there are possible groups who will still continue to smoke regardless and it is indeed more likely that it is lower income groups who will be hit the hardest. Moreover, as smoking is an addiction, it is possible the dedicated and truly addicted lower income smokers will continue and merely resort to other means of paying for their tobacco fix. Regardless of the semantics of how this policy will finally play out, it is clear that the UK is committed to increasing tobacco taxes and as it continues to increase taxation numbers of smokers will cont inue to drop. This essay does, however, concede that the policy may plateau at some point wherein smoking is enjoyed by a dedicated minority and the increase in taxes can no longer be justified any further. References Baggott, R. (2004). Health and Health Care in Britain. 3rd Edition, London: Palgrave Macmillan. Baggott, R. (2007). Understanding Health Policy. Policy Press. Boyle, S. (2011). United Kingdom (England): Health system review (Health Systems in Transition). At http://www.euro.who.int/en/home/projects/observatory/publications. Crinson, I. (2009). Health Policy: A Critical Perspective. London: Sage. Chaloupka FJ, Hu TW, Warner KE, et al. The taxation of tobacco products. In: Jha P, Chaloupka F, eds. Tobacco control in developing countries. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc, 2001:237–72. Borland, R. Tobacco health warnings and smoking-related cognitions and behaviours. Addiction 1997;92:1427–35. Borland R, Hill D. Initial impact of the new Australian tobacco health warnings on knowledge and beliefs. Tob Control 1997;6:317–25. The COMMIT Research Group. Community Intervention Trial for Smoking Cessation (COMMIT): I. Cohort results from a four-year community intervention. Am J Public Health 1995; 85:183–92. Hyland A, Li Q, Bauer JE, et al. Effect of state and community tobacco control programs on smoking cessation rates in adult smokers. Am J Health Prom 2005;29:85–90. Wakefield M, Chaloupka F. Effectiveness of comprehensive tobacco control programmes in reducing teenage smoking in the USA. Tob Control 2000; 9:177–86. Farrelly MC, Pechacek TF, Chaloupka FJ. The impact of tobacco control program expenditures on aggregate cigarette sales: 1981–2000. J Health Econ 2003;22:843–9. Darzi, L. (2008). High Quality care for all: NHS Next Stage Review final report. CM 7432. London: Department of Health Gabe, J. & Calnan, M. (eds.) (2009). The New Sociology of the Health Service. London: Routledge. Ham, C. (2009). Health Policy in Britain. 6th Edition. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Hunter, D.J. (2008). The Health Debate, Bristol: Policy Press. King’s Fund (2005). An Independent Audit of the NHS under Labour (1997–2005). London: King’s Fund. Klein, R. (2010). The New Politics of the NHS: From Creation to Reinvention. 6th Edition. Abingdon: Radcliffe Publishing. Mahon, A., Walshe, K. & Chambers, N. (2009). (eds.) A Reader in Health Policy and Management. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Marmot, M. et al. (2010). Fair Society, Healthy Lives (The Marmot Review). At http://www.instituteofhealthequity.org. Pollock, A. M. (2009). NHS Plc: The Privatisation of Our Health Care. 3rd Edition. Verso Books. Pollock, A. M. & Talbot-Smith, A (2006). The New NHS: A Guide: A Guide to Its Funding, Organisation and Accountability. London: Routledge.

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