Search Mission of My Vision

Malam ni gua di kosan sama temen sekosan gua, habis nonton indonesian idol, melihat mereka ‘yang telah sukses dan yang sedang berjuang menuju sukses’ lewat layar kaca. Kadang gua berpikir, apa sekarang ini gua udah termasuk sebagian dari mereka yang sedang berjuang menuju kesuksesan? Atau gua memulai berjuangpun belum.

Hidup gua memang berat, tapi itu apa karna gua sedang berjuang atau emang gua sedang putus asa?.  Sering gua berpikir dan berandai-andai seperti mereka yang telah menemukan jalan hidup mereka, mereka yang telah meraih mimpi mereka, mereka yang telah merasakan hasil perjuangan mereka. Betapa indahnya hidup mereka. Mereka telah menen tukan hidup mereka saat mereka memilih untuk berjuang untuk menjadi mereka sendiri dengan karunia yang mereka miliki. Gua, bahkan menemukan karunia yang gua punyapun itu sulit.

Banyak yang bilang gua pinter, tapi gua rasa banyak yang lebih pinter, apa karna gua kurang berusaha? Banyak yang bilang gua enak, pinter ini pinter itu, dan gua malah ngerasa itu adalah salah satu kekurangan gua, gua tanggung dalam segala hal. Gua gak bisa jadi yang terbaik. Saat gua lihat orang pinter dalam pelajaran gua pengen pinter dalam pelajaran, saat ada orang pinter dalam olahraga, gua pengen pinter juga dalam olahraga, saat orang pinter dalam hal seni, gua pengen pinter dalam hal seni juga, saat orang pinter dalam berfalsafah, gua juga pengen jadi falsafah. Dan akhirnya gak ada yang bisa gua raih, semua serba tanggung.

 Sekarang gua mulai bertanya, apa yang harus gua pilih dalam hidup ini, sedangkan gua belum mampu memahami diri gua. Dan siapa yang akan menjawab pertanyaan itu kalau bukan gua sendiri. Siapa yang bisa menuntun jalan hidup gua kecuali allah yang menuntun lewat hati, sedangkan gua ragu dengan kata hati gua yang masih kotor. Apakah mungkin nanti akan ada waktunya saat gua bisa memahami diri gua sendiri, dan berani melangkahkan kaki dalam hidup yang keras ini dengan seapaadanya yang gua miliki. Kenapa gua selalu ingin bertanya, dan selalu ragu untuk menjawab?. Sampai kapan gua harus nunggu?. Apa emang jalan hidup gua seperti ini. Menjadi pecundang yang selalu gagal.

 Motivasi gua dalam hidup ini adalah orang tua. visi gua adalah membahagiakan mereka dan membuat hidup gua lebih layak dari saat ini, sampai saat suara gua akan di dengar oleh orang lain, tidak hanya selalu mendengar orang lain. Tapi gua belum bisa menemukan misi yang akan gua pilih.

The Role of Computers in Business

When first developed, computers were not used in business. It was not until the late 1950s and early 1960s that computers began to be used to organize, store, process, and present vast amounts of business information. In 1954 the first business application of a computers system was made for the processing of payroll. Today payroll is just one of many routine computer operations. There has been a rapid increase of computer usage into almost every aspect of business: factory production, inventory control, warehousing and distribution, record-keeping, and even assistance in problem-solving and decision-making.
Computers handle large amounts of data rapidly and can efficiently categorize, process, and report information for a variety of business operation. Computers, in fact, have a virtually unlimited capacity for processing business data, However, since computers cannot think, their role in business is limited to those areas in which they can process information more effectively and efficiently than human beings. Figure 2 lists a number of tasks and compares the effectiveness of computers and human beings for each task. At the administrative level, managers decide how computers and humans can be used most effectively to perform a particular business task.

http://story-en.blogspot.com/2009/08/role-of-computers-in-business.html

Tesco Functional Areas

All businesses need to be well organised to achieve their aims and
objectives. Certain tasks, or functions, must be done regularly and
these are usually grouped into specific types of activities. In a
large organisation like Tesco PLC, people work together in functional
areas. Each functional area has a specific purpose. Below are the main
functional areas:

Finance

The main activities of the finance department are:

* To record all the business transactions

This means that they record in their schedule all the expenses that
have been paid and all incomings. They also make sure that each
department does not spend more than it has been allocated.

* Measure the financial performance of Tesco

This means the finance department look at how well or badly Tesco is
doing financially.

* To control the finances and cash flow so Tesco stays reliable.

This means that they make sure that there is enough money in the
business to pay off debts, bills and the employees. They also make
sure that there is enough money to survive for the company.

* To take timely financial decisions by comparing the predicted
performance with actual performance.

This means that if the company wants to invest more in Tesco, then it
would be up to the finance department to make the decision on whether
there are enough funds to do. They would do this by looking and
comparing the financial situation in previous years with the financial
situation of the present year. By this they can see the expense will
leave them with enough money at the end. They also prepare all the
accounts each year so that the company comply with their legal
responsibilities to the Inland Revenue and complete VAT returns which
they send to HM Customs and Excise.


SOURCE :
http://story-en.blogspot.com/2009/08/role-of-computers-in-business.html
http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Role-Of-Computers-In-Business/424504


CONCLUSIONS :  Information Technology, like language, affects us on many levels and has fast become integral to all of our lives.   In this course we aim to strike a balance in studying both the social and commercial forces of Information Technology, and networking, in particular.

Import and Export

Import 
"Imports" consist of transactions in goods and services (sales, barter, gifts or grants) from non-residents residents to residents. The exact definition of imports in national accounts includes and excludes specific "borderline" cases. A general delimitation of imports in national accounts is given below:

·                     An import of a good occurs when there is a change of ownership from a non-resident to a resident; this does not necessarily imply that the good in question physically crosses the frontier. However, in specific cases national accounts impute changes of ownership even though in legal terms no change of ownership takes place (e.g. cross border financial leasing, cross border deliveries between affiliates of the same enterprise, goods crossing the border for significant processing to order or repair). Also smuggled goods must be included in the import measurement.

·                     Imports of services consist of all services rendered by non-residents to residents. In national accounts any direct purchases by residents outside the economic territory of a country are recorded as imports of services; therefore all expenditure by tourists in the economic territory of another country are considered as part of the imports of services. Also international flows of illegal services must be included.

Basic trade statistics often differ in terms of definition and coverage from the requirements in the national accounts:

·                     Data on international trade in goods are mostly obtained through declarations to custom services. If a country applies the general trade system, all goods entering the country are recorded as imports. If the special trade system (e.g. extra-EU trade statistics) is applied goods which are received into customs warehouses are not recorded in external trade statistics unless they subsequently go into free circulation of the importing country.

·                     A special case is the intra-EU trade statistics. Since goods move freely between the member states of the EU without customs controls, statistics on trade in goods between the member states must be obtained through surveys. To reduce the statistical burden on the respondents small scale traders are excluded from the reporting obligation.

·                     Statistical recording of trade in services is based on declarations by banks to their central banks or by surveys of the main operators. In a globalized economy where services can be rendered via electronic means (e.g. internet) the related international flows of services are difficult to identify.

·                     Basic statistics on international trade normally do not record smuggled goods or international flows of illegal services. A small fraction of the smuggled goods and illegal services may nevertheless be included in official trade statistics through dummy shipments or dummy declarations that serve to conceal the illegal nature of the activities.

Export 
In national accounts "exports" consist of transactions in goods and services (sales, barter, gifts or grants) from residents to non-residents. The exact definition of exports includes and excludes specific "borderline" cases. A general delimitation of exports in national accounts is given below:

·                     An export of a good occurs when there is a change of ownership from a resident to a non-resident; this does not necessarily imply that the good in question physically crosses the frontier. However, in specific cases national accounts impute changes of ownership even though in legal terms no change of ownership takes place (e.g. cross border financial leasing, cross border deliveries between affiliates of the same enterprise, goods crossing the border for significant processing to order or repair). Also smuggled goods must be included in the export measurement.

·                     Export of services consist of all services rendered by residents to non-residents. In national accounts any direct purchases by non-residents in the economic territory of a country are recorded as exports of services; therefore all expenditure by foreign tourists in the economic territory of a country is considered as part of the exports of services of that country. Also international flows of illegal services must be included.

National accountants often need to make adjustments to the basic trade data in order to comply with national accounts concepts; the concepts for basic trade statistics often differ in terms of definition and coverage from the requirements in the national accounts:

·                     Data on international trade in goods are mostly obtained through declarations to custom services. If a country applies the general trade system, all goods entering or leaving the country are recorded. If the special trade system (e.g. extra-EU trade statistics) is applied goods which are received into customs warehouses are not recorded in external trade statistics unless they subsequently go into free circulation in the country of receipt.

·                     A special case is the intra-EU trade statistics. Since goods move freely between the member states of the EU without customs controls, statistics on trade in goods between the member states must be obtained through surveys. To reduce the statistical burden on the respondents small scale traders are excluded from the reporting obligation.

·                     Statistical recording of trade in services is based on declarations by banks to their central banks or by surveys of the main operators. In a globalized economy where services can be rendered via electronic means (e.g. internet) the related international flows of services are difficult to identify.

·                     Basic statistics on international trade normally do not record smuggled goods or international flows of illegal services. A small fraction of the smuggled goods and illegal services may nevertheless be included in official trade statistics through dummy shipments or dummy declarations that serve to conceal the illegal nature of the activities.

My opinion about this article :

            "Imports" consist of transactions in goods and services (sales, barter, gifts or grants) from non-residents residents to residents. Export of services consist of all services rendered by residents to non-residents. In national accounts any direct purchases by non-residents in the economic territory of a country are recorded as exports of services.

SOURCE:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Import

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Export

 

CONCLUTIONS : Import is when we buy something from another country and get it shipped to you. Export is when we sell something to another country and it then ship it.

Modern Banking

 

Modern Banking is a sequel to the highly successful Modern Banking in Theory and Practice, first published in 1996. Over the last decade many aspects of banking have changed considerably, though the key features that distinguish banks from other financial institutions remain. Some might question the need for a book on banking rather than one on financial institutions - while banks remain special and unique to the financial sector, books need to be devoted to them.

Modern Banking focuses on the theory and practice of banking, and its prospects in the new millennium. The book is written for courses in banking and finance at Masters/MBA level, or undergraduate degrees specialising in this area. Bank practitioners wishing to deepen and broaden their understanding of banking issues may also be attracted to this book. While they often have exceptional and detailed knowledge of the areas they have worked in, busy bankers may be all too unaware of the key broader issues. Consider the fundamental questions: What is unique about a bank? and What differentiates it from other financial institutions?Answering these questions begins to show how banks should evolve and adapt - or fail. If bankers know the underlying reasons for why profitable banks exist, it will help them to devise strategies for sustained growth.

Modern Banking concludes with a set of case studies that give practical insight into the key issues covered in the book:

·                     The core banking functions

·                     Different types of banks and diversification of bank activities

·                     Risk management: issues and techniques

·                     Global regulation: Basel 1 and Basel 2.

·                     Bank regulation in the UK, US, EU, and Japan

·                     Banking in emerging markets

·                     Bank failure and financial crises

·                     Competitive issues, from cost efficiency to mergers and acquisitions

·                     Case Studies including: Goldman Sachs, Bankers Trust/Deutsche Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui, Bancomer

About the Author

Professor Shelagh Heffernan is currently Professor of Banking and Finance at Cass Business School, City University, London and has been a visiting Professor at several universities. Modern Banking is her fourth book.
A former Commonwealth Scholar at Oxford University, Professor Heffernan is also a past beneficiary of a Leverhulme Trust Research Award, which funded new research on competition in banking, and recently received a second award from the Leverhulme Trust. She publishes in top academic journals - her paper, ‘How do UK Institutions Really Price their Banking Products?’ (Journal of Banking and Finance) was chosen as one of the top 50 published articles by Emerald Management Review.
Current research includes: SMEs and banking services, the conversion of mutuals to bank stock firms, monetary policy and pass through (funded by an ESRC grant), and M&As in banking. Professor Heffernan is an Associate Member of the Higher Education Academy and has received two Distinguished Teaching and Learning awards.

My opinion about this article :

                Modern Banking focuses on the theory and practice of banking, and its prospects in the new millennium. The book is written for courses in banking and finance at Masters/MBA level, or undergraduate degrees specialising in this area.

This article was taken from :

 http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Banking-Shelagh-Heffernan/dp/0470095008

Modern Banking is a sequel to the highly successful Modern Banking in Theory and Practice, first published in 1996. Over the last decade many aspects of banking have changed considerably, though the key features that distinguish banks from other financial institutions remain. Some might question the need for a book on banking rather than one on financial institutions - while banks remain special and unique to the financial sector, books need to be devoted to them.

Modern Banking focuses on the theory and practice of banking, and its prospects in the new millennium. The book is written for courses in banking and finance at Masters/MBA level, or undergraduate degrees specialising in this area. Bank practitioners wishing to deepen and broaden their understanding of banking issues may also be attracted to this book. While they often have exceptional and detailed knowledge of the areas they have worked in, busy bankers may be all too unaware of the key broader issues. Consider the fundamental questions: What is unique about a bank? and What differentiates it from other financial institutions?Answering these questions begins to show how banks should evolve and adapt - or fail. If bankers know the underlying reasons for why profitable banks exist, it will help them to devise strategies for sustained growth.

Modern Banking concludes with a set of case studies that give practical insight into the key issues covered in the book:

·                     The core banking functions

·                     Different types of banks and diversification of bank activities

·                     Risk management: issues and techniques

·                     Global regulation: Basel 1 and Basel 2.

·                     Bank regulation in the UK, US, EU, and Japan

·                     Banking in emerging markets

·                     Bank failure and financial crises

·                     Competitive issues, from cost efficiency to mergers and acquisitions

·                     Case Studies including: Goldman Sachs, Bankers Trust/Deutsche Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui, Bancomer

About the Author

Professor Shelagh Heffernan is currently Professor of Banking and Finance at Cass Business School, City University, London and has been a visiting Professor at several universities. Modern Banking is her fourth book.
A former Commonwealth Scholar at Oxford University, Professor Heffernan is also a past beneficiary of a Leverhulme Trust Research Award, which funded new research on competition in banking, and recently received a second award from the Leverhulme Trust. She publishes in top academic journals - her paper, ‘How do UK Institutions Really Price their Banking Products?’ (Journal of Banking and Finance) was chosen as one of the top 50 published articles by Emerald Management Review.
Current research includes: SMEs and banking services, the conversion of mutuals to bank stock firms, monetary policy and pass through (funded by an ESRC grant), and M&As in banking. Professor Heffernan is an Associate Member of the Higher Education Academy and has received two Distinguished Teaching and Learning awards.

My opinion about this article :

                Modern Banking focuses on the theory and practice of banking, and its prospects in the new millennium. The book is written for courses in banking and finance at Masters/MBA level, or undergraduate degrees specialising in this area.

This article was taken from :

SOURCE :  http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Banking-Shelagh-Heffernan/dp/0470095008

 

CONCLUSIONS : In economics, particularly in financial economics, fractional-reserve banking is the near-universal practice of banks of retaining only a fraction of their deposits to satisfy demands for withdrawals, lending the remainder at interest to obtain income that can be used to pay interest to depositors and provide profits for the banks' owners. Fractional-reserve banking allows for the possibility of a bank run in which the depositors collectively attempt to withdraw more money than is in the possession of the bank, leading to bankruptcy. It also increases the money supply through a mechanism called the deposit creation multiplier, explained below, which can lead to inflation if reserves are too low. Most governments impose strictly-enforced reserve requirements on banks, with the exact fraction of deposits that must be kept in reserve generally set by a central bank.

Money and Its Functions

Money is any object or record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic context.The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, occasionally in the past, a standard of deferred payment. Any kind of object or secure verifiable record that fulfills these functions can serve as money.
Money originated as commodity money, but nearly all contemporary money systems are based on fiat money. Fiat money is without intrinsic use value as a physical commodity, and derives its value by being declared by a government to be legal tender; that is, it must be accepted as a form of payment within the boundaries of the country, for "all debts, public and private".
The money supply of a country consists of currency (banknotes and coins) andbank money (the balance held in checking accounts and savings accounts). Bank money usually forms by far the largest part of the money supply.

Functions                                        

In the past, money was generally considered to have the following four main functions, which are summed up in a rhyme found in older economics textbooks: "Money is a matter of functions four, a medium, a measure, a standard, a store." That is, money functions as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, a standard of deferred payment, and a store of value. However, modern textbooks now list only three functions, that of medium of exchange, unit of account, and store of value, not considering a standard of deferred payment as a distinguished function, but rather subsuming it in the others.
There have been many historical disputes regarding the combination of money's functions, some arguing that they need more separation and that a single unit is insufficient to deal with them all. One of these arguments is that the role of money as a medium of exchange is in conflict with its role as a store of value: its role as a store of value requires holding it without spending, whereas its role as a medium of exchange requires it to circulate. Others argue that storing of value is just deferral of the exchange, but does not diminish the fact that money is a medium of exchange that can be transported both across space and time. The term 'financial capital' is a more general and inclusive term for all liquid instruments, whether or not they are a uniformly recognized tender.

Medium of exchange

Main article: Medium of exchange

When money is used to intermediate the exchange of goods and services, it is performing a function as a medium of exchange. It thereby avoids the inefficiencies of a barter system, such as the 'double coincidence of wants' problem.

Unit of account

A unit of account is a standard numerical unit of measurement of the market value of goods, services, and other transactions. Also known as a "measure" or "standard" of relative worth and deferred payment, a unit of account is a necessary prerequisite for the formulation of commercial agreements that involve debt. To function as a 'unit of account', whatever is being used as money must be:

·                     Divisible into smaller units without loss of value; precious metals can be coined from bars, or melted down into bars again.

·                     Fungible: that is, one unit or piece must be perceived as equivalent to any other, which is why diamonds, works of art or real estate are not suitable as money.

·                     A specific weight, or measure, or size to be verifiably countable. For instance, coins are often milled with a reeded edge, so that any removal of material from the coin (lowering its commodity value) will be easy to detect.

Store of value

Main article: Store of value

To act as a store of value, a money must be able to be reliably saved, stored, and retrieved – and be predictably usable as a medium of exchange when it is retrieved. The value of the money must also remain stable over time. Some have argued that inflation, by reducing the value of money, diminishes the ability of the money to function as a store of value.

Standard of deferred payment

Main article: Standard of deferred payment

While standard of deferred payment is distinguished by some texts, particularly older ones, other texts subsume this under other functions. A "standard of deferred payment" is an accepted way to settle a debt – a unit in which debts are denominated, and the status of money as legal tender, in those jurisdictions which have this concept, states that it may function for the discharge of debts. When debts are denominated in money, the real value of debts may change due toinflation and deflation, and for sovereign and international debts via debasementand devaluation.

Measure of Value

Money, essentially acts as a standard measure and common denomination of trade. it is thus a basis for quoting and bargaining of prices. It has significantly in developing efficient accounting systems. But the most important usage is that it provides a method to compare the values of dissimilar objects.

Money supply

In economics, money is a broad term that refers to any financial instrument that can fulfill the functions of money (detailed above). These financial instruments together are collectively referred to as the money supply of an economy. In other words, the money supply is the amount of financial instruments within a specific economy available for purchasing goods or services. Since the money supply consists of various financial instruments (usually currency, demand deposits and various other types of deposits), the amount of money in an economy is measured by adding together these financial instruments creating a monetary aggregate.
Modern monetary theory distinguishes among different ways to measure the money supply, reflected in different types of monetary aggregates, using a categorization system that focuses on the liquidity of the financial instrument used as money. The most commonly used monetary aggregates (or types of money) are conventionally designated M1, M2 and M3. These are successively larger aggregate categories: M1 is currency (coins and bills) plus demand deposits (such as checking accounts); M2 is M1 plus savings accounts and time deposits under $100,000; and M3 is M2 plus larger time deposits and similar institutional accounts. M1 includes only the most liquid financial instruments, and M3 relatively illiquid instruments.
Another measure of money, M0, is also used; unlike the other measures, it does not represent actual purchasing power by firms and households in the economy. M0 is base money, or the amount of money actually issued by the central bank of a country. It is measured as currency plus deposits of banks and other institutions at the central bank. M0 is also the only money that can satisfy the reserve requirements of commercial banks.

Market liquidity

Main article: Market liquidity

Market liquidity describes how easily an item can be traded for another item, or into the common currency within an economy. Money is the most liquid asset because it is universally recognised and accepted as the common currency. In this way, money gives consumers the freedom to trade goods and services easily without having to barter.
Liquid financial instruments are easily tradable and have low transaction costs. There should be no (or minimal) spread between the prices to buy and sell the instrument being used as money.

Types of money

Currently, most modern monetary systems are based on fiat money. However, for most of history, almost all money was commodity money, such as gold and silver coins. As economies developed, commodity money was eventually replaced byrepresentative money, such as the gold standard, as traders found the physical transportation of gold and silver burdensome. Fiat currencies gradually took over in the last hundred years, especially since the breakup of the Bretton Woods system in the early 1970s.

My opinion about this article :

            The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; aunit of account; a store of value; and, occasionally in the past, a standard of deferred payment.Any kind of object or secure verifiable record that fulfills these functions can serve as money.

This article was taken from :

       SOURCE :     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money

CONCLUSIONS: Money is anything that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts. The main uses of money are as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, and a store of value. Functions: Medium of exchange, measure of value, and store of value.
Characteristics: Divisibility, portability, stability, durability, difficulty in counterfeiting,