To increase productivity, reward system has been playing an instrumental role
in manufacturing sector for a long period of time. The first paper, “Design of a
New Reward System in a Continuous Line Manufacturing Industry”, by R M Nachiappan, N Anantharaman and N Muthukumar, designs a reward system for a continuous line manufacturing system industry. The authors implemented and evaluated the newly designed reward system in a manufacturing industry located in south India. The findings of the study reveal that the new reward system is more beneficial than the conventional system.
The second paper, “The Impact of Quality Certifications on the Quality Management Practices of Manufacturing Firms in Nagpur Region”, by Pallawi B Sangode, studies the effectiveness and impact of quality certifications on the quality management practices of manufacturing firms in Nagpur region. The author finds that there is a positive impact of quality certifications which results in improvements of quality analysis and quality assurance. The major benefit of certified quality systems is improvement of leadership qualities of the senior management.
In the third paper, “Vendor Selection Model for a Manufacturing Company: An Analytical Research Approach”, the author D K Choudhury, collected data from two manufacturing companies: Bajaj Auto Limited and Honda Cars Limited and used Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) for vendor selection. The author provides ranking of the criteria provided by two companies and researchers.
The last case study, “Hero MotoCorp’s Quest for Efficiency and Effectiveness in Supply Chain Management: A Case Study of Direct On-Line Supplies System”, by Mahendra Singh, is about Hero MotoCorp, India’s No. 1 two-wheeler manufacturing company, and discusses the problem of managing high level of outsourcing with low level of inventories at manufacturers’ end. The case also provides details on how to deal with the complexity of managing a large number of vendors with the help of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Information Technology (IT) integration in supply chain management.
Automated Teller Machines (ATMs): The Changing Face of Banking in India
Bank Management
Information and communication technology has changed the way in which banks provide services to its customers. These days the customers are able to perform their routine banking transactions without even entering the bank premises. ATM is one such development in recent years, which provides remote banking services all over the world, including India. This paper analyzes the development of this self-service banking in India based on the secondary data.
The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is playing a very important role in the progress and advancement in almost all walks of life. The deregulated environment has provided an opportunity to restructure the means and methods of delivery of services in many areas, including the banking sector. The ICT has been a focused issue in the past two decades in Indian banking. In fact, ICTs are enabling the banks to change the way in which they are functioning. Improved customer service has become very important for the very survival and growth of banking sector in the reforms era. The technological advancements, deregulations, and intense competition due to the entry of private sector and foreign banks have altered the face of banking from one of mere intermediation to one of provider of quick, efficient and customer-friendly services. With the introduction and adoption of ICT in the banking sector, the customers are fast moving away from the traditional branch banking system to the convenient and comfort of virtual banking. The most important virtual banking services are phone banking, mobile banking, Internet banking and ATM banking. These electronic channels have enhanced the delivery of banking services accurately and efficiently to the customers. The ATMs are an important part of a bank’s alternative channel to reach the customers, to showcase products and services and to create brand awareness. This is reflected in the increase in the number of ATMs all over the world. ATM is one of the most widely used remote banking services all over the world, including India. This paper analyzes the growth of ATMs of different bank groups in India.
International Scenario
If ATMs are largely available over geographically dispersed areas, the benefit from using an ATM will increase as customers will be able to access their bank accounts from any geographic location. This would imply that the value of an ATM network increases with the number of available ATM locations, and the value of a bank network to a customer will be determined in part by the final network size of the banking system. The statistical information on the growth of branches and ATM network in select countries.
Indian Scenario
The financial services industry in India has witnessed a phenomenal growth, diversification and specialization since the initiation of financial sector reforms in 1991. Greater customer orientation is the only way to retain customer loyalty and withstand competition in the liberalized world. In a market-driven strategy of development, customer preference is of paramount importance in any economy. Gone are the days when customers used to come to the doorsteps of banks. Now the banks are required to chase the customers; only those banks which are customercentric and extremely focused on the needs of their clients can succeed in their business today.
