Enterprise Resource Planning System for Insurance Sector

Enterprise Resource Planning System for Insurance Sector The Indian Insurance industry is a flourishing one which has several national and international players who compete for excellence. With several reforms and policy regulations, the Indian insurance sector has witnessed tremendous growth in the recent past. India having around 17% of the worlds population is a largely untapped market. Nearly 80% of the Indian population being without a life, health and non life insurance, a growing number of insurance companies are now emerging in the Indian insurance sector. With the opening up of the economy, several international leaders in the insurance sector are trying to venture into the India insurance industry. The growth in the insurance industry directly impacts the reinsurance industry. Reinsurance providers are basically companies that provide insurance cover to insurance companies so as to cover their risk. With the growth in the amount of insurance products sold by the insurance companies their risk component goes on increasing. So as to cover this risk, companies resort to reinsurance. Thus the reinsurance market is all growing at a rapid pace. The growth of the Reinsurance industry in India is coupled with a number of challenges. Challenges faced by the reinsurance industry include shrinking margins, increasing competition etc. In order to meet the challenges, reinsurance companies across the globe have begun leveraging heavily on their information and communication technologies. Reinsurance firms are using enterprise management solutions to increase productivity, save on expenses, to obtain higher customer satisfaction, thereby resulting into customer retention and to improve sales performance. General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) is the sole reinsurance company in the domestic reinsurance market in India with more than three decades of experience in the Re-Insurance business. GIC is headquartered in Mumbai. In India, GIC provide reinsurance to the direct insurance company as it is the sole reinsurer in the market of domestic reinsurance. It is one of the leaders in the facultative placements and domestic companies treaty programmes. OBJECTIVES FOR ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING SYSTEM The key objectives for initiating ERP implementation were as follows: So as to retain leadership position in the national (Indian) reinsurance market. The intention of emerging as the leader of reinsurance in the Afro Asian markets. To obtain an integrated view of all business transactions. MAJOR BUSINESS CHALLENGES FACED BY GIC RE Customer-Centricity The change in focus of the organization to being customer-centricity created a number of issues for the company. It became important to have optimal knowledge of all the customer segments. Customized products and services were required to designed to meet the needs of each of the identified customer segments. It became important to adopt cross selling of products and services as an important growth strategy. It also became important to provide any time and any place reachability to the customers. Competition The growing number of players in the market created an environment of intense competition In order to sustain such levels of competition it became imperative for the company to adopt new strategies and identify means of securing a competitive advantage over its competitors. Globalization Expansion of company operations across multiple geographical locations also made it necessary for GIC Re to identify means of effective monitoring and control. Expansion also increased the level of competition by adding new competitors from the new geographical locations. Product Commoditization The increase in competition was impacting the companys profit margins. It became absolutely necessary for the company to distinguish its brand from competitors. Lower customer loyalty and increasing price sensitivity were also measure threats to GIC Re. Consolidation It was important to bring about a consolidation across the organization so as to deliver a clear value to its customers. Compliance Expansion of operations across multiple geographical locations made its imperative to comply with multi-national regulations. MAJOR IT CHALLENGES FACED BY GIC RE Data Quality Data maintained by the organization was fragmented by the line of business, the branches, the different geographical locations etc. It was important to consolidate this data and provide high quality of product and operations related data. Process Integration It was important to standardize and streamline cross functional processes and develop and integrated workflow. The company was suffering from value leakage due to non integration of systems. Legacy IT Systems The legacy system used by the company did not reflect the change in focus from being a contract centric to customer centric insurance provider. Reduction of Operation Complexity The company used a number of applications to manage the daily activities. As a result, a number of interfaces had to be monitored and managed which proved to be very difficult. It thus became important to reduce the number of interfaces and bring about standardization across the interfaces. EXPECTATIONS FROM ERP Reduction in overall cost through improved efficiency and increased productivity Drive business innovation To a give a competitive advantage to the company over its competitors Driver for business growth Improve overall customer experience and satisfaction Ensure regulatory compliance Support global operations Create new revenue streams for the company Ensure growth of existing revenue streams CHOICE OF SAP The major factors contributing to the choice of SAP are as follows: Integrated Enterprise platform for transacting GICs business The company required a platform that would integrate all the processes and procedures across the enterprise. The system was required to standardize all processes and streamline set of processes across the organization rather than streamlining large number of procedures. The company expected the have an enterprise wide visibility of business operations. SAP Reinsurance solution being used by Global Industry leaders Munich Re and Hannover Re One of the major contributing factors to choosing SAP was the companys biggest competitor and the global industry leader Munich Re and Hannover Re had implement SAP Reinsurance system. Adoption of the global best practices By 2005, SAP Insurance had almost all insurance service providers running it. SAP had in the past implemented both the insurance and reinsurance packages for multiple clients. This enabled SAP to gain an understanding of the global best practices in the prevalent in the industry. GIC Re hoped to reap the benefits of this knowledge in their own implement of SAP Reinsurance. Most companies who had previously implemented ERP had strong positive experience with SAP for their insurance portfolio ERP IMPLEMENTATION START DATE Early 2005 ERP GO LIVE DATE February 2006 SAP VERSION SAP R/3 Version 4.7 GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE Offices in India, London and Dubai SAP MODULES IMPLEMENTED SAP FS-RI Reinsurance SAP FS-RI is an insurance solution that enables reinsurance firms, direct insurers and brokers to achieve a reinsurance process that is completely integrated and streamlined. SAP FS-CD Collections / Disbursements SAP FS-CD is a solution designed for insurance service providers to standardize and streamline their billing and disbursement activities for their policyholders and agency holders. SAP IM-IC (CFM) Investment Management SAP IM-IC (CFM) module provides useful tools for reporting of WBS which are in progress, PO commitments and assets that have been capitalized. SAP FI-CO Finance The SAP FI-CO module can be viewed as the core of the integrated SAP system as it deals with the monetary impacts on business and other modules of SAP. SAP HR Human Resources SAP HR is the largest module implemented It deals with the management of human resources and human capital SAP BIW Business Intelligence SAP BIW is the business intelligence module that provides analytical, reporting and data warehousing solution IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES First SAP Reinsurance (FS-RI) implementation outside Europe. First SAP FS-CD Implementation in India. First SAP IM-IC implementation in India in an Insurance/Reinsurance environment. One of the few Active Reinsurers in the world using SAP FS-RI Legacy data Migration Customisation of Reinsurance Module (FS-RI) Risk Manager in FS-RI (Facultative Business) had not yet been implemented even in Europe IMPLEMENTATION HIGHLIGHTS Opportunity to critically re-look the companys business processes and practices and incorporate changes wherever required. Elimination of data inconsistency by correcting, validating and cleansing legacy data. Opportunity to streamline the organisation by adopting the global best practices in the industry BUSINESS BENEFITS Tight integration between underwriting and technical Accounting processes thereby providing better business focus. Integrated processes eliminating almost all redundancies and inter-departmental reconciliations. Increased automation reduced manual intervention and improved data quality. Improved reserving process (tracking the development of outstanding loss reserves). FINANCIAL STRATEGIC BENEFITS SAP allowed visibility of all assets Standardized evaluation of all assets were achieved Daily updates to the investment portfolio enable the company to achieve integrated investment management Effective real time risk analysis TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP 95 % of the companys requirements were met by th standard solution offered by SAP and minimal customization was required OPERATIONAL BENEFITS The operation benefits as evaluated by the company after two years of implementation are as follows: KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPI) IMPACT Time to measure performance -70% Time to plan for new projects and activities -30% Time to performance market risk analysis -80% Efforts to map sources of risk -80% Reporting Flexibility +90% Quality of Reports +80% Quality of Portfolio evaluation +90% Quality of transaction mapping +90% FUTURE PLANS Up gradation from SAP R/3 Version 4.7 to SAP ECC 6.0 platform Connecting offices in Moscow, Malaysia and South Africa to the upgraded ERP network General Insurance Corporation of India has derived significant benefits from implementation of SAP Reinsurance. From this case it is evident that SAP has the potential of being a measure source of improved efficiency and competitive advantage for insurance service providers. APPENDIX [1] Monitor Performance: Executive Dashboard [2] CEO Dashboard [3] Sales Dashboard

augustus :: essays research papers

Augustus   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The history of the Roman Empire is one filled with warfare and deception. After the defeat of Carthage and the Gaul the Roman generals began to vie for power. Even after the murder of Cesar was avenged the fighting would not end. It was only after Anthony and Cleopatra were defeated at the Battle of Actium that a certain peace settled over the Roman provinces. The man responsible for this peace is Octavian, later known as Augustus. To commemorate his many achievements a statue of him was made after his death. Using the contraposto pose, the all around relief, various symbolic shapes Plykleitos, the artist of this statue, creates an inspiring image of the great general.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Romans took a lot of their art styles from their Greek neighbors. One of the most common ways to depict someone was to put them in a contraposto pose. In this method the figure is shown in movement rather then in a stiff Egyptian style portrait. In this artwork Augustus leans forward and raises his right arm as if to address his troops. Many of the Roman political leaders had to constantly give speeches and the art of the oration was one that every royal member had to learn. Exactly what Augustus is preaching here is still a matter of controversy but most scholars agree that it has a relation to a military matter.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another characteristic of this artwork that is Greek-like is relief and the proportion. The Greeks had set rules for the size of the body parts and the Romans simply copied them. Many politicians favored showing perfect images of them selves to impress the general public. This artwork is also in full relief. It was meant to be seen all around and not just from the front.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Augustus is also shown with shapes in his chest armor and cupid beside his leg. The little God is meant to symbolize the connection between the Julii family and the goddess Aphrodite. Octavian is often cited to have traced his lineage to this goddess.

Lifestyle Diseases

Since the dawn of civilization, man’s physical attributes have always been in accordance with the work he was supposed to do. It has been proven that we were ape like before and had lots of body hair, which was then to protect us from cold. Eventually as time passed our physicality changed a lot, and we started to walk erect, but still we were built in such a way that we were fit for hunting and to endure other physical conditions. As centuries began to unfold, we started developing at a brisk pace and we have reached a stage of today, where we can get food by paying money for which we have to work, and that too doesn’t have to be necessarily a strenuous labor job. This change in lifestyle has brought about a lot of positivism and negativity in our lives.Today we don’t have to strive for food nor fight wild animals, but today we have to work long hours, which how much ever tiring maybe aren’t strenuous to what we had to do earlier. This exact change has br ought in the ‘lifestyle diseases’, which are responsible for maximum deaths in countries which are either developed or are in the brink of becoming developed. Today we have development in the field of medicine and the diseases of yester years are either extinct or they don’t possess a threat much. Since we don’t have much threat from infectious diseases as much as we had before, the life style diseases which mainly comprise of the following, affect us the most:These diseases have been associated with the new way of life and come into the generic term of lifestyle diseases. Compared to the olden times, today obesity is a major problem which can be assessed by the following:‘By 2001, almost 21 percent of adults were obese, representing a nearly 75 percent increase. Because these data are based on self-reported height and weight, obesity rates are most likely even higher than these estimates suggest. Results from the 1999 National Health and Nutrition E xamination Survey, which collects data through clinical measurements, found that approximately 30 percent of U.S. adults are obese and an additional 34 percent are overweight and Even more alarming is the increase of those who are morbidly obese; that is, those who are 100 pounds or more overweight’ (Eileen Salinsky).Obesity has been the root of many problems. Today children are always eating processed junk food and cola rather than salads and vegetables and milk. The pizzas and burgers how much ever scrumptious it is, cannot be considered as a main food and due to this reason not children but adults too tend to bloat up. An obese person is always at risk for heart diseases, diabetes and liver diseases. Being obese makes a person more inactive, this leads to other problems of muscles and joints. For obesity it is said that the more you eat the more you are eaten from inside. Today diseases like cancer have been one of the prime forces in eliminating mankind. There have been l ots of deaths and amputations that have been accounted to cancer.This diseases which was not much active in the olden times, is today’s prime diseases. Cancer has various forms, and if not it could have been prevented from maintaining a good staple diet. One thing that can be attributed from a lifestyle point of view is that in the west and developed countries, there has been a serious loss of staple food and required vegetables in the diet and there has been a major increase of meat and wine. Because of the use more technology cell phones have become a common thing amongst people, including teenagers, but one thing they do not know is using a cell phone over an hour increase the chances of having brain tumor as it emits high amount of radiation. Many people have contracted these tumors, but have failed to realize this that it was due to their lifestyle.Heart Attacks and diabetes which also are lifestyle diseases are the worst in the group as they have killed more people than even one can imagine. The following will cement the fact about arteriosclerosis and diabetes:  The WHO estimates that atherosclerosis (heart attacks and strokes) and diabetes (90% of the Type 2 variety) kill about 20 million people every year, more than are killed by war, famine, AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined, and more than might conceivably be killed in a single pandemic of bird flu. Bill Gates gives billions to trying to eliminate infectious disease but never mentions the really big killer, cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the form of atherosclerosis and hypertension or high blood pressure’ (Pandemic Lifestyle diseases 2007).Life style diseases can be treated too, but it takes it toll on the individual, and for instances of heart and all major by pass operations have to performed, or for cancer chemotherapy or amputation of the part is required.The best way is prevention of these diseases by changing our lifestyles. If we endorse certain amount of exercise and r ight amount of nutritious food then the chances of contracting these diseases go down by huge percentages. Fore mostly, it is very essential to keep a check on junk food and easy to make fried food. Apart from increasing cholesterol and obesity, these foods don’t help much. There has to be a steady intake of staple food with maintaining an equal balance of vegetables and meat. One has to make sure to complete a certain amount of exercise, be it a small run or doing exercises in the gym. This physical exercise will help increase the much needed blood circulation and in turn help people to live healthy.The high amount of work loads only worsens the living environment, as tensions give rise to many diseases. Those working always on tight deadlines suffer the most from it. The only way to counter it is to take time out to relax and practice mind reliving techniques which can be attained via yoga or reiki. The lesser the tension the more an individual can live longer and enjoy lif e.   Alcohol and smoking, which are considered to be very normal in today’s times, are one of the worst ways of affecting our body.Smoking contracts blood cells and can give lung cancer, along with dampening one’s stamina and appetite. Alcohol on the other hand makes one obese, addicted and also causes serious troubles in the liver and kidney region. If one can refrain from smoking and have very limited quantity of alcohol, then he reduces huge chances of getting diseases. The best part of lifestyle disease is it can be easily prevented with certain precautions. Everybody have to die in this world, but the choice of dying young due to lifestyle diseases or dying when you are old is a choice one has to make.Works Cited:1)    Eileen Salinsky, Principal Research Associate Wakina Scott, Research Associate â€Å"Obesity in America: A Growing Threat†, 11th July 2003, http://www.nhpf.org/pdfs_bp/BP_Obesity_7-03.pdf2)   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Pandemic of Lifestyle Diseases† , 14th October 2007, http://www.panaceia-or-hygeia.com/3)    http://naturalhealthperspective.com/home/civilization.html4)   http://www.obesityinamerica.org/geographic.html

The Importance Of Improving Leadership Strategies - 972 Words

Improving leadership and school engagement with PP strategies Middle leaders are the driving force of improvement and consistency within schools (Toop, 2013). To ensure that excellence is being maintained throughout all classrooms and to therefore encourage and support new strategies, middle leaders need to be unified and focused, supporting each other with peer-to-peer development (Hargreaves, 2011). It is argued in the IPPR ‘Excellence and Equality’ report (Clifton ed., 2013) that the attainment gap found between students in school, will not be reduced unless there is focus upon a development of outstanding leadership. OFSTED (2014) also posed that the schools making the most significant progress for disadvantaged pupils were those that†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬ËœNon-cognitive skills’ is a term used to describe the behaviours, attitudes and strategies that children (or adults) use to approach their time at school (or later in life). These attributes will contribute to the level of motivation, perseverance and sel f-control that a child is able to apply to their school lives (Heckman, et al., 2006). The term non-cognitive skill is a very broad term and could be broken down, though not exclusively, into the following categories: self-concept and metacognitive skills; achievement goals and social skills. Self-Concept and Metacognitive Strategies. Self-concept of ability refers to an opinion formed by a child by their environment about their ability to achieve. Applied to the educational setting, a child may feel that they are unable to push themselves due to negative factors from their home/family lifestyle. Metacognitive strategies refer to the efforts to influence oneself and ability to focus towards a goal. O’Mara et al., (2006) found that intervention could increase a child’s self-concept of ability and increase their chance to fulfill a higher potential or goal. Ensuring all students in the class feel that they are being challenged and that the expectations of them are high will help to build a child self-concept and let students set goals that the would have otherwise shied away from (Sherwood,Show MoreRelatedCultural Leadership Strategies1043 Words   |  5 PagesStrategies and applications of the dynamic cultural leadership models and the omnibus leadership model Introduction With the rapid changes in a health care system around the world, healthcare organizations need to develop strategies that will help the organization to sustain with any difficulties that may arise. Healthcare systems expand their cultural leadership strategies in order to gain a thorough understanding of situations (Johnson, 2009) that will effectively improve their operationsRead MoreEffective Communication Is Appropriate For An Organization1280 Words   |  6 Pagesmeasures to develop appropriate strategies for tone at the top. 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