Heritage Assessment Essay

What is a heritage assessment? A heritage assessment is a subpart to the overall nursing assessment. Assessing a patient’s heritage allows the nurse to obtain more information about a patient’s culture, including beliefs about health and values, this is important to providing cultural health care. One’s heritage includes information about their cultural beliefs and practices of the family and ethno religious community (Jarvis, C. , 2012). Through a heritage assessment the nurse can obtain a vast amount of information about the patient/ family, including but not limited to, where ancestors were born, how many siblings they have, if the family originated in another country, how often time is spent with family, religion, if the patient prefers the company of people with the same values and religion or ethnic background, what type of foods the patient prepares, and the patient’s native language. This paper will discuss what the author learned from completing a heritage assessment tool, the usefulness of a heritage assessment tool when assessing a patient/ family/ community as a whole. This paper will also compare the health traditions of three different families (and cultures) to include, health maintenance, health protection, and health restoration, while identifying common traditions based on the author’s heritage. What the families ascribe their traditions to will also be discussed. To begin, what was learned from the heritage assessment tool and why it is useful to apply a heritage assessment in evaluating the needs of a â€Å"whole† person should be discussed. Useful information and insight was gained from completing the heritage assessment tool. Once complete, there were lots of negative responses noted, meaning, the author has very little identification with her traditional heritage. It should not be assumed that everyone identifies with their traditional heritage; this could in turn result in the delivery of poor health care and/ or education. If you are not already familiar with your beliefs and practices the heritage assessment tool is very helpful in getting you there, and helping you learn more about what heritage is. When evaluating the needs of a â€Å"whole† person a heritage assessment is useful and necessary. One of the most important reasons that a heritage assessment is useful is because it helps practitioners in providing culturally appropriate health care. Discovering what cultures and beliefs you are facing through appropriate assessment is very important. The culturally competent nurse must have knowledge in four areas: (1) your own personal heritage (which one can discover through the heritage assessment tool), (2) the heritage of the nursing profession, (3) the heritage of the health care system, and (4) the heritage of the patient (utilization of a heritage assessment tool is also helpful). Throughout nursing education various types of physical examination and assessments are learned, including, health history, mental health assessment, and nutritional assessment. However, depending on the patient’s heritage the information you gather may vary widely, therefore a heritage assessment must be an integral part of a complete physical and health assessment (Jarvis, C. , 2012). Next, health traditions will be discussed. Health traditions vary greatly amongst different cultures. The three areas to be discussed for the purpose of this paper are; health maintenance (how families maintain health and prevent illness); health protection (what measures are taken to protect the body from illness); and health restoration (what is done to restore the body o the prior level of functioning after an illness). Three families from different cultures were interviewed about the three areas mentioned. The cultural backgrounds included that of the author (African American), Mexican American, and Caucasian American. The findings of the interviews are identified in the table below (information including but not limited to what is listed). These families of different cultures ascribed their health traditions to different things. The African American family states that their health traditions are passed down by elders (grandparents), of both sexes. The Mexican American family ascribes their traditions to the women of the family, stating that it is a female responsibility to pass down traditions regarding heath. The Caucasian American family states that they received their knowledge of health from what is or has been proved by science, and usually each mother of the household is responsible for the health of the family.

Exercise 4 – Used Car

Used Car – Exercise 4 Our issue is that we need a new vehicle because ours was wrecked and the rental car we were given to use after the wreck by the insurance company is about to expire, leaving us no mode of transportation. We are looking into buying a used vehicle from an advertisement in the local paper. We weren’t sure if the vehicle was still available so we have called the owner and inquired. We do not know who we are buying the car from but we are interested in purchasing the Volkswagen Jetta because of the advertisement in our local newspaper. Just from reading the car ad; we deem that the car fits all our needs and we need to get in touch with the owner fast in order to make sure they don’t sell it to someone else. In order not to have all our eggs in one basket, we have another vehicle prospect that can be purchased, but it’s an older 1995 Jeep Cherokee for $3,800. 00. We are hoping to get the Jetta for less than the Cherokee, or somewhere within our budget, but if we can’t, we can always buy Cherokee for less. The issues that are most important are trying to come up with a deal that will satisfy thefinancial limitations we have while getting something that is worthwhile and will give us a return on our investment. The issues that are less important are probably taking a vacation at this point if it means losing out on a car that will be beneficial for us. The issues linked are trying to find a replacement soon as we will have to return the rental since the insurance company will no longer pay forit. Another linked issue is finding a vehicle within our price range so we don’t have to take out a car loan that will most likely yield high interest. Issues that are not linked are the two different kinds of vehicles, the Jetta and the Cherokee. Our interest on purchasing this vehicle is to acquire a means of transportation and fulfill an urgent necessity with a tight budget, because right now we are renting a car, and our lease agreement is about to expire. We do not plan to renew the lease because it is getting too expensive for us; therefore, time pressure and monetary price are two important factors in our interest. To accomplish our goal of getting the transportation we need, we intend to spend a minimum of $3,500. 0, depending on the vehicle’s conditions; however, we are considering to pay for this car up to $4,100. 00 as settlement, with at least six month warranty from the seller, and if the negotiation fails, our best alternative(BETNA) will be to purchase a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee, listed for $3,800. 00; despite its high mileage, the Jeeps is a US made vehicle of low maintenance and easy fix, with a good reputati on in the vehicle market. Our preferred settlement would ideally be to purchase the Jetta since it seems it would fit into what we need for our job at this time. We are willing to trade off on possibly a couple of hundred dollars but we must see what the car needs, it could possiblly need new tires, brakes or other things where we could ask for some leeway to try to save ourselves some money. By calling and getting to know the seller of the Jetta we realize that the other person isn’t just trying to get rid of the car just for the sake of getting rid of it. They are selling this vehicle because they are in need of something else too. We are trying to access were they are coming from, but they aren’t giving us much to go on, other than they need to sell the car. This party is required to be involved in this process, they are the ones selling the car and if we can get it for less than they are asking, then it will require them to negotiate with us. At this point, we don’t have too much information about other party; we just know they have a vehicle they are trying to sell and we assume it is in order to purchase a newer vehicle. The issues they have will probably be trying to get the most money out of the Jetta they are trying to sell while we try to lower their asking prices and come to a mutual understanding. We feel that that priority for the seller is that they may have another vehicle in mind to purchase, or something that they need to purchase rather quickly and they will probably need to sell the Jetta as soon as possible in order to make the other purchase. Our Interest is to get the most reliable vehicle that will service our needs for the least amount of money and at this point we’ve had no past relationships, if we settle on this deal we’ll just need the title of the car signed over to us. No further relationships are really needed but would be beneficial in case we have any issues with the car and questions may arise. We pretend to use collaborative strategy, because we believe that we may need the seller in the future, whenever our financial situation gets better; however, we don’t want to lose money either, we want both parties to make something and establish from this point on a relationship. We believe that we could work together in the near future and this deal could come in to play in the future; however, we’re thinking that the other team may use a competitive strategy and try to make more money. Our research consisted of looking up the Kelly Blue Book Value on the car and getting an idea as to what the car is actually worth. We also wanted to see what the cost of the exhaust system since that component of the car means we will have to shell out more money soon, so we need to make sure that we get that out of the car cost to be able to pay for that expense in the future. We feel the other party has their interest in mind, they ultimately want what they want for their vehicle, but if we could throw in some elements to get the cost down, we will do so. Our tactics at first was to just get a feel for where they were and the urgency in which they needed to get rid of their car. We added in the element of being a single mother of 4 children and getting to work to pay for their food, having a safe vehicle for them to be in and a vehicle that would not cost so much to use. Our first negotiation took place face to face. We threw out the first offer and they countered, that is where our negotiations began. We had a few phone calls from the owner to meet up, but they failed due to other obligations. We decided communicating via email would be our best option. Since we knew we had another vehicle option we decided to start low and work them towards our goal. Getting the first offer out was critical to start the expectations. We started at $ 3,500,and gradually got higher. Since we were trying to accommodate money for a trip and a car we provided them details that weren’t true and we ended up getting the vehicle for $4,700. 00, a few hundred dollars more than we hoped to pay. We were trying to get the car and still take our trip that was planned in advance. But, by having to spend a few hundred more for the Jetta then we originally planned it cost us our trip. We had to choose what was more important; our trip, or having a reliable car and having a reliable car in order to be able to go to work, live and function in life was the route we chose.

Driving at 16

In the state of Pennsylvania you can obtain a driver’s license at 16 years of age. There are a lot of disadvantages for teens driving at that age. Statistics and research show that their brains aren’t fully develop, they don’t have enough hours or time driving under the different weather conditions, they are more prone to having accidents, and their insurance rates are high. You would think teenagers would be the world’s best drivers. Their muscles are supple and their reflexes are quick. Though car crashes are the leading cause of death more than drugs, guns, violence, or any disease. The National Institutes of Health conducted a research on brain immaturity of teenagers and how it can affect the driving and their judgment. The study shows that the region of the brain that inhibits risky behavior is not fully developed until about the age 25 which greatly impacts the nations driving laws. Here is a diagram showing how the brain matures from age 5 to 20. This just simply proves how teenagers and there lack of judgment and impulse can improve through maturity by age. Besides the maturity level of the brain of a teenager, another disadvantage is the hours driving under the wheel. They currently do not have enough hours and time driving under different weather climates to understand how that can affect maturity of their driving. In Pennsylvania, 16 year olds only have to drive for 50 hours and can obtain a junior license after 6 months of driving. So for an example you get your permit in April you can have your junior license in October. What about the winter months? That’s an important month because that’s deals with snow and ice factors. A third disadvantage for 16 year olds are accident rates are high. Teenagers are four times more likely than older drivers to be involved in a car crash and three times as likely to die in one, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. In 2008, PennDOT released an article on: Reminding Teen Drivers to Avoid Distractions While Driving. There was 23,059 crashes involving teenager driving and out of those crashes 194 fatalities. In 2009, Pennsylvania Crash Facts and Statistics show there were 22,473 crashes and 186 involving fatalities. Even though the percentage has gone down a little, that’s still way too many. Too many teenagers now a days talk and text while driving, continue to eat or drink, don’t wear seat belts, listening to loud music, goofing off with their friends, and have too many friends in the car. Then what happens is you lose focus on the road, the traffic around you, and causes you to have an accident. Which will affect your driving record and your insurance rate will go even higher. Which brings me to the final reason why driving at 16 has a disadvantage is the insurance rates are high. Teenage male drivers are 3 times a higher risk than teenage female drivers. A 78% statistic shows through Bureau of Highway Safety and Traffic Engineering and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation that more teenage males tend to have accidents. They also like to race each other in streets and tend to get more driving tickets. Even though taking the driving course through your school or driving class may help it still is a high rate. Plus teenagers are under their parents insurance until they reach 18. So if the parent has an excellent driving record and the teenager is careless or has an accident this than affects the parents. Which I think is unfair. It should affect the teen not the parent. Here are some solutions to all these disadvantages for a 16 year old having a driver’s license in the state of Pennsylvania. Right away I would raise the age to 17. I would than raise the hours of driving from 50 hours to 75 to start. I would also make it that instead of 6 months to obtaining a junior driver’s license; you would have 9 to 10 months until you can obtain one. That way you can be able to learn how to drive under all weather conditions. I also feel that teenagers should only be able to drive back and forth to work like a bread and butter license until you reach a certain number of hours and your driving record is clean. Change the time frame for allowing teenagers to drive. An example would be from 6 a. m. to 10 p. m. after that someone over the age of 18 would have to drive. The number of passenger’s in a car would be changed to only allowing 1 person under the age of 18 in a car. Since you would have to be 17 now to drive, I would also make it that you can obtain your own insurance policy. Or, if you or your parents want you under their policy it would only affect you if you get into an accident or get tickets. In some counties they have passed that you can’t text or talk on a phone while driving. They should pass this everywhere. This would all help reduce the accident rates and insurance rates. It is clear that if we could get some new laws passed or raise the age, this would resolve a lot statistics of teenage driving. In return they would be more mature and would make better choices and decisions. REFERENCES: The Washington Post (2005). The Developing Brain. Retrieved from http://washingtonpost. com DMV. org (2011 September 26). Pennsylvania Teen Drivers Guide. Retrieved from http://www. dmv. org PRNewswire (2011 September 26). PennDOT Reminds Teen Drivers to Avoid Distractions While Driving. Retrieved from http://www. prnewswire. com PennDOT (2009). Pennsylvania Crash Facts and Statistics. Retrieved from http://www. dot. state. pa. us The Daily Local (2011). Maturity Level of the Brain. Retrieved from http://www. dailylocal. com

Implementing Management Changes in BMW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Implementing Management Changes in BMW - Essay Example Implementing Management Changes in BMW Abstract Change is inevitable in any organization to gain competitive advantage over others in the industry. Planning and implementing organizational changes is no easy task as re-engineering a company is a great challenge for its leaders. This research paper will explore the various stages of changes, leadership requirements and employee co-operation necessities required to make any major change in an organization a success. The German automobile doyen BMW is chosen as the platform of the research. The paper begins with a literature review available regarding organizational change. It continues to explain the challenges faced in BMW while implementing the strategies discussed practically. A research is done by collecting feedback from the employees on how effective they consider change management is. A conclusion which provides recommendation on change management is presented at the end. Introduction The ever increasing competition in the autom obile industry forces all the major brands to re-structure their marketing and management strategies to gain maximum profit. These changes started to occur in the early 1980's in companies like Ford and General Motors. The automobile industry then considered it as a survival strategy rather than a tool to gain competitive advantage (Shimokawa, 1994). Organizational change management started to gain widespread momentum after the recent economic downturn. Several companies like Ford followed the path of massive downsizing while a few companies like BMW which implemented organizational change in an effective way were able to maintain their profits without cutting down their manpower even during the grimmest times. They searched for new markets and introduced premium cars at a low cost, by establishing production houses in countries like China and India to control production costs. BMW is the only premium car maker to produce and market BMW 3-series and 5-series models in China locally. They have invested over 459 million Euros in a Chinese plant producing their MINI series cars which will be marketed in China alone. They have joined hands with Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd to do the same (Welch, 2004). Taking a closer look at their change management strategies will help other companies manage similar situations effectively. Purpose of the Study The study analyzes how BMW can use organizational change and management effectively to stay as a dominant force in the market and keep expanding constantly. It also highlights certain successful change management processes followed in BMW. Limitations of the study The research relies heavily upon various external data available in the internet and other related sources. The employees who took part in survey showed little understanding of the explained concept. The line managers and the upper management view organizational change as something inevitable that will be imposed during grim situations. They look back to switching to older methods of working rather than looking upon the concept of organizational change as a tool of growth. This attitude makes them contribute very little to research regarding organizational change. There is a general hostility prevailing among the employees regarding any change as they feel it hard to come out of their routine and adapt to new practices. Literature Review Automobile industry operates under immense pressure today. The business market has changed enormously after globalization due to very strong competition, amazing

Critically assess the Prime Minister's powers, Review the role of the Essay

Critically assess the Prime Minister's powers, Review the role of the media in British politics, Is the higher civil ser - Essay Example This work will focus on the powers of the prime minister and other political issues in the United Kingdom, specifically Britain (Adams, 2000). Powers of the prime minister The office of the prime minister in the United Kingdome is not in the constitution meaning there is no reference or a proper legal document that describes all matters that pertains to this office. Due to this, it remained uncommon to majority until the 20th century when the relation between the prime minister, sovereign government, cabinet and the parliament was appreciated. Prime minister’s powers include: the head of the government, meaning he is the chief officer of the executive and legislative arm of the government or the head of the cabinet. Here the prime minister signs policies debated upon by the legislators into full law. In some nations, the prime minister and the president or head of state must both agree with the policy before it actually becomes a full law. But in the United Kingdom, the Monarc hy is a relief from active role in governmental affairs, hence it is the prime minister to solely sign such policies to full law. ... The second group laments that the prime minister is a senior government official whose wishes or orders ought to be done without further questions (Negrine, 2002). The best solution to this debate is to establish a vetting procedure through which qualified people are vetted before being appointed by the prime minister, further more, the constitution should protect the cabinet members from official exploitations by senior most governmental powers, prime minister being one of them. He organizes business between the executive, civil service and legislators among other important governmental departments. The prime minister represents the Queen or monarchy in both domestic and international affairs. He has the overall control over the cabinet office, which is headed by the secretary of the cabinet, also the head of civil servants. Here the head of civil service must present some issues to the prime minister before the final verdicts are made. Since the head of civil servants is appointed by the prime minister, no aspirant would dare oppose the Prime Minister (Stephen, 2000). Politics is real where some leaders agree and disagree for the sake of good governorship. In my opinion a one sided governorship is more of a dictatorship or the state of psycho fancy. A majority of both appointed and aspiring senior government officials will always support the prime minister despite the infeasibilities. The constitution should be amended to protect the senior officials from such oppressions. A good government is that which cabinet and other senior officials are free to make their personal opinions for the sake of the citizens in general. Role of media in British Politics Britain is of the countries where media sector is at full liberty to

Impact of Employee Participation on Job Satisfaction Dissertation

Impact of Employee Participation on Job Satisfaction - Dissertation Example One of the major challenges which the management of most of the organizations are facing is to develop and implement effective human resource strategies. Developing effective human resource strategies are required because they enhance the overall performance of organizations. Job satisfaction, employees participation, team empowerment are some important components of human resource strategy. Since most of the organizations are facing structural weaknesses and internal challenges, therefore, learning the determinants of job satisfaction has become very important for management. It is generally argued that employees’ participation in the organization, enhance their motivation level thereby, increasing the job satisfaction of people. The aim of this report is to evaluate whether there is a link between employees participation and job satisfaction or not and how participation may increase job satisfaction. This report is very important to understand the factors which may help the organization to increase job satisfaction to the workers. In addition to the impact of employees’ participation on job satisfaction, this report will also determine the role of the level of motivation and organizational trust of employees. Therefore, this report will be really worthwhile for the companies to learn the importance of employees’ participation at a workplace.  To achieve high individual and organization performance, companies are seeking to devise various strategies and employees’ participation in decision making is one of them. Huge literature work has been done to study the impact of employees’ participation on job satisfaction.

What would be most useful in planning an expedition to the summit, a Essay

What would be most useful in planning an expedition to the summit, a map of the mountain or a preliminary visit - Essay Example Note that the word used was â€Å"statement† and not â€Å"problem†, because using the latter might invite elaborate problem-solving activities, which may not be necessary for making the best decision. This was the contention of Starbuck (1983) that organizations should be problem solvers. Having this kind of perspective, one will perceive the above statement to be a problem that justifies the problem-solving model. It is not yet in the action-generating mode, because the expedition is still in the planning stage, but nevertheless could also be taken as an action-generating trigger. While this perspective is pervasive among organizations who would justify their relevance by interpreting events (such as the question posed) as a problem that needs to be solved or acted upon, this mindset is problematic. This model of Starbuck will murk the issue of merely identifying the most useful in planning an expedition, because Starbuck’s model of problem-solving may lead to busy work whereby exercises are performed for the sake of solving the perceived problem. This is no different from the actors in an organization who bloat events into a problem to justify their existence; they create bureaucracy after bureaucracy to satisfy the need to act or to solve any event that is interpreted as a problem and thus is not an ideal model for responding to the statement. Equally problematic to the approach of Starbuck is Weick’s dependency to technology in solving any given proposition. Data provided in their cryptic representations were taken as if they were absolute truths when they themselves are imperfect and incomplete. Weick elaborated that these data are flawed for two reasons; first, these data does not have the sensory information such as â€Å"feelings, intuitions, and context† (52), all of which are critical in accurate assessment of a situation. Second, data provided by machines cannot speak in qualitative terms such as â€Å"metaphors, corporate culture, archetypes, myths, history†(52). Without these inputs in the information that we are going to factor in our decision making, we are rendered handicapped because it would be impossible for us accurately diagnose and address any issue that we will confront (1985). In the statement that this paper is trying to resolve whether â€Å"what would be most useful in planning an expedition to the summit?† Relying on information provided by machine as enunciated in the paper of Weick will render us incapacitated to make a sound decision because there is no way that a computer could relate the sensory nuances of climbing the summit that would make us a better judge which of the two options presented would be more appropriate. Bazerman and Moore’s article about â€Å"Bounded Awareness† provided an interesting perspective on how our filtering reflexes can lead to an erroneous interpretation of an issue, thus making an incorrect decision. Due to excess ive information available about a certain issue or event, we tend to ignore some information which could have been equally important. We make assumptions to fit problems into our defined space during our decision-making process, and these assumptions are our prejudices, biases, and preconceived notions that could impair the result of the decision (Starbuck, 1983). Yet, even as Bazerman and Moore defined how the filtering of bounded awareness limits good decision-making, the study still did not provide

Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Education - Essay Example Another importance of nursing education is to enlighten the nurses on what is require of them as well as the most effective way of resolving issues pertaining to their duties as professional (Keating, 2010,p. 3-5; Bradshaw& Lowenstein, 2011, p.1). Nursing Learning Styles These are hypothetical models, which suggest the existing manners of acquiring knowledge and help teacher or lecturer plan and meet the needs of their students. Nursing is a profession characterised by great diversity in terms of culture as well as economic status  of the individuals practicing it as well as the patients the nurses attend to or interact. Nursing professionals are required to learn how to theorize, visualize, analyse, and then come up with the solution to resolve problems. The profession involves carrying several activities ranging from calculating dosages to complex interventions on matters pertaining to patients. To understand how different learning styles apply in nursing education, it is importa nt to have some understanding on the modes of learning applied by different nursing students. Individual learning skill required include visual, Auditory and kinaesthetic (Bradshaw& Lowenstein, 2011, p.279-282; Brockbank, 2002, p. 25). Visual is a critical learning technique for nurses and require that lecturers use material such as charts and illustrative diagrams in lecturing. Organizing notes into diagrams is also an important strategy used in nursing education. Auditory learning involves ability to listen and understand information, which is improved through recording information. Kinaesthetic is a mode of learning that suits individuals who prefer when information is presented in different forms other than having to listen to lectures (Ewan & White, 1991, p. 28; Ewan & White, 1991, p. 44-50). There are several learning styles but nursing profession aims at combining the different individual learning modes to come up with comprehensive styles to take care of the entire individua l profession. Nursing educations combines four learning behaviours found among nurses and include activist, reflectors, theorist, and pragmatist. The learning styles should aim at getting the learner to come out of their comfort zone and be able to experience, reflect on incidents, conceptualize the ideas and then make plans (Keating, 2010, p. 47; Ewan & White, 1991, p. 28). Activism entails involving the learners into several activities to enable them gain experience. This increases enthusiasm and the urge to lean more. This enables nurses to handle emergencies. Activists frequently involve themselves with other people and act fast. Demonstrations work well for this group of learners (Jarvis, 2006, p. 10-12; Brockbank, 2002, p. 33-35). Theorists are those learners capable of integrating vast quantity of information and adapt it into logical hypotheses. They prefer leaning through use of models, theories, as well as case analysis. Reflectors have the capability of viewing informatio n from different perspectives. They prefer learning by collecting information or case studies and analysing them. They are therefore reasonably accurate in making conclusions. They are also good auditory learners and tend to be cautious. Most nurses fall in this category. Use of discussions helps learners in this category Oermann & Heinrich, 2008, p. 50-55). Pragmatists are learners who desire to try out new ideas, which may include theories and novel techniques. They are innovative

Reading Educational Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Reading Educational Research - Essay Example According to Archer, Halsall and Hollingworth (2007, p 167), there are clear distinctions between the two gender identities: Femininities and Masculinities. It is in this regard that a qualitative methodology is applied to research and bring out these differences. More significantly, the implication of the differences in gender identities on the society and the behavior of the youth are described by the authors. It is argued by qualitative researchers that a methodological approach is an effective way of investigating and describing differences between people (Silverman, 2004, p. 59). It is in relation to this argument that Archer, Halsall and Hollingworth (2007, p 173) have focused in two major areas in their article. Firstly, the events in which young women participate in as compared to the male counterparts. Secondly the authors reflect on the social environment in general with an aim of demonstrating the views of the society on gender identities and gender roles. Archer, Halsall and Hollingworth (2007, p 170) employ theoretical perspectives and resources to interpret the data of the qualitative study. It is argued that a theoretical framework is used to add credibility to the discussion of research findings especially when a qualitative methodology is used to describe a social issue (Strauss & Corbin, 1998, p. 9). The theoretical framework employed by the authors in their discussion is that of feminism. The authors describe the various categorization of feminism such as hetero-normative sexuality, heterosexual femininities and hyper femininity. Through the theoretical framework and research findings, the authors present the reader with three main arguments as described in the following sentences. Firstly, the disengagement of working class girls from schooling is mediated by the manner in which they construct hetero-femininities. Secondly, Archer, Halsall and Hollingworth (2007, p 169) point out that the ethnic diversity among inner city girls construct the capital which they acquire as a way through which they would generate self worth, identity and value. Lastly, the authors explain the reasons why the young girls invest more on glamorous appearance. According to Skeggs (1997, p. 124), identities are constructed through cultural and social theory. Skeggs (1997) discusses gender, class and culture in relation to feminism and argues that theoretical view of these issues in an effective approach for deeper understanding. It is therefore evident that Skeggs (1997, p. 145) presents arguments that are congruent with the postulates of Archer, Halsall and Hollingworth (2007, p. p 176). This is exemplified by reflection that the modern society is characterized by changing power relations and gender roles. Skeggs (1997) further explains that gender and class should be fused so that the representation of power relations in the society can be understood fully. Nonetheless the information that is presented by Skeggs (1997, p. 170) is based on an ethnographic research. This author uses the works of Pierre Bourdieu and the feminist theory to describe the position that is occupied by the female gender within the modern society. The ethnography of gender and class helps in understanding the differences between the two gender identities within a school social environment. According to Archer, Halsall and Hollingworth (2007, p 178), the working class gir

Human Rights Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Human Rights - Case Study Example By enforced disappearance, the abductor not only violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and his right to life but also denies the abducted the right to a family life, as well as, various economic, social and cultural rights. Furthermore, they take away the victim's right to adequate standard of living and his right to education. Also, if death is not the ultimate outcome of the disappearance, then the victim might suffer an extended period of physical and psychological torture which also contradicts Article 6 of Body of Principals for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, which states that "no person under any form of detention or imprisonment shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment3 4." In the case of P.D.S' wife, where the state failed to take any sort of action against the disappearance of the victims, the victim's family and friends, who experience slow mental torture, have the right to plead their case to the international human rights bodies. If the appeal is made to the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, then the report to be admissible, it has to originate from the family member or a friend of the missing person, in this case, P.D.S' wife. A written report, giving clear indication of the sender, that is, P.D.S' wife, has to be submitted and if she mentions the Utopian Government, then the Government have to provide the Working Group with some basic data including the missing person's full name, date and place of disappearance, where was the person last seen and any steps taken for the determination of the whereabouts of the abducted. If the case is pleaded to any other Treaty-Based International Human Rights Organizations, then the complaint or the admissibility procedure is that the person putting forward the complaint should have sufficient authorization or justification if complaining on behalf of someone else. It has to be clearly proven and shown whether the individual is being affected by the violation or not. Also, the complaint made should be compatible with the provisions of the treaty invoked. The complaint has to be sufficiently substantial as if substantial facts are not provided then the complaint might be rejected as a case of "manifestly ill-founded". All the domestic remedies should be exhausted before bringing a claim to the committee. According to the Treaty-Based International Humans Rights Organizations, if a complaint is being examined by some other international organizations such as Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the European Court of Human Rights or the African Commission o

Traumatic or emotional Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Traumatic or emotional - Essay Example She asked where his father was and her mother answered that he has not gone down yet. Joan asked him what was wrong with him but he did not answer. Her mother went by the side of her father and helped bring him to the sofa to let him lie down. At this point, Joan became frantic and suggested that they call 911, her mother agreed. Meanwhile, Joan felt so nervous seeing her dad trying to catch his breath. She also noticed cold sweats on his forehead. Her mom loosened the shirt of his dad and added pillows under his head. Both Joan and her mom were at a loss on what to do. Suddenly, Joan noticed that her dad lost consciousness. It was at this point that Joan started wailing really hard while her mom was sobbing. Joan tried to give artificial respiration, though she really does not know how. Ten minutes later, the doorbell rang and it was the paramedics. The paramedics said that her dad was suffering from a heart attack and that he needed to be brought to the hospital as soon as possible. They also said that both Joan and her mom can ride with them in the ambulance but that they should stay calm. They slowly lifted up Joan’s dad to the stretcher and placed him inside the ambulance. Joan rode in the ambulance with her mom. She watched intently as the paramedics were trying to revive his dad. Joan was filled with fear because she can see that the paramedics’ efforts seem futile. Her dad was still unconscious. She was worried for her dad and at the same time she wanted to be strong for her mom. She struggled to regain her composure and hugged her mom tightly to comfort her. She began to pray silently asking God’s intervention. She never prayed so hard in her life. She asked God to take care of her dad. She prayed that it is nothing serious. She also prayed for strength for her and her mom. When they reached the hospital, Joan’s dad was rushed to the

Adelphia Scandal and Worldcom Scandal Essay Example for Free

Adelphia Scandal and Worldcom Scandal Essay Basic Questions 1. Rigas Entities were entities that shared a common cash management system with Adelphia and Adelphia subsidiaries, which Adelphia controlled and operated. Since the scandal broke, it is commonly referred as off-the-book entities. 2. EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) is essentially net income with interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization added back to it, and can be used to analyze and compare profitability between companies and industries because it eliminates the effects of financing and accounting decisions.-from Investopedia 3. Self-dealing basically refers to when directors of a company improperly uses company finances or resource for personal gain. This can include directors taking company loans that the directors do not intend to repay, using company money for extraordinary personal use, or using company property for personal gain. See more: Is the Importance of being earnest a satirical play essay Advanced Questions 1. Both Adelphia scandal and WorldCom scandal were not prevented by company’s external auditor, though Deloitte and Touche and Arthur Andersen both rated their client as high risk. As for the differences, Adelphia did not have an independent internal auditor. However, WorldCom had an independent internal auditor and blows the whistle. 2. I will say Deloitte and Touche is most responsible for not detecting and stopping. As an external auditor, they should pay attention to organizations financial records and examine on any mistakes or fraud. At least, Deloitte and Touche should have stopped Timothy Rigas from serving as CFO and Director of Adelphia’s Accounting Committee. After all, it was obviously against the rules. 3. Timothy Rigas received a reasonable prison sentence as we can see from the WorldCom case; Bernard Ebbers was sentenced to 25 years. As for John Rigas, a former CEO who was guilty of more than 15 counts of fraud. Rationally speaking, it seems to be a fair judgment. However, it sounds too rough to keep an old man who has been suffered from cancer in jail.

Pendahuluan Malaysia merupakan sebuah negara yang

Pendahuluan Malaysia merupakan sebuah negara yang 1.0 Pendahuluan *Pendahuluan {Englsh Translation Preliminary} similar to Pengenalan {Englsh Translation: Introduction} Read this essay in English here > Malaysia merupakan sebuah negara yang terdiri daripada lebih 200 kumpulan etnik. Antaranya ialah Melayu, Cina, India, Kadazan-Dusun, Iban dan lain-lain. Dengan penduduk yang pelbagai budaya ini, perpaduan etnik atau sebaliknya sentiasa menjadi agenda dalam pengurusan masyarakat dan pemerintahan negara ini. Oleh kerana wujudnya kepelbagaian budaya, agama dan bahasa dalam kalangan rakyat di negara ini, maka timbulah pelbagai masalah yang melibatkan hubungan etnik. Boleh dikatakan bahawa perkauman akan sentiasa menjadi batas pemisah antara rakyat pelbagai kaum. Keadaan ini seterusnya boleh melahirkan ketegangan dan konflik antara kaum dan seterusnya boleh menyebabkan berlakunya pertumpahan darah. Berdasarkan kepada peristiwa 13 Mei, beberapa perkara penting yang perlu dipandang serius dalam membina nagara bangsa yang bersatu padu. Dalam hal ini, ternyata faktor hubungan etnik yang harmonis menjadi anak kunci bagi keseimbangan antara kekukuhan ekonomi dan kestabilan politik. Hubungan etnik yang mantap sangat perlu dalam kalangan rakyat sesebuah negara yg mempunyai kepelbagaian dari segi agama, bahasa, budaya dan etnik. Rakyat Malaysiayang terdiri daripada pelbagai kaum dan agama perlu menganggap diri mereka sebagai bangsa Malaysia yang berfikir dan bertindak ke arah mencapai satu matlamat. Sejajar dengan ini, perpaduan yang sedia terjalin antara kaum di negara ini perlu diperkukuhkan lagi bagi mewujudkan suasana negara yang lebih aman, maju, selamat dan makmur. 2.0 Cabaran hubungan etnik 2.1 Cabaran hubungan etnik dari aspek ekonomi Salah satu cabaran hubungan etnik dalam aspek ekonomi ialah pemisahan fizikal. Pemisahan fizikal ini wujud kesan daripada dasar ‘pecah dan perintah yang diamalkan oleh penjajah British pada masa dahulu. Pemisahan fizikal ini menyebabkan menyebabkan sesuatu golongan etnik itu tidak mengenal atau berpeluang untuk berinteraksi dengan lebih kerap kerana tinggal di wilayah yang berbeza. Hal ini merenggangkan perhubungan perhubungan dan interaksi serta memperkuatkan lagi perasaan kekitaan dan etnosentrisme dalam kalangan anggota setiap etnik. Keadaan ini seterusnya akan menimbulkan prasangka, stereotaip dan mengekalkan kejahilan dalam kalangan ahli sesuatu golongan etnik terhadap golongan etnik yang lain. Setiap golongan etnik mempunyai sistem pendidikan yang tersendiri dan masih menggunakan sukatan pelajaran yang diamalkan di negara asal mereka. Pelajar Melayu belajar di sekolah Melayudan menggunakan bahasa Melayu. Orang India pula bersekolah di sekolah Tamil dan menggunakan bahasa Tamil. Manakala bagi pelajar Cina, mereka bersekolah di sekolah Cina dan menggunakan bahasa Mandarin. Keadaan ini menyebabkan interaksi sesama mereka hanya berkisar dalam kalangan etnik yang sama. Selain itu, kontrak sosial juga juga kerap dibangkitkan oleh sesetengah pihak. Kontrak sosial merupakan persetujuan yang dicapai semasa kemerdekaan dalam merangka perlembagaan. Antara isu yang sering ditimbulkan ialah kedudukan istimewa orang Melayu, kedudukan agama Islam, bahasa Melayu, dan sebagainya. Sebarang isu atau kontrak sosial yang dibangkitkan boleh membawa kepada kerenggangan hubungn etnik di Malaysia. 2.2 Cabaran hubungan etnik dari aspek ekonomi Dalam sektor ekonomi, terdapat jurang yang luas dari segi penguasaan ekonomi. Kebanyakan orang Melayu menguasai sektor pertanian yang agak mundur. Orang Cina umumnya menguasai sektor yang lebih maju seperti perniagaan dan perdagangan. Manakala orang India pula menguasai sektor ekonomi yang berasaskan ladang. Kesannya, wujud jurang pendapatan yang berbeza antara etnik. Dasar British yang meletakan kaum berdasarkan kepada pekerjaan menyebabkan etnik tertentu mendominasi dalam satu-satu bidang pekerjaan. Orang Melayu kebanyakannya terlibat dalam sektor pertanian, nelayan dan berkhidmat sebagai penjawat awam. Kebanyakan orang Cina pula terlibat dalam sektor perniagaan dan perlombongan. Manakala sebahagian besar orang India pula merupakan buruh di estet. Perbezaan ini telah menimbulkan rasa tidak puas hati dalam kalangan etnik tertentu. Secara tidak langsung, perkara ini memperkukuhkan lgi semangat perkauman. 2.3 Cabaran hubungan etnik dari aspek politik Di negara ini terdapat pelbagai parti politik yang berasaskan kumpulan etnik dan setiap parti politik akan memperjuangkan kepentingan kumpulan etnik yang diwakilinya. Politok perkauman ini boleh menimbulkan perasaan tidak senang hati dan mengukuhkan semangat perkauman jika penyuaraan kepentingan etnik tertentu dibuat tanpa mengambil kira kepentingan semua pihak. Jika isu perkauman seperti bahasa, kebudayaan, pendidikan, agama, kerakyatan dan ekonomi dibangkitkan, maka tindakan ini tidak akan menyumbang kea rah masyarakat yang bersatu padu. 2.4 Cabaran nilai antara etnik Malaysia merupakan negara yang terdiri daripada masyarakat majmuk. Oleh itu, terdapat pelbagai perbezaan dari segi agama, bahasa dan kebudayaan dalam masyarakat di Malaysia. Setiap kumpulan etnik mempertahankan kebudayaan dan adat resam mereka, mengutamakan etnik mereka dan mungkin juga menganggap kebudayaan mereka sahaja yang terbaik. Hal ini menyebabkan anggota etnik lebih mengutamakan anggota daripada etnik yang sama dalam memilih sahabat, mendapatkan pekerjaan dan natijah akhirnya akan mewujudkan polarisasi antara etnik. Selain daripada itu kewujudan akhbar yang pelbagai bahasa dengan mengutamakan kelompok etnik mereka akan memperkukuhkan lagi perasaan kumpulan etnik masing-masing. Cabaran dari segi kepentingan nilai ini akan mewujudkan masalah yang lebih besar jika fahaman etnosentrisme itu dijadikan pegangan dalam masyarakat. 2.5 Cabaran globalisasi Globalisasi merujuk kepada dunia tanpa sempadan dimana perhubungan menjadi semakin pintas dan cepat. Kita boleh mengetahui keadaan dunia luar dengan pantas dan cepat dan segala maklumat boleh disalurkan tanpa ada sekatan. Globalisasi membawa masuk pengaruh dari Barat dari segi ideology, budaya hedonism dan nilai negatif, ekonomi bebas, sains dan teknologi yang memusnahkan dan system politik yang dianggap terbaik bagi semua manusia. Melalui globalisasi, kuasa Barat mengeksport segala macam keburukan yang merosakkan negara dan alam sekitar, budaya hiburan dan pengeksplotasian sumber manusia dan bahan mentah. Gejala ini mengakibatkan lenyapnya nilai luhar dan pemikiran Barat diterima secara ke dalam masyarakat. Kejayaan mereka ini dibantu oleh masyarakat tempatan yang menganggap segala yang datang dari barat adalah baik dan moden. Keadaan ini akan memberi kesan kepada hubungan etnik, intergrasi, perpaduan, mudah terjadinya konflik dan lebih parah lagi mengundang rusuhan kaum. Secara tidak langsung, keadaan ini akan memburukan lagi hubungan etnik di Malaysia. 3.0 Peranan kerajaan dalam meningkatkan hubungan etnik 3.1 Penubuhan Jabatan Perpaduan Negara dan Integrasi Nasional Peristiwa rusuhan kaum pada 13 Mei 1969 telah membuka mata pelbagai pihak tentang pentingnya usaha-usaha yang lebih serius diberikan tumpuan dalam mengurus perbezaan serta sensitiviti yang terdapat dalam sesebuah masyarakat majmuk seperti Malaysia. Berikutan peristiwa tersebut, Majlis Gerakan Negara (MAGERAN) telah ditubuhkan. Pada 1 Julai 1969, Jabatan Perpaduan Negara di bawah perintah MAGERAN telah diwujudkan bagi menanggani isu-isu berhubung pembinaan semula perpaduan masyarakat di negara kita pada waktu itu (Jabatan Perpaduan Negara dan Integrasi Nasional,2006). Selepas pembubaran MAGERAN, Majlis Penasihat Perpaduan Negara telah ditubuhkan iaitu pada 23 Februari 1971. tanggungjawab bagi memupuk dan memelihara perpaduan antara kaum di negara ini terus diletakkan di bawah tanggungjawab Jabatan Perpaduan Negara. Antara 1990-2004, Jabatan Perpaduan Negara telah diletakkan semula di bawah Jabatan Perdana Menteri dengan nama Jabatan Perpaduan Negara dan Integrasi Nasional (JPNIN). Bermula daripada kemerdekaan sehingga kini, kerajaan telah merangka dan memberi penekanan kepada beberapa dasar dalam bidang sosioekonomi yang menjurus kepada perpaduan dan keharmonian masyarakat pelbagai kaum serta integrasi nasional. Dasar-dasar yang dimaksudkan termasuklah Dasar Pendidikan Kebangsaan, Dasar Kebudayaan Kebangsaan dan Dasar Ekonomi Baru. Dasar-dasar tersebut telah diperkukuh lagi dengan memperkenal Rukun Negara sebagai ideologi kebangsaan. Bagi mengurangkan tindak tanduk politik yang boleh memecahbelahkan rakyat, usaha telah diambil untuk membentuk Barisan Nasional. Sebagai tindakan susulan dalam memperlengkap dan memperkukuh usaha pembentukan bangsa Malaysia., beberapa dasar lain telah dibentuk. Antaranya ialah Dasar Pembangunan Negara, Dasar Wawasan Negara dan Dasar sosial Negara. Pendirian kerajaan telah menegaskan lagi dalam pernyataan Wawasan 2020. JPNIN melalui Pelan Tindakan Perpaduan dan Integrasi Nasional 2005-2010, telah merancang pelbagai usaha untuk memupuk dan mempertingkatkan perpaduan dan integrasi nasional iaitu: 1. Strategi Politik: Persefahaman 2. Strategi Ekonomi 3. Strategi Pendidikan 4. Strategi Penggunaan Bahasa Kebangsaan 5. Strategi Agama 6. Strategi Kebudayaan 7. Strategi Integrasi Wilayah 8. Stategi Keselamatan 9. Strategi Pembangunan Kawasan 10. Strategi Penggunaan Tenaga Manusia 11. Strategi Media Massa 12. Strategi Kesukanan 13. Strategi Pemasyarakatan Perpaduan 14. Strategi Pertubuhan Sukarela 15. Strategi Penyelidikan dan Penerbitan Bahan Bacaan 16. Strategi Pemantauan Isu-isu Semasa dan Konflik 17. Strategi Penubuhan Panel Penasihat Perpaduan Negara (PANEL) dan Jawatankuasa Penasihat Perpaduan Peringkat Negeri (JKPPN) 18. Strategi Program dan Aktiviti Perpaduan 19. Strategi-strategi lain: -Mewujudkan latihan dalam bidang komunikasi antara budaya -Mewujudkan pengauditan dasar-dasar kerajaan -Menghasilkan satu etika mengenai hak dan tanggungjawab kemanusiaan untuk rakyat Malaysia -Penerbitan bahan bacaan secara meluas mengenai kaum-kaum di Malaysia. 3.2 Memperkasakan sekolah wawasan Sistem pendidikan pebagai aliran menyebabkan tidak ada acuan khusus yang boleh digunakan untuk membentuk masyarakat yang bersatu padu . sistem pendidikan pelbagai aliran yang wujud sekarang telah mengakibatkan ibu bapa pelajar memilih aliran mengikut kaum masing-masing. Usaha memupuk perpaduan haruslah dimulakan sejak awal lagi dengan mambabitkan murid sekolah rendah dalam acuan yang sama. Dengan itu, sekolah kebangsaan perlu diperkasakan bagi menerapkan semangat perpaduan dalam kalangan pelajar pelbagai etnik. Justeru, para pelajar dapat dilatih hidup saling bekerjasama dan mempunyai semangat patriotisme serta berakomodatif yang tinggi. Maka, usaha-usaha perlu diambil untuk memperkasakan sekolah kebangsaan dalam sistem pendidikan negara bagi meletakkan landasan yang lebih kukuh ke arah menyatupadukan rakyat berbilang kaum di negara ini tanpa mengetepikan sekolah rendah jenis kebangsaan yang telah dipersetujui oleh semua golongan etnik di bawah kontrak sosial. Setiap ibu bapa diberi kebebasan menghantar anak mereka ke sekolah kebangsaan. Jika mereka memilih sekolah jenis kebangsaan Cina atau Tamil, maka tidak ada sesiapa yang boleh menghalang mereka. Namun begitu, sekolah kebangsaan merupakan institusi pendidikan utama bagi anak-anak Malaysia untuk memenuhi aspirasi dan memiliki jati diri nasional. Sekolah Kebangsaan bukan sahaja berkemampuan untuk mendidik pelajar tetapi membantu menanam nilai-nilai perpaduan dalam kalangan pelajar yang terdiri daripada palbagai kaum. Sekolah kebangsaan merupakan aliran utama pendidikan untuk semua warganegara Malaysia tanpa mengira kaum. Bagi memupuk semangat perpaduan dan keyakinan terhadap sistem sekolah satu aliran, sekolah kebangsaan perlu dijadikan lebih menarik untuk menarik minat orang bukan Melayu. Dalam Rancangan Malaysia Kesembilan, bagi menjadikan sekolah kebangsaan sebagai sekolah pilihan, kualiti pengajaran di sekolah kebangsaan akan diperingkatkan dengan 100 peratus guru di sekolah menengah dan 25 peratus guru di sekolah rendah akan mempunyai kelayakan ijazah pertama menjelang tahun 2010. Semangat perpaduan dalam kalangan pelajar bukan sahaja perlu dipupuk oleh pihak sekolah tetapi juga institusi pendidikan tinggi. Antara langkah yang boleh dijalankan adalah seperti berikut, iaitu: 1. Tidak mengetepikan proses penguasaan bahasa ibunda masing-masing dengan memperkenalkan pengajaran bahasa Mandarin dan Tamil. 2. Memberi kesedaran kepada pelajar tentang kepentingan interaksi antara golongan etnik. 3. Mengadakan lebih banyak aktiviti antara golongan etnik 4. Mengadakan program interaksi antara sekolah dan memasukkan unsur-unsur interaksi etnik dalam kurikulum serta meningkatkan kemahiran berinteraksi dengan golongan etnik lain. 3.3 Program Latihan Khidmat Negara (PLKN) Program Latihan Khidmat Negara (PLKN) yang mula dilaksanakan pada tahun 2004 merupakan khusus latihan wajib selama tiga bulan secara berkhemah dan berasrama bagi remaja lepasan Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia. PLKN dilaksanakan berteraskan Rukun Negara dan mempunyai kurikulum multidisiplin yang merangkumi empat modul iaitu modul fizikal (merangkumi antara lain aktiviti kawad, merempuh halangan, merentas desa dan kembara hutan); modul kenegaraan (pengetahuan tentang pembinaan Negara atau nation-building); Modul Pembinaan Karakter (penerokaan diri sendiri dan hubungan interpersonal) dan Modul Khidmat Komuniti (merangkumi antara lain aktiviti gotong- royong seperti membersihkan, mengindahkan dan menceriakan kawasan sekitar). PLKN tidak bersifat kerahan tenaga atau mengikut trend yang diamalkan oleh negara lain. Seperti yang dinyatakan oleh Jabatan Latihan Khidmat Negara, PLKN bertujuan untuk meningkatkan semangat patriotisme dalam kalangan generasi muda , memupuk perpaduan kaum serta integrasi nasional, membentuk perwatakan positif menerusi nilai-nilai murni, menyemarakkan semangat kesukarelaan, dan melahirkan generasi muda yang lebih cergas, cerdas dan penuh keyakinan. PLKN sememangnya menyumbang terhadap usaha memupuk perpaduan kaum, terutamanya dalam kalangan golongan remaja kerana semua aktiviti yang dijalankan menekankan semangat muhibah dan saling bertolak ansur antara peserta tidak mengira kaum atau agama. Modul kenegaraan dapat menyemai semangat cinta akan tanah air di samping membolehkan para peserta mempelajari adat dan budaya pelbagai kaum. Apabila wujudnya rasa cintakan negara dalam diri peserta, perpaduan kaum dan integrasi nasional serta saling kerjasama antara kaum di Malaysia dapat diwujudkan kerana masing-masing mempunyai satu matlamat, iaitu untuk melihat Malaysia sebagai negara yang aman dan harmonis. Hal ini akhirnya dapat melahirkan remaja yang sanggup berkorban demi perpaduan bangsa. 4.0 Peranan masyarakat dalam konteks hubungan etnik 4.1 Rukun Tetangga Skim Rukun Tetangga telah diperkenalkan pada tahun 1975 berikutan dengan kuat kuasanya Peraturan-Peraturan Perlu (Rukun Tetangga 1975). Pada peringkat awal, Rukun Tetanggga membolehkan rakyat mengawal keselamatan di kawasan kediaman masing-masing. Dengan tumpuan diberi kepada tugas rondaan yang diwajibkan kepada masyarakat setempat yang berumur antara 18 hingga 55 tahun. Mulai 1 Januari 1983 kerajaan telah memperkenalkan satu pembaharuan dengan memberi penekanan pada konsep kejiranan yang bertujuan untuk memupuk serta mengukuhkan lagi semangat kejiranan dalam kalangan masyarakat setempat. Berikutan dengan ini, Peraturan Perlu (Rukun Tetangga) 1975 telah dipinda bagi tujuan tersebut. Dalam tahun 2000, pendekatan Rukun Tetangga telah dipinda sekali lagi dengan memberi mandat yang lebih luas iaitu pembangunan masyarakat secara menyeluruh ke arah mewujudkan perpaduan nasional. Visi Rukun Tetangga ialah membantu dalam pembentukan satu bangsa Malaysia yang bersatu padu dalam konteks pencapaian Wawasan 2020. Manakala misinya ialah memupuk kesefahaman dan bertolak ansur ke arah pembangunan bangsa Malaysia yang bersatu padu serta beridentiti sendiri dan motonya pula ialah Bersatu Terus Maju. Objektif Rukun Tetangga, iaitu memelihara, meningkat dan mengukuhkan perpaduan rakyat dan integrasi nasional selaras dengan dasar-dasar pembangunan negara berlandaskan Perlembagaan Persekutuan dan Rukun Negara. Bagi memastikan matlamat Rukun Tetangga tercapai, beberapa aktiviti dilakukan oleh komuniti Rukun Tetangga yang boleh dikategorikan kepada beberapa bentuk aktiviti seperti berikut: sosial: amalan kunjung-mengunjung semasa musim perayaan seperti Hari Raya, Tahun Baru Cina, Deepavali, Krismas, Hari Gawai, Pesta Keamatan, dan Hari Keluarga. Pendidikan- pendidikan tidak formal, kolokium jiran wanita, kursus motivasi, kursus kepimpinan, tuisyen, ceramah-ceramah dalam pelbagai bidang. Sukan- sukan neka, larian, permainan bola sepak, bola baling, bola jaring, sukan air, sukan tradisional, sukan rakyat dan lain-lain. Rekreasi- tai chi, ekspedisi mendaki bukit, kembara dan mountaineering, khemah kerja dan lain-lain. Kesihatan dan alam sekitar-ceramah kesihatan berkaitan antidadah, AIDS, kanser, kempen kebersihan, anti nyamuk dan menjaga harta awam. Kesenian dan kebudayaan- kelas-kelas seni tari, kraf tangan, permainan tradisional, kelas gamelan, kompang, tarian tradisional, tarian singa, pertunjukan pentas dan lain-lain. Ekonomi- aktiviti tanaman secara hidroponik, ternak ikan air tawar dan membuat air lada Skim Rukun Tetangga diperkenalkan pada tahun 1975 sebagai satu langkah membolehkan rakyat sendiri mengawal dan menjaga keselamatan kawasan kediaman mereka. Skim ini kemudiannya diperbaharui dengan menekankan konsep kejiranan dengan falsafah bahawa kesejahteraan kawasan sejiran akan menjamin kesejahteraan negara. Pada masa kini peranan Skim Rukun Tetangga diperluas lagi dengan pendekatan pembangunan komuniti bagi memastikan perpaduan dan keharmonian hubungan dalam masyarakat akan terus berkekalan dan berterusan. Sehingga Mei 2006 sebanyak 3228 kawasan Rukun Tetangga telah ditubuhkan di seluruh negara. Jawatankuasa Rukun Tetangga ini telah menganjurkan pelbagai aktiviti dalam komuniti mereka. Dari bulan Januari hingga Mei 2006, Jawatankuasa Rukun Tetangga di seluruh negara telah melaksanakan sebanyak 36029 aktiviti. Aktiviti ini bertujuan untuk membolehkan penduduk setempat berkenalan, bantu-membantu dalam menghadapi masalah bersama, berinteraksi dan merapatkan hubungan pada peringkat akar umbi antara pemimpin dengan rakyat dan antara rakyat pelbagai keturunan, adat dan budaya (Jabatan Perpaduan Negara dan Integrasi Nasional). 4.2 Rumah Terbuka Rumah terbuka akan diadakan oleh setiap rakyat Malaysia apabila tiba musim perayaan. Setiap golongan etnik di Malaysia akan sering kunjung-mengunjungi ke rumah jiran tetangga walaupun berlainan etnik. Sebagai contoh, semasa perayaan Hari Raya Aidilfitri, etnik Cina, India, Kadazan, Iban dan pelbagai lagi akan mengunjungi ke rumah orang Melayu dan begitulah sebaliknya bagi etnik lain. Etnik Cina misalnya akan berusaha menyediakan makanan yang halal kepada etnik Melayu apabila menjemput etnik Melayu datang ke rumah sewaktu Tahun Baru Cina. Hal ini menunjukan etnik Cina begitu mengambil berat dan memahami budaya etnik Melayu. Begitu juga dengan etnik Melayu tidak akan menyajikan daging lembu kepada etnik India apabila mereka datang ke rumah semasa Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Pertimbangan ini memperlihatkan keharmonian hubungan etnik sentiasa terjalin kukuh dalam kalangan rakyat dan memahami dan menghormati budaya masing-masing. Amalan ini membuktikan integrasi sosial dalam kalangan masyarakat begitu tinggi walaupun berlainan agama, bangsa dan kebudayaan. 4.3 Penerimaan Budaya Dewasa ini, masyarakat bukan Melayu di Malaysia mula menerima budaya orang Melayu dari segi pakaian dan makanan. Misalnya, orang bukan Melayu segak menggayakan baju kurung dan baju Melayu terutamanya pada hari Jumaat dan fenomena ini sesuatu yang biasa bagi pelajar bukan Melayu. Bagi orang Melayu pula, mereka mula menerima masakan orang Cina dan India serta pemberian duit raya telah menggunakan sampul atau angpau yang terkenal dalam kalangan orang Cina. Dewasa ini juga telah kelihatan di taman-taman perumahan, terdapatnya penempatan yang sama untuk semua etnik yang pastinya keadaan ini akan menggalakkan lagi hubungan etnik dalam kalangan rakyat melalui aktiviti setempat. 4.4 Program di Institusi Pengajian Tinggi (IPT) Bahagian hal ehwal pelajar melalui persatuan-persatuan dan kelab-kelab hendaklah sentiasa menggalakkan aktiviti dan program yang menjurus kepada perpaduan kaum dalam kalangan mahasiswa. Sebagai contoh, melalui aktiviti Pesta Tanglung, yang bukan sahaja melibatkan mahasiswa Cina dan India, tetapi turut juga disertai oleh mahasiswa Melayu. Menyentuh kepimpinan pelajar, ternyata tidak didominasikan oleh sesuatu kaum sahaja, tetapi turut sama dianggotai oleh pelbagai kaum seperti dalam Majlis Perwakilan Pelajar (MPP). Kandungan kursus di semua institusi pendidikan harus menitikberatkan aspek-aspek pendidikan yang harmonis dalam sesebuah masyarakat pelbagai kaum. Nilai-nilai rohani dan budaya bersama perlu diberikan keutamaan dalam subjek Kenegaraan, Tamadun Islam dan Asia serta Hubungan Etnik. Maka, adalah penting kurikulum yang ada menguatkan peribadi moral dan sahsiah para pelajar. Hal ini kerana keperibadian yang tinggi menjadi asas kepada segala nilai rohani dan budaya yang akan menyatupadukan generasi muda. Saranan diwujudkan kelab perpaduan atau Kelab Rukun Negara di setiap IPT merupakan satu langkah yang amat baik kerana saranan ini merupakan usaha bagi menyemai kesedaran terhadap kepentingan perpaduan kaum. Justeru, bahagian hal ehwal pelajar sewajarnya menggalakkan para mahasiswa menganggotai kelab perpaduan atau Kelab Rukun Negara dengan memberi beberapa keistimewaan seperti pengecualian kredit dan sebagainya. Pihak university juga perlulah memberi sokongan terhadap aktiviti yang dijalankan baik dari segi material mahupun khidmat nasihat. Aktiviti kokurikulum merupakan bidang pembelajaran yang menekankan pemupukan dan perkembangan diri individu melalui psikomotor, kognitif dan efektif. Justeru, aktiviti kokurikulum yang dilaksanakan seperti program sukan, kelab, persatuan, pameran, ceramah dan pelbagai lagi haruslah dipergiat dan dipertingkat lagi dalam kalangan mahasiswa pelbagai kaum. Di luar sistem akademik, para pelajar harus dilibatkan dalam aktiviti pelbagai kaum seperti keluarga angkat, persatuan dan badan beruniform. Hal ini akan memberi pengalaman yang sangat berharga dalam memahami bagaimana kehidupan rakyat Malaysia. Manakala aktiviti perpaduan dan khidmat masyarakat mempunyai peranan yang penting dalam menggalakan penyertaan dan pengalaman bersama antara kaum. Oleh itu, galakan kepada aktiviti seperti ini perlu diberikan dengan kerjasama rapat pihak kerajaan dan sektor swasta. Para pelajar juga perlu ditugaskan dalam projek-projek perkhidmatan masyarakat seperti operasi khidmat masyarakat, mahasiswa balik kampung dan sebagainya. Para pensyarah juga perlu diterap dan didedahkan dengan sikap perpaduan antara kaum yang positif. Para pensyarah mestilah diberi pendedahan kepada kursus seperti sosiologi perhubungan kaum atau hubungan etnik untuk menerapkan nilai-nilai yang penting dalam kalangan pelajar bagi memupuk keharmonian kaum. Sesungguhnya para pensyarah mempunyai peranan yang besar sebagai agen penyebar perpaduan dan keharmonian dalam negara pelbagai kaum ini. Mereka merupakan agen integrasi dan perpaduan yang memainkan peranan penting dalam menggalakkan lebih banyak interaksi melalui tugasan dan projek akademik. 5.0 Peranan NGO dalam Konteks Hubungan Etnik Walaupun terdapat pertubuhan yang berasaskan golongan etnik, namun terdapat pertubuhan induk pada peringkat kebangsaan yang menaungi pertubuhan berasaskan etnik seperti Pertubuhan Belia Malaysia, Dewan Perniagaan dan Perusahaan Malaysia dan pelbagai lagi. Hal ini sudah tentulah dapat mempercepat lagi proses hubungan etnik melalui peranan yang dimainkan oleh NGO. Menyentuh aspek kepimpinan pula sama ada pada peringkat negara atau persatuan, barisan kepimpinan disertai oleh pemimpin pelbagai kaum. Sebagai contoh, kepimpinan Majlis Belia Malaysia disertai oleh semua golongan etnik yang ada di Malaysia. Walaupun terdapat pembahagian pertubuhan mengikut kaum seperti Pergerakan Belia 4B, Persatuan Belia Tamil, Dewan Perniagaan Melayu Malaysia, Dewan Perniagaan Cina Malaysia dan Dewan Perniagaan India Malaysia, namun ini sewajarnya digunakan oleh NGO ini untuk mewujudkan pelbagai dialog dan seminar dalam usaha memahami permasalahan yang wujud dan dicari jalan penyelesaiannya. Contohnya, Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM) sentiasa mengadakan seminar bagi menjelaskan kepentingan hubungan etnik dalam konteks Malaysia. Untuk itu, peranan pihak swasta dan kerajaan amat diperlukan dalam menyumbangkan dana bagi meningkatkan penyelidikan dan pembangunan bagi menghasilkan inovasi dan seterusnya memacu pertumbuhan ekonomi negara. Dana-dana sedia ada seperti Intensive Research Priority Areas (IRPA) dan geran daripada pihak swasta dan pertubuhan institusi tertentu seperti Koridor Raya Multimedia (MSC), Akademi Sains Negara dan pelbagai lagi merupakan penjana kepada pembangunan ekonomi negara. Disebabkan sains dan teknologi ini begitu memainkan peranan penting dalam pembangunan ekonomi negara, maka aspek ini amat penting dalam meningkat hubungan etnik rakyat Malaysia. Hal ini kerana apabila pembangunan ekonomi negara itu berkembang pesat di samping kestabilan politik, akan mampu menarik lebih ramai pelabur sama ada dari dalam atau luar negara untuk memacu pertumbuhan ekonomi negara. Hal ini seterusnya memberi peluang pekerjaan kepada segenap lapisan masyarakat tanpa mengira golongan etnik. Kesannya, taraf hidup rakyat akan meningkat, jurang ekonomi negara dapat diseimbangkan dan ini mampu mewujudkan keharmonian dalam masyarakat Malaysia. 6.0 Kesimpulan Hubungan etnik merupakan perkara yang sangat penting bagi masyarakat Malaysia yang bersifat majmuk. Hubungan etnik ini akan melahirkan masyarakat Malaysia yang harmonis, saling bekerjasama dan bersefahaman dan sentiasa menghayati perjanjian sosial yang telah dipersetujui sejak awal kemerdekaan lagi. Usaha-usaha perlu diambil secara berterusan bagi memastikan hubungn etnik di Malaysia sentiasa berada dalam keadaan yang baik. Usaha-usaha ini adalah melibatkan peranan kerajaan, masyarakat dan pertubuhan bukan kerajaan. Apa yang penting dalam memastikan hubungan etnik sentiasa dalam keadaan baik, segala usaha ini perlu disahut oleh setiap lapisan masyarakat. Kepelbagaian budaya dalam negara Malaysia seharusnya tidak menimbulkan masalah perkauman. Setiap kaum ataupun etnik perlu tahu dan memainkn peranan mereka dalam memastikan konflik perkauman seperti peristiwa 13 Mei berulang semula. Perpaduan kaum ini amatlah penting bagi menyumbang ke arah menjadikan Malaysia sebuah negara maju menjelang 2020. Sehubungan dengan ini, perpaduan yang sedia terjalin antara kaum di negara ini perlu diperkukuhkan lagi bagi mewujudkan suasana negara yang lebih aman, maju, selamat dan makmur. Oleh itu, segala kerjasama semua pihak seperti kerajaan, masyarakat dan pertubuhan badan bukan kerajaan amatlah diperlukan untuk meningkatkan hubungan etnik di nagara Malaysia. Bibliografi Ishak Saat (2001). Malaysia 1945-2000. Utusan Publication Distributors Sdn. Bhd: Kuala Lumpur Shamsul Amri Baharuddin (2007). Modul Hubungan Etnik. Shah Alam: Universiti Teknologi Mara. http://agy7500.blogspot.com/2009/08/siri-225-pelbagai-soalan.html (function() { var scribd = document.createElement("script"); scribd.type = "text/javascript"; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = "https://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })()

BPR Microfinance Institution in Indonesia

BPR Microfinance Institution in Indonesia Chapter 1   Introduction 1.1  Background It is believed that microfinance helps low-income people alleviate their life from poverty circumstances in many developing countries. As an economic instrument which has been raised in the middle of seventies, the thought of microfinance came up from the fact that low-income people difficult to access financial services from commercial or formal banking institution which may disadvantage them or even not including them as potential clients. The reason is that, which often we may hear for several times, low-income people lack of collateral for guarantee some amount of money they want, and in the commercial financial institutions point of view it is costly to serve them due to unequal cost-benefit and high transaction cost: low-income people tend to borrow in small amount but the commercial financial institution maintain high cost for processing and assuring their repayment. These costs are not proportional with the amount of loan given to them. A formal microfinance institution existing in Indonesia is the Bank Perkreditan Rakyat/BPR (People’s Credit Bank or Rural Bank)[1] which is established by the Banking Act. The main objective of the BPR is to serve small businesses[2]. It means that BPRs can enhance their role and contribution in the development of micro and small business[3]. In Indonesia, like other developing countries, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)[4] play significant role in economy. The role of MSMEs can be viewed as an important factor for Indonesia to recover from economic crisis and to lead economic growth and employment. Statistics Indonesia (Badan Pusat Statistik/BPS) and Ministry of Cooperatives and Small-Medium Enterprises reported[5] that, the average contribution of SMEs’ share to total GDP Indonesia from the period of 2001 2007 was 60.77%, while at the same period large enterprises (LEs) contributed 39.23% which can be seen in Table 1. Source:  Statistics Indonesia (BPS) and Ministry of Cooperatives and Small-Medium Enterprises (various editions) In terms of employment creation, MSM enterprises have passed over large enterprises. Table 3 provides worker absorption by types of enterprises. It shows that small enterprises have absorbed approximately 91% of employment during 1999-2006, while medium and large enterprises have provided by 5% and by 4% of employment in Indonesia. Source  : Cooperative Statistics cited in Nazara and Gitaharie (2008), edited by author Based on the data which are discussed in the previous paragraphs, it can be concluded that micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have a big role and a potential as a driver of the domestic economy. Nevertheless, they still have several constraints, for instance, product market accessibility, lack of management skills, and limited access to financial sources, especially from commercial banks, to meet their demand for finance. A survey conducted by Statistics Indonesia (BPS) concluded that the biggest problem for micro and small enterprises is lack of capital for financing their business.  The survey recognized that  problem in finance for micro enterprises was accounted for 40.48%, while for small enterprises was 36.63% (Wardoyo and Prabowo 2003: 31). In Indonesia, small and medium enterprises can acquire their finance from several sources. According to Nazara and Gitaharie (2008) which refer to statistical data from BPS 2000; 82,960 SMEs got their finance from non banking financial institution; 385,383 SMEs got their finance from banks; and 661,630 SMEs got their finance from other sources. It is clearly from the data that most of SMEs rely on sources other than formal institutions. These figures were not taking into account for SMEs which have no legal entities (Nazara and Gitaharie 2008: 8). From SMEs point of view, they face kinky administrative procedure and also they have to provide collateral as guarantee to get loans from commercial banks. This condition leads SMEs favoring in Bank Perkreditan Rakyat/BPR (People’s Credit Bank or Rural Bank) and other financial institutions which provide simpler in administrative procedures, but higher in interest rates compared to commercial banks (Nazara and Gitaharie 2008: 8). Even though entrepreneurs are burdened with high interest rates, they do not much complain about it as long as they have access to formal credit (Berry et al. 2001 as cited in (Sunarto 2007: 2)). In line with the condition in which SMEs favoring in BPRs, Sunarto (Sunarto 2007: 4) stated that BPRs have several advantages in serving to SMEs, those are: (1) its location which is close to SMEs, (2) simpler in credit procedures, (3) accentuate a personal approach in its services and (4) more flexible.   This paper is focused on the role and contribution of BPR, one of the formal types of microfinance institutions in Indonesia, as the suppliers of funds to different types of enterprises especially to micro and small. The discussion emphasizes on credit allocation delivered by BPRs to the micro, small and medium enterprises. Comparative analysis will be made between commercial banks[6] and BPRs for analytical purposes in two things. Firstly, the comparison in terms of allocation of credit which does not consider other variables playing a role in borrowing, for instance interest rates and so on. The comparative result is not in the amount of the credit disbursed but in the percentage of allocation for each type of enterprise. Secondly, the comparison in terms of performance will be discussed through some indicators. Furthermore, the performance indicators of BPRs will be compared with their criteria which set by Bank Indonesia to see whether those indicators improving or deteriorating. 1.2  Research Objective and Research Questions Research Objective The objective of this paper is to study the role and performance of Bank Perkreditan Rakyat (BPR), as one of microfinance institutions in Indonesia, in financing micro, small and medium enterprises. Research Questions In order to achieve the research objective, this paper proposes research questions as follows: 1.  What is the role of BPRs as supplier of funds to different types of small and medium enterprises, in particular micro enterprises? 2.  What is the performance of BPRs in relation to credit provision to micro and small enterprises? 1.3  Research Hypothesis Bank Perkreditan Rakyat (BPR) was established with the main objective is to serve small-scale business and people in rural areas. Therefore, the first hypothesis is that BPRs are reaching their main objective as supplier of funds to micro, small and medium enterprises as mandated by regulation (i.e., banking act). In order to meet the objectives, it is needed good performances which are reflected from their performance indicators. Therefore, the second hypothesis is that performance indicators of the BPRs have met with the standards which set by the Indonesia banking authority. 1.4  Organization of the Paper This paper is divided into five chapters. Chapter 1 is introduction which contains background of the research, research objective and research questions, research hypothesis, and organization of the paper. Chapter 2 is review of the literatures and analytical framework for the research. Literature reviews discuss about definitions of microfinance and microfinance institution, the approaches can be taken by a microfinance institution in order to serve the clients, the models of microfinance institutions, the types of microfinance institutions in Indonesia and the pyramid of them in relation to potential customers and performance indicators. Analytical framework discusses about the way in which the research will be achieved. Chapter 3 is the microfinance institutions in Indonesia which contains their brief history and recent condition. Chapter 4 is analysis of the role of BPRs in financing micro, small and medium enterprises which contains overview of the chapter, data source for the analysis, methodology of the analysis, some information about commercial banks and BPRs, and analyzing to answer the research questions. Chapter 5 is conclusion.   Chapter 2   Literature Review and Analytical Framework 2.1  Literature Review There are many definitions about microfinance proposed by several researchers and institutions. This paper uses some definitions given by Robinson, Ledgerwood, Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to describe microfinance. Robinson (Robinson 2001: 9) defined microfinance as small size financial services (mainly saving and credit) given to people who having farm or fish or herd; people who running micro or small enterprises which producing, recycling, repairing or selling goods; people who offering services; people who working for commissions or wages; people who having earnings from renting the land, vehicles, draft animals, or machinery and equipment; and people or other individuals and groups from both rural and urban areas at the local level from the developing countries. Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP)[7] which uses terminology â€Å"poor people† and Ledgerwood which uses terminology â€Å"low-income clients† pointed out to person who receives basic financial services from microfinance including self-employed people. Furthermore, Ledgerwood (Ledgerwood 1999: 1) stated that definition of microfinance comprises not only in financial intermediation but also in social intermediation. Many of microfinance institutions (MFIs)[8] provide this social intermediation function (i.e., group arrangement, self-confidence development, training to enhance capabilities and to increase capacities in terms of financial literacy and managements) go along with financial intermediation. Moreover, she argued that microfinance is a development instrument and it is not just banking.   Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Santoso et al. 2005: 7) defined microfinance into two understandings. Firstly, it refers to an institution when it designates to an organization which offer financial services or banking products, especially loans to the poor people. Secondly, it uses for different methods or activities which assigned to the poor people in order to access financial services. The poor people usually ask for loans, meanwhile commercial banks do not qualify them for loans. These understandings are close to each other. An institution which provides products for poor people called as microfinance institution. The usage of products (i.e., credits) which is provided by MFIs will be beneficial for poor people in generating more earnings.   Ledgerwood (Ledgerwood 1999: 65-66) stated that the approaches that can be done by microfinance institutions can be divided into two main categories: the minimalist approach or integrated approach. When MFIs do minimalist approach, they only perform functions of financial intermediation, although sometimes they offer social intermediation in limited services. Premise that underlie this approach is a-single missing piece that can be offered by MFIs to the clients in the form of access to credit for them due to the clients are getting less coverage of services from financial institutions, for instance to grow enterprises. On the other hand, integrated approach is a combination of four aspects those are social and financial intermediation, enterprise development and social services. Thus, it is needed a holistic view of the client when a MFI taking this approach. If MFIs are not able to meet all four services, MFIs only offer services that are really needed by the client as long as this service in line with goal and objective of MFIs. Since the large-scale demand for services microfinance activities is in existence, the activities are shown in many countries. The poor people are usually un-bankable, because of such conditions: low skills, poor capacity and severe inabilities. They might not be served in the commercial banking system. It is because the system needs for formal requirements, along with the proper economic scale and certain guarantee. In official terms, this kind of market is un-named and un-served. There are niche markets for the supply of services for MFIs (Santoso et al. 2005: 8). Clients of microfinance institution can not be classified as the poorest of the poor. Generally, they are self-employed and low-income entrepreneur, including; traders, food vendors at the street side, small farmers, small producers and artisan who produce souvenirs in at tourism area and so on. The nature of their business usually provides a stable source of income (Ledgerwood 1999: 2). In various forms, income is provided by micro enterprises owned by the poor. This is done by providing employment. The recycling and repairing better than littering a good, making cheap food, clothing, and transportation to be available are some examples. It is also made to them who are from the low level of formal sector that are usually very difficult to live with their salaries. The people of this kind of life are often can cope with such a problem with the typical cases mentioned above, but can not handle the more serious problem. The other types of problem that are often found are deficiency of capital, skill, official status, and business security. In the meantime, naturally they already have the ability to face sharp business sense, strong life skills, long hard work practice, market knowledge, extensive communication and informal support networks. They also used to have the ability to live supported by their flexibility basic consideration (Robinson 2001: 12). A recent study in Bosnia and Herzegovina carried out by Hartarska and Nadolnyak (Hartarska and Nadolnyak 2008) used the financing constraint approach. The approach states that microenterprises that have good access to credit will be less rely on internal funding in their investment. Using the Living Standards Measurement Survey and the existence of the MFIs in their area, they compare sensitivity of investment to internal funds in the microenterprises which there are MFIs in municipalities they located to microenterprises which there is no MFIs in municipalities they located. They concluded that the MFIs reduce the constraint of microenterprises funding when they are exist close to business. There are some models of microfinance institutions. The first model is Grameen Bank. This model is founded in many countries, especially in Bangladesh, from which it established for the first time by Muhammad Junus. In determining target poor clients, Grameen Bank will do it carefully which is usually done through a series of tests. Loans are given to the group in which each group typically consists of five people and each member of the group guarantee the loan of the other members. This model intensively requires supervision and motivation from the staff to the group borrowers. The second model is Village Bank. An implementing agency establish individual village bank together with 30-50 people and sets capital for on-lending to other members. Repayments of the loan are usually in a week until 16 weeks whereas the village bank pays the principal plus interest to implementing agency. The third model is Credit Unions (CUs). Credit Unions are non-profit financial cooperatives which owned and controlled by its members. Besides saving, CU also provides loans for both productive and non-productive purposes to the members. The membership of CUs compared to Grameen Bank is more heterogeneous and usually based on similar bond. The fourth model is ‘self-help’ groups (SHGs). This model is close to the second model, village bank, although their structure is less well compared to the village bank.  The membership of SHGs is based on the similarity in income and the number of membership approximately 20 people. In principle, they use internal funding, that is saving, to lend it to the members, even though they can also seek external funding as additional source of funds. Several NGOs are facilitating and promoting SHGs, but basically, SHGs are directed as an independent institution. The task of seeking additional financing from outside is usually helped by NGOs which link between SHGs and other external parties or other funding agencies. This NGO’s job close related to social intermediary function they have, while other NGOs are functioned as financial intermediaries which funding SHGs  (Conroy 2003: 4-5). In terms of forms, microfinance institutions can be classified as bank (government and commercial), nonbank financial institution, saving and loan cooperative, credit union and nongovernmental organization. Pawnbrokers, rotating saving and credit association, and moneylender also part of MFIs and hold significant roles in functioning financial intermediation although they are more informal in legal status (Ledgerwood 1999: 1). In Indonesia, several institutions have already served microfinance services for such a long period. Those institutions can be divided into four types. The first type is formal microfinance institutions (MFIs). This type of MFI is regulated and supervised as banking institution and therefore their activities as financial intermediaries subject to banking regulation and supervision. Such institutions included in this type are BRI Unit (state-owned microbank), commercial banks with microfinance services and Rural Bank (Bank Perkreditan Rakyat/BPR). The second type is semi formal MFIs which registered and or licensed by state authorities or local governments, therefore they are not regulated by banking authority (Bank Indonesia). Including in this type are cooperatives, Islamic-based cooperatives (Baitul Maal wat Tamwil/BMT), rural credit institution (Badan Kredit Desa/BKD) and microfinance owned and managed by NGOs. The third type is informal MFIs that operate outside the framework of government regulation, among others, are credit union, rotating credit and saving association (ROSCA), moneylenders, landlords and so on. The fourth type is microcredit programs established by the government in channeling credit to subsidize the poor through a variety of institutions (Nugroho 2008: 181-182). Further explanation about these four microfinance services especially the first three types of MFIs will be presented in chapter 3.   In Figure 1 we can see the pyramid of microfinance institutions with their potential customers in Indonesia. The top layer shows formal MFIs (BRI Unit, Rural Banks/ BPRs and LDKPs). They provide financial services for the top level of microfinance market. This type of MFIs is intended to serve small business which has characterized with stable income flows; therefore these MFIs’ potential clients are non-poor and not so poor people. In the middle layer, semi- formal MFIs serve microfinance services for the poor households. This layer includes rural credit institutions (Bank Kredit Desa/BKD), cooperatives, BMT and NGOs. Clients in this layer are characterized by unstable flow of income. At the bottom layer of the pyramid the huge number of potential clients which need microfinance services. They are very poor people which are characterized by unpredictable income. They need the microfinance services in order to ensure their uncertain income, so they need a small loan to overcom e the difficulties of life (Nugroho 2008: 184-185). Figure 1: The Pyramid of Microfinance Services in Indonesia Source: BI and GTZ (2000) cited in Nugroho (2008) As mentioned above, Rural Bank (Bank Perkreditan Rakyat/BPR) is one of the formal types of microfinance in Indonesia. Its existence is established by Banking Act number 7 of 1992 as amended by Banking Act number 10 of 1998. The main goal of the rural bank is to serve small business and rural communities. In order to deliver their services to the customers, a microfinance institution requires a good performance. This performance can be seen from some indicators. Looking at these indicators, we can decide how well they not only can do financially but also it can also build the future performance goals. There are a large number of performance indicators that can be used by MFIs in measuring the financial performance. One of the principles that can be used is the CAMEL system, ACCION. This system examines five traditional aspects which are regarded as the most important thing in the practices of the financial intermediaries. The five aspects (capital adequacy, asset quality, management, earnings, and liquidity) be the sign of the financial condition and operational strength of the MFI in common (Ledgerwood 1999: 205,227,229). 2.2  Analytical Framework Based on the theoretical framework that has been presented in the previous section, the author uses Figure 2 below describing the analytical framework used in the research which answering the research questions asked. There are two parties involved in the financial market.  On one hand, there is a supply side which is financial institutions that act as financial intermediation agents or it might be function as other than financial intermediation like social intermediation or something else. These financial institutions include commercial banks, non-banks financial institutions (insurances company, ventura capital, etc), and microfinance institutions (in different types and forms). On the other hand, on the demand side, there are some parties that require financing for different purposes, among others for working capital and investment usage which is belongs to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The problem is that not all of these financial institutions allow MSMEs as their client due to several requirements which can not be fulfilled by MSMEs (collateral and bureaucratic procedures, for instances) or it might be comes from the MSMEs itself that no need too much funds (small financing). Here, microfinance institutions fit with the need of MSMEs. The mechanism then runs as common supply and demand in the market: MFIs, as financial intermediaries, offer credit or loan to MSMEs. Furthermore, MSMEs use the loan for running their operational activities (working capital usage) or for accumulating their physical capital (investment usage). At the end of the story, output of MSMEs will contribute to national income (GDP) and at the same time generates income for the owners and employees. Figure 2: Analytical Framework of the Research: Supply and Demand in Financial Market Source: author’s graph This paper focuses on the supply side of particular financial intermediaries in the financial market those are microfinance institutions. In other words, using Ledgerwood’s terminology mentioned in literature review, the paper mainly looks at the role of MFIs in terms of â€Å"minimalist approach†; how they perform as financial intermediations in delivering credit or loan. Special attention given to Rural Banks, one of formal MFIs in Indonesia in allocating their credit to different types of enterprises such as micro, small, medium and large enterprises. There are several reasons why this paper discusses on Rural Banks as unit of analysis. Firstly, it is states in the regulation (Banking Act) that the main objective of Rural Banks is to serve small scale business and looking into the pyramid of MFIs appeared in Figure 1. It means that Rural Banks have a specialization as small scale business’ banking, especially micro enterprises. This paper wants to see to which extent this mission is successfully executed. Secondly, Rural Banks are the second largest microfinance institutions in terms of asset, third party funds collected and number of debtors. According to Bank Indonesia (2008)[9], they posses 35% of total MFIs’ assets; 30.43% of third party funds collected on total MFIs and 29.15% of total number debtors on total MFIs.   This study proposes two research questions. The first research question relates to the role of rural banks as financial intermediaries in delivering credit to different types of business especially micro and small enterprises. In addressing the first research question, the paper uses comparative analysis and simple calculations in terms of credit disbursement for both commercial banks and rural banks so that the share (percentage) of credit allocation to different types of enterprises to be known. In order to obtain the result, some criteria and assumption are applied in the study. This is done due to there is no data available about the definite amount of credit disbursed by either Rural Banks or commercial banks to different type of enterprises. The discussion focuses only on the amount of credit allocation, so that other variables that determine the credit such as interest rate, collateral, and so forth are not discussed in this study.   The second research question indicates the performance indicators of rural banks in relation to credit provision to micro enterprises. These indicators include; Loan to Deposit Ratio (LDR), Returns on Assets Ratio (ROA) and Non-Performing Loan Ratio (NPL) which refer to Director of Bank Indonesia Decree number 30/12/Kep/Dir and Bank Indonesia’s Letter No. 30/3/UPPB about Rural Banks Soundness Evaluation. Furthermore, comparison will be made between these indicators and criteria. Chapter 3 Microfinance Institutions in Indonesia 3.1  Microfinance Institutions in Indonesia As developing country, Indonesia has long experience and history in developing microfinance institution which has made it possible for poor or low-income people to overcome financial constraints and to access financial institutions. For this condition, some researchers like Berenbach and Churchill called that Indonesia is â€Å"the most developed market for microfinance services in the world† (Barenbach and Churchill 1997 as cited in (Santoso et al. 2005: 43)). The development of microfinance institution began for the first time in Dutch colonial era when several well-educated local people saw deteriorating economy happened in their community and they looked for the need of this services and started organize it. The two famous institutions best known as pioneer in microfinance institutions and exist since colonial era are cooperative and Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI). As mentioned in chapter 2, microfinance institutions in Indonesia can be classified into four types (Nugroho 2008), those are; formal microfinance institutions, semiformal MFIs, informal MFIs and microcredit program which is established by the government for delivering credit to poor people through several institutions. In this chapter the latter type of MFI will not be discussed. The discussion is emphasizes on three other institutions. Formal MFIs are financial intermediary institutions which refer and subject to banking regulation and therefore supervised by Bank Indonesia. Semiformal MFIs are not regulated by Bank Indonesia as a banking authority, but they are licensed and or registered by other state authorities or local government. Informal MFIs operate outside government regulations. Nugroho (Nugroho 2008) described institutions which include in each type of MFI as follows: formal MFIs including BRI Unit, Rural Bank (BPR) and The Rural Credit Fund Institutions (Lembaga Dana Kredit Pedesaan/LDKP); semiformal MFIs covering rural credit institution (Badan Kredit Desa/ BKD), microfinance NGO, credit cooperatives including Islamic-based cooperatives (Baitul Maal wat Tamwil/BMT); informal MFIs including credit unions, rotating credit and saving association (ROSCA), moneylenders, traders and landlords. Table 3.1 provides map of microfinance institutions by types in Indonesia in terms of units and their financial services. Bank Rakyat Indonesia Unit Lembaga Dana Kredit Perdesaan (LDKP) – The Rural Credit Fund Institutions The Rural Credit Fund Institutions (LDKP) is the term of credit fund institution that operates in rural area, including a variety of non bank microfinance institutions with different names, ownership, organization, services and outreach, that was established on initiatives of provincial government. LDKP belongs to provincial, district or village government which, in their operation, have to obtain license from and was regulated by provincial government within the national regulatory framework. they get technical support and supervision from regional development bank (BPD) which are owned by provincial government.. since it was established in 1970s, the number of LDKP getting less from 1978 to 630 in 2000, this decrease due to the conversion of LDKP to peoples cerdit banks(BPR) and recently only about one quarter of LDKP  have become banks. The Badan  Kredit Desa (BKD) BKD is a profitable and sustainable village level financial institution that provide financial services with a outreach to low income people. it was operated by a committee that controlled by head of village and have sustained the operation since colonial era. On behalf of Bank Indonesia, BRI branch offices supervise and provide technical assistance  for BKD. in 1970s indonesian government did not pay much attention to this system. instead, the government  give more attention to the cooperative system. this make hard for BKD system to developed. in 1990s BRI tried to revive BKD by providing basic capital, improving administrative system and introducing new saving instruments, however, 1992 banking act burden the expanding BKD system. BKD is recognized as peoples credit bank (BPR) and has been operating as a licensed and regulated bank  since 1992 banking act but the frame work setting, supervision and technical assistance has not changed since 2000. Cooperatives Here, the brief history of cooperative in Indonesia refers to Santoso et al (2005) and Ministry of Cooperative, Small and Medium Enterprises’ website (www.depkop.go.id, 2009) as references. The thought of cooperative was delivered for the first time by Patih R. Aria Wiriatmaja at Purwokerto, a small town in Central Java, in 1896. Then, De Wolffvan Westerrode continued his efforts. In 1908, the year of national movement, Dr. Sutomo founded Budi Utomo which played a significant role for cooperatives improving the life of society. Then, Verordening op de Cooperatieve Vereeniging was established. Twelve years after that, in 1927, another type of cooperative called Regelling Inlandsche Cooperatieve was launched. In the same year, to develop bargaining power among local entrepreneurs, Islamic Trader Union (Serikat Dagang Islam) was established. Indonesian National Party (Partai Nasional Indonesia) which had activities in promoting cooperative spirit was established in 1929. 3.2  Bank Perkreditan Rakyat (BPR) Brief History Steinwand (Steinwand 2001) provided detail periodical history about Rural Bank. He divided the history into four parts of periods; the evolution of the colonial BPR (1895-1945), the period from independence to financial sector reform (1945-1983), the period from financial sector reform to financial crisis (1983-1999) and at the present condition. Rural Bank Position in Financial System in Indonesia Chapter 4   Analysis of the Role of Bank Perkreditan Rakyat (BPR) in Financing Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises 4.1  Overview Chapter 4 consists of 6 sections which each section aimed to answer the research questions. Section 1 is a general information about what will be discussed in this chapter; section 2 discusses about the source of the data used in the analysis; section 3 is the methodology; section 4 is about overview the condition of Bank Perkreditan Rakyat (BPRs) and commercial banks (CBs) in Indonesia using selected indicators, third party funds and credits; section 5 tries to reply the first research question by using comparative analysis between commercial banks and BPRs; and section 6 is the last section which answering the second research question about the performance indicators of BPR Microfinance Institution in Indonesia BPR Microfinance Institution in Indonesia Chapter 1   Introduction 1.1  Background It is believed that microfinance helps low-income people alleviate their life from poverty circumstances in many developing countries. As an economic instrument which has been raised in the middle of seventies, the thought of microfinance came up from the fact that low-income people difficult to access financial services from commercial or formal banking institution which may disadvantage them or even not including them as potential clients. The reason is that, which often we may hear for several times, low-income people lack of collateral for guarantee some amount of money they want, and in the commercial financial institutions point of view it is costly to serve them due to unequal cost-benefit and high transaction cost: low-income people tend to borrow in small amount but the commercial financial institution maintain high cost for processing and assuring their repayment. These costs are not proportional with the amount of loan given to them. A formal microfinance institution existing in Indonesia is the Bank Perkreditan Rakyat/BPR (People’s Credit Bank or Rural Bank)[1] which is established by the Banking Act. The main objective of the BPR is to serve small businesses[2]. It means that BPRs can enhance their role and contribution in the development of micro and small business[3]. In Indonesia, like other developing countries, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)[4] play significant role in economy. The role of MSMEs can be viewed as an important factor for Indonesia to recover from economic crisis and to lead economic growth and employment. Statistics Indonesia (Badan Pusat Statistik/BPS) and Ministry of Cooperatives and Small-Medium Enterprises reported[5] that, the average contribution of SMEs’ share to total GDP Indonesia from the period of 2001 2007 was 60.77%, while at the same period large enterprises (LEs) contributed 39.23% which can be seen in Table 1. Source:  Statistics Indonesia (BPS) and Ministry of Cooperatives and Small-Medium Enterprises (various editions) In terms of employment creation, MSM enterprises have passed over large enterprises. Table 3 provides worker absorption by types of enterprises. It shows that small enterprises have absorbed approximately 91% of employment during 1999-2006, while medium and large enterprises have provided by 5% and by 4% of employment in Indonesia. Source  : Cooperative Statistics cited in Nazara and Gitaharie (2008), edited by author Based on the data which are discussed in the previous paragraphs, it can be concluded that micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have a big role and a potential as a driver of the domestic economy. Nevertheless, they still have several constraints, for instance, product market accessibility, lack of management skills, and limited access to financial sources, especially from commercial banks, to meet their demand for finance. A survey conducted by Statistics Indonesia (BPS) concluded that the biggest problem for micro and small enterprises is lack of capital for financing their business.  The survey recognized that  problem in finance for micro enterprises was accounted for 40.48%, while for small enterprises was 36.63% (Wardoyo and Prabowo 2003: 31). In Indonesia, small and medium enterprises can acquire their finance from several sources. According to Nazara and Gitaharie (2008) which refer to statistical data from BPS 2000; 82,960 SMEs got their finance from non banking financial institution; 385,383 SMEs got their finance from banks; and 661,630 SMEs got their finance from other sources. It is clearly from the data that most of SMEs rely on sources other than formal institutions. These figures were not taking into account for SMEs which have no legal entities (Nazara and Gitaharie 2008: 8). From SMEs point of view, they face kinky administrative procedure and also they have to provide collateral as guarantee to get loans from commercial banks. This condition leads SMEs favoring in Bank Perkreditan Rakyat/BPR (People’s Credit Bank or Rural Bank) and other financial institutions which provide simpler in administrative procedures, but higher in interest rates compared to commercial banks (Nazara and Gitaharie 2008: 8). Even though entrepreneurs are burdened with high interest rates, they do not much complain about it as long as they have access to formal credit (Berry et al. 2001 as cited in (Sunarto 2007: 2)). In line with the condition in which SMEs favoring in BPRs, Sunarto (Sunarto 2007: 4) stated that BPRs have several advantages in serving to SMEs, those are: (1) its location which is close to SMEs, (2) simpler in credit procedures, (3) accentuate a personal approach in its services and (4) more flexible.   This paper is focused on the role and contribution of BPR, one of the formal types of microfinance institutions in Indonesia, as the suppliers of funds to different types of enterprises especially to micro and small. The discussion emphasizes on credit allocation delivered by BPRs to the micro, small and medium enterprises. Comparative analysis will be made between commercial banks[6] and BPRs for analytical purposes in two things. Firstly, the comparison in terms of allocation of credit which does not consider other variables playing a role in borrowing, for instance interest rates and so on. The comparative result is not in the amount of the credit disbursed but in the percentage of allocation for each type of enterprise. Secondly, the comparison in terms of performance will be discussed through some indicators. Furthermore, the performance indicators of BPRs will be compared with their criteria which set by Bank Indonesia to see whether those indicators improving or deteriorating. 1.2  Research Objective and Research Questions Research Objective The objective of this paper is to study the role and performance of Bank Perkreditan Rakyat (BPR), as one of microfinance institutions in Indonesia, in financing micro, small and medium enterprises. Research Questions In order to achieve the research objective, this paper proposes research questions as follows: 1.  What is the role of BPRs as supplier of funds to different types of small and medium enterprises, in particular micro enterprises? 2.  What is the performance of BPRs in relation to credit provision to micro and small enterprises? 1.3  Research Hypothesis Bank Perkreditan Rakyat (BPR) was established with the main objective is to serve small-scale business and people in rural areas. Therefore, the first hypothesis is that BPRs are reaching their main objective as supplier of funds to micro, small and medium enterprises as mandated by regulation (i.e., banking act). In order to meet the objectives, it is needed good performances which are reflected from their performance indicators. Therefore, the second hypothesis is that performance indicators of the BPRs have met with the standards which set by the Indonesia banking authority. 1.4  Organization of the Paper This paper is divided into five chapters. Chapter 1 is introduction which contains background of the research, research objective and research questions, research hypothesis, and organization of the paper. Chapter 2 is review of the literatures and analytical framework for the research. Literature reviews discuss about definitions of microfinance and microfinance institution, the approaches can be taken by a microfinance institution in order to serve the clients, the models of microfinance institutions, the types of microfinance institutions in Indonesia and the pyramid of them in relation to potential customers and performance indicators. Analytical framework discusses about the way in which the research will be achieved. Chapter 3 is the microfinance institutions in Indonesia which contains their brief history and recent condition. Chapter 4 is analysis of the role of BPRs in financing micro, small and medium enterprises which contains overview of the chapter, data source for the analysis, methodology of the analysis, some information about commercial banks and BPRs, and analyzing to answer the research questions. Chapter 5 is conclusion.   Chapter 2   Literature Review and Analytical Framework 2.1  Literature Review There are many definitions about microfinance proposed by several researchers and institutions. This paper uses some definitions given by Robinson, Ledgerwood, Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to describe microfinance. Robinson (Robinson 2001: 9) defined microfinance as small size financial services (mainly saving and credit) given to people who having farm or fish or herd; people who running micro or small enterprises which producing, recycling, repairing or selling goods; people who offering services; people who working for commissions or wages; people who having earnings from renting the land, vehicles, draft animals, or machinery and equipment; and people or other individuals and groups from both rural and urban areas at the local level from the developing countries. Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP)[7] which uses terminology â€Å"poor people† and Ledgerwood which uses terminology â€Å"low-income clients† pointed out to person who receives basic financial services from microfinance including self-employed people. Furthermore, Ledgerwood (Ledgerwood 1999: 1) stated that definition of microfinance comprises not only in financial intermediation but also in social intermediation. Many of microfinance institutions (MFIs)[8] provide this social intermediation function (i.e., group arrangement, self-confidence development, training to enhance capabilities and to increase capacities in terms of financial literacy and managements) go along with financial intermediation. Moreover, she argued that microfinance is a development instrument and it is not just banking.   Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Santoso et al. 2005: 7) defined microfinance into two understandings. Firstly, it refers to an institution when it designates to an organization which offer financial services or banking products, especially loans to the poor people. Secondly, it uses for different methods or activities which assigned to the poor people in order to access financial services. The poor people usually ask for loans, meanwhile commercial banks do not qualify them for loans. These understandings are close to each other. An institution which provides products for poor people called as microfinance institution. The usage of products (i.e., credits) which is provided by MFIs will be beneficial for poor people in generating more earnings.   Ledgerwood (Ledgerwood 1999: 65-66) stated that the approaches that can be done by microfinance institutions can be divided into two main categories: the minimalist approach or integrated approach. When MFIs do minimalist approach, they only perform functions of financial intermediation, although sometimes they offer social intermediation in limited services. Premise that underlie this approach is a-single missing piece that can be offered by MFIs to the clients in the form of access to credit for them due to the clients are getting less coverage of services from financial institutions, for instance to grow enterprises. On the other hand, integrated approach is a combination of four aspects those are social and financial intermediation, enterprise development and social services. Thus, it is needed a holistic view of the client when a MFI taking this approach. If MFIs are not able to meet all four services, MFIs only offer services that are really needed by the client as long as this service in line with goal and objective of MFIs. Since the large-scale demand for services microfinance activities is in existence, the activities are shown in many countries. The poor people are usually un-bankable, because of such conditions: low skills, poor capacity and severe inabilities. They might not be served in the commercial banking system. It is because the system needs for formal requirements, along with the proper economic scale and certain guarantee. In official terms, this kind of market is un-named and un-served. There are niche markets for the supply of services for MFIs (Santoso et al. 2005: 8). Clients of microfinance institution can not be classified as the poorest of the poor. Generally, they are self-employed and low-income entrepreneur, including; traders, food vendors at the street side, small farmers, small producers and artisan who produce souvenirs in at tourism area and so on. The nature of their business usually provides a stable source of income (Ledgerwood 1999: 2). In various forms, income is provided by micro enterprises owned by the poor. This is done by providing employment. The recycling and repairing better than littering a good, making cheap food, clothing, and transportation to be available are some examples. It is also made to them who are from the low level of formal sector that are usually very difficult to live with their salaries. The people of this kind of life are often can cope with such a problem with the typical cases mentioned above, but can not handle the more serious problem. The other types of problem that are often found are deficiency of capital, skill, official status, and business security. In the meantime, naturally they already have the ability to face sharp business sense, strong life skills, long hard work practice, market knowledge, extensive communication and informal support networks. They also used to have the ability to live supported by their flexibility basic consideration (Robinson 2001: 12). A recent study in Bosnia and Herzegovina carried out by Hartarska and Nadolnyak (Hartarska and Nadolnyak 2008) used the financing constraint approach. The approach states that microenterprises that have good access to credit will be less rely on internal funding in their investment. Using the Living Standards Measurement Survey and the existence of the MFIs in their area, they compare sensitivity of investment to internal funds in the microenterprises which there are MFIs in municipalities they located to microenterprises which there is no MFIs in municipalities they located. They concluded that the MFIs reduce the constraint of microenterprises funding when they are exist close to business. There are some models of microfinance institutions. The first model is Grameen Bank. This model is founded in many countries, especially in Bangladesh, from which it established for the first time by Muhammad Junus. In determining target poor clients, Grameen Bank will do it carefully which is usually done through a series of tests. Loans are given to the group in which each group typically consists of five people and each member of the group guarantee the loan of the other members. This model intensively requires supervision and motivation from the staff to the group borrowers. The second model is Village Bank. An implementing agency establish individual village bank together with 30-50 people and sets capital for on-lending to other members. Repayments of the loan are usually in a week until 16 weeks whereas the village bank pays the principal plus interest to implementing agency. The third model is Credit Unions (CUs). Credit Unions are non-profit financial cooperatives which owned and controlled by its members. Besides saving, CU also provides loans for both productive and non-productive purposes to the members. The membership of CUs compared to Grameen Bank is more heterogeneous and usually based on similar bond. The fourth model is ‘self-help’ groups (SHGs). This model is close to the second model, village bank, although their structure is less well compared to the village bank.  The membership of SHGs is based on the similarity in income and the number of membership approximately 20 people. In principle, they use internal funding, that is saving, to lend it to the members, even though they can also seek external funding as additional source of funds. Several NGOs are facilitating and promoting SHGs, but basically, SHGs are directed as an independent institution. The task of seeking additional financing from outside is usually helped by NGOs which link between SHGs and other external parties or other funding agencies. This NGO’s job close related to social intermediary function they have, while other NGOs are functioned as financial intermediaries which funding SHGs  (Conroy 2003: 4-5). In terms of forms, microfinance institutions can be classified as bank (government and commercial), nonbank financial institution, saving and loan cooperative, credit union and nongovernmental organization. Pawnbrokers, rotating saving and credit association, and moneylender also part of MFIs and hold significant roles in functioning financial intermediation although they are more informal in legal status (Ledgerwood 1999: 1). In Indonesia, several institutions have already served microfinance services for such a long period. Those institutions can be divided into four types. The first type is formal microfinance institutions (MFIs). This type of MFI is regulated and supervised as banking institution and therefore their activities as financial intermediaries subject to banking regulation and supervision. Such institutions included in this type are BRI Unit (state-owned microbank), commercial banks with microfinance services and Rural Bank (Bank Perkreditan Rakyat/BPR). The second type is semi formal MFIs which registered and or licensed by state authorities or local governments, therefore they are not regulated by banking authority (Bank Indonesia). Including in this type are cooperatives, Islamic-based cooperatives (Baitul Maal wat Tamwil/BMT), rural credit institution (Badan Kredit Desa/BKD) and microfinance owned and managed by NGOs. The third type is informal MFIs that operate outside the framework of government regulation, among others, are credit union, rotating credit and saving association (ROSCA), moneylenders, landlords and so on. The fourth type is microcredit programs established by the government in channeling credit to subsidize the poor through a variety of institutions (Nugroho 2008: 181-182). Further explanation about these four microfinance services especially the first three types of MFIs will be presented in chapter 3.   In Figure 1 we can see the pyramid of microfinance institutions with their potential customers in Indonesia. The top layer shows formal MFIs (BRI Unit, Rural Banks/ BPRs and LDKPs). They provide financial services for the top level of microfinance market. This type of MFIs is intended to serve small business which has characterized with stable income flows; therefore these MFIs’ potential clients are non-poor and not so poor people. In the middle layer, semi- formal MFIs serve microfinance services for the poor households. This layer includes rural credit institutions (Bank Kredit Desa/BKD), cooperatives, BMT and NGOs. Clients in this layer are characterized by unstable flow of income. At the bottom layer of the pyramid the huge number of potential clients which need microfinance services. They are very poor people which are characterized by unpredictable income. They need the microfinance services in order to ensure their uncertain income, so they need a small loan to overcom e the difficulties of life (Nugroho 2008: 184-185). Figure 1: The Pyramid of Microfinance Services in Indonesia Source: BI and GTZ (2000) cited in Nugroho (2008) As mentioned above, Rural Bank (Bank Perkreditan Rakyat/BPR) is one of the formal types of microfinance in Indonesia. Its existence is established by Banking Act number 7 of 1992 as amended by Banking Act number 10 of 1998. The main goal of the rural bank is to serve small business and rural communities. In order to deliver their services to the customers, a microfinance institution requires a good performance. This performance can be seen from some indicators. Looking at these indicators, we can decide how well they not only can do financially but also it can also build the future performance goals. There are a large number of performance indicators that can be used by MFIs in measuring the financial performance. One of the principles that can be used is the CAMEL system, ACCION. This system examines five traditional aspects which are regarded as the most important thing in the practices of the financial intermediaries. The five aspects (capital adequacy, asset quality, management, earnings, and liquidity) be the sign of the financial condition and operational strength of the MFI in common (Ledgerwood 1999: 205,227,229). 2.2  Analytical Framework Based on the theoretical framework that has been presented in the previous section, the author uses Figure 2 below describing the analytical framework used in the research which answering the research questions asked. There are two parties involved in the financial market.  On one hand, there is a supply side which is financial institutions that act as financial intermediation agents or it might be function as other than financial intermediation like social intermediation or something else. These financial institutions include commercial banks, non-banks financial institutions (insurances company, ventura capital, etc), and microfinance institutions (in different types and forms). On the other hand, on the demand side, there are some parties that require financing for different purposes, among others for working capital and investment usage which is belongs to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The problem is that not all of these financial institutions allow MSMEs as their client due to several requirements which can not be fulfilled by MSMEs (collateral and bureaucratic procedures, for instances) or it might be comes from the MSMEs itself that no need too much funds (small financing). Here, microfinance institutions fit with the need of MSMEs. The mechanism then runs as common supply and demand in the market: MFIs, as financial intermediaries, offer credit or loan to MSMEs. Furthermore, MSMEs use the loan for running their operational activities (working capital usage) or for accumulating their physical capital (investment usage). At the end of the story, output of MSMEs will contribute to national income (GDP) and at the same time generates income for the owners and employees. Figure 2: Analytical Framework of the Research: Supply and Demand in Financial Market Source: author’s graph This paper focuses on the supply side of particular financial intermediaries in the financial market those are microfinance institutions. In other words, using Ledgerwood’s terminology mentioned in literature review, the paper mainly looks at the role of MFIs in terms of â€Å"minimalist approach†; how they perform as financial intermediations in delivering credit or loan. Special attention given to Rural Banks, one of formal MFIs in Indonesia in allocating their credit to different types of enterprises such as micro, small, medium and large enterprises. There are several reasons why this paper discusses on Rural Banks as unit of analysis. Firstly, it is states in the regulation (Banking Act) that the main objective of Rural Banks is to serve small scale business and looking into the pyramid of MFIs appeared in Figure 1. It means that Rural Banks have a specialization as small scale business’ banking, especially micro enterprises. This paper wants to see to which extent this mission is successfully executed. Secondly, Rural Banks are the second largest microfinance institutions in terms of asset, third party funds collected and number of debtors. According to Bank Indonesia (2008)[9], they posses 35% of total MFIs’ assets; 30.43% of third party funds collected on total MFIs and 29.15% of total number debtors on total MFIs.   This study proposes two research questions. The first research question relates to the role of rural banks as financial intermediaries in delivering credit to different types of business especially micro and small enterprises. In addressing the first research question, the paper uses comparative analysis and simple calculations in terms of credit disbursement for both commercial banks and rural banks so that the share (percentage) of credit allocation to different types of enterprises to be known. In order to obtain the result, some criteria and assumption are applied in the study. This is done due to there is no data available about the definite amount of credit disbursed by either Rural Banks or commercial banks to different type of enterprises. The discussion focuses only on the amount of credit allocation, so that other variables that determine the credit such as interest rate, collateral, and so forth are not discussed in this study.   The second research question indicates the performance indicators of rural banks in relation to credit provision to micro enterprises. These indicators include; Loan to Deposit Ratio (LDR), Returns on Assets Ratio (ROA) and Non-Performing Loan Ratio (NPL) which refer to Director of Bank Indonesia Decree number 30/12/Kep/Dir and Bank Indonesia’s Letter No. 30/3/UPPB about Rural Banks Soundness Evaluation. Furthermore, comparison will be made between these indicators and criteria. Chapter 3 Microfinance Institutions in Indonesia 3.1  Microfinance Institutions in Indonesia As developing country, Indonesia has long experience and history in developing microfinance institution which has made it possible for poor or low-income people to overcome financial constraints and to access financial institutions. For this condition, some researchers like Berenbach and Churchill called that Indonesia is â€Å"the most developed market for microfinance services in the world† (Barenbach and Churchill 1997 as cited in (Santoso et al. 2005: 43)). The development of microfinance institution began for the first time in Dutch colonial era when several well-educated local people saw deteriorating economy happened in their community and they looked for the need of this services and started organize it. The two famous institutions best known as pioneer in microfinance institutions and exist since colonial era are cooperative and Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI). As mentioned in chapter 2, microfinance institutions in Indonesia can be classified into four types (Nugroho 2008), those are; formal microfinance institutions, semiformal MFIs, informal MFIs and microcredit program which is established by the government for delivering credit to poor people through several institutions. In this chapter the latter type of MFI will not be discussed. The discussion is emphasizes on three other institutions. Formal MFIs are financial intermediary institutions which refer and subject to banking regulation and therefore supervised by Bank Indonesia. Semiformal MFIs are not regulated by Bank Indonesia as a banking authority, but they are licensed and or registered by other state authorities or local government. Informal MFIs operate outside government regulations. Nugroho (Nugroho 2008) described institutions which include in each type of MFI as follows: formal MFIs including BRI Unit, Rural Bank (BPR) and The Rural Credit Fund Institutions (Lembaga Dana Kredit Pedesaan/LDKP); semiformal MFIs covering rural credit institution (Badan Kredit Desa/ BKD), microfinance NGO, credit cooperatives including Islamic-based cooperatives (Baitul Maal wat Tamwil/BMT); informal MFIs including credit unions, rotating credit and saving association (ROSCA), moneylenders, traders and landlords. Table 3.1 provides map of microfinance institutions by types in Indonesia in terms of units and their financial services. Bank Rakyat Indonesia Unit Lembaga Dana Kredit Perdesaan (LDKP) – The Rural Credit Fund Institutions The Rural Credit Fund Institutions (LDKP) is the term of credit fund institution that operates in rural area, including a variety of non bank microfinance institutions with different names, ownership, organization, services and outreach, that was established on initiatives of provincial government. LDKP belongs to provincial, district or village government which, in their operation, have to obtain license from and was regulated by provincial government within the national regulatory framework. they get technical support and supervision from regional development bank (BPD) which are owned by provincial government.. since it was established in 1970s, the number of LDKP getting less from 1978 to 630 in 2000, this decrease due to the conversion of LDKP to peoples cerdit banks(BPR) and recently only about one quarter of LDKP  have become banks. The Badan  Kredit Desa (BKD) BKD is a profitable and sustainable village level financial institution that provide financial services with a outreach to low income people. it was operated by a committee that controlled by head of village and have sustained the operation since colonial era. On behalf of Bank Indonesia, BRI branch offices supervise and provide technical assistance  for BKD. in 1970s indonesian government did not pay much attention to this system. instead, the government  give more attention to the cooperative system. this make hard for BKD system to developed. in 1990s BRI tried to revive BKD by providing basic capital, improving administrative system and introducing new saving instruments, however, 1992 banking act burden the expanding BKD system. BKD is recognized as peoples credit bank (BPR) and has been operating as a licensed and regulated bank  since 1992 banking act but the frame work setting, supervision and technical assistance has not changed since 2000. Cooperatives Here, the brief history of cooperative in Indonesia refers to Santoso et al (2005) and Ministry of Cooperative, Small and Medium Enterprises’ website (www.depkop.go.id, 2009) as references. The thought of cooperative was delivered for the first time by Patih R. Aria Wiriatmaja at Purwokerto, a small town in Central Java, in 1896. Then, De Wolffvan Westerrode continued his efforts. In 1908, the year of national movement, Dr. Sutomo founded Budi Utomo which played a significant role for cooperatives improving the life of society. Then, Verordening op de Cooperatieve Vereeniging was established. Twelve years after that, in 1927, another type of cooperative called Regelling Inlandsche Cooperatieve was launched. In the same year, to develop bargaining power among local entrepreneurs, Islamic Trader Union (Serikat Dagang Islam) was established. Indonesian National Party (Partai Nasional Indonesia) which had activities in promoting cooperative spirit was established in 1929. 3.2  Bank Perkreditan Rakyat (BPR) Brief History Steinwand (Steinwand 2001) provided detail periodical history about Rural Bank. He divided the history into four parts of periods; the evolution of the colonial BPR (1895-1945), the period from independence to financial sector reform (1945-1983), the period from financial sector reform to financial crisis (1983-1999) and at the present condition. Rural Bank Position in Financial System in Indonesia Chapter 4   Analysis of the Role of Bank Perkreditan Rakyat (BPR) in Financing Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises 4.1  Overview Chapter 4 consists of 6 sections which each section aimed to answer the research questions. Section 1 is a general information about what will be discussed in this chapter; section 2 discusses about the source of the data used in the analysis; section 3 is the methodology; section 4 is about overview the condition of Bank Perkreditan Rakyat (BPRs) and commercial banks (CBs) in Indonesia using selected indicators, third party funds and credits; section 5 tries to reply the first research question by using comparative analysis between commercial banks and BPRs; and section 6 is the last section which answering the second research question about the performance indicators of