Thursday, December 26, 2019

The Influence of Lord Henry in The Picture of Dorian...

In analyzing Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, concepts such as influence and the origin of evil in Dorian Gray play an exceptionally valuable role in understanding the motives of the characters. Although some critics argue characters such as Lord Kelso significantly influence Dorian’s corruption, Lord Henry Wotton’s toxic personality undeniably impacts Dorian the most. Throughout the course of the novel, Lord Henry remains the ultimate source of evil and uses deception and persuasion to poison Dorian from a naà ¯ve boy to a destructive monster. Shortly after meeting Dorian for the first time, Lord Henry calmly declares, â€Å"to influence a person is to give him one’s own soul† (20). In these few words, Lord Henry foreshadows the†¦show more content†¦The colorful diction and syntax in this paragraph allow the reader to witness Lord Henry’s sturdy grip on Dorian’s future as he begins to transform from virtually flawle ss to rotten. Word choices and phrases such as motionless, parted lips, strangely bright, fresh influences, secret chord, vibrating, throbbing, and curious illustrate Dorian’s puzzling mood of total absorption as he stands stationary and lifeless for ten whole minutes, a remarkably long time to comprehend a stranger’s thoughts. While Dorian initially exhibits a clueless and unenlightened perspective on life, Lord Henry’s dominating opinions strike a chord in Dorian, causing him to flood with waves of understanding about the purpose of life. By comparing Dorian’s brain to a chord, it generates a visual image of Lord Henry plucking a single string that stimulates newborn thoughts to dance around in Dorian’s mind as his angelic eyes open up to corrupting theories about the dark world of pleasure. Although the fact that Lord Henry generates a completely new influence over Dorian’s mind is as plain as black and white, critic Esther Rashkin asser ts the abusive acts of Dorian’s grandfather, Lord Kelso, plant the seed for Dorian to eventually grow into a vile man. By blaming the tyrannical Lord Kelso for Dorian’s corruption, Rashkin demands the â€Å"widely shared view that Lord Henry is the evil figure in the story who corrupts the innocent Dorian Gray andShow MoreRelatedThe Picture of Dorian Gray: Corruption Through Aestheticism1464 Words   |  6 PagesThe Picture of Dorian Gray: Corruption Through Aestheticism The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is the story of moral corruption by the means of aestheticism. In the novel, the well meaning artist Basil Hallward presets young Dorian Gray with a portrait of himself. After conversing with cynical Lord Henry Wotton, Dorian makes a wish which dreadfully affects his life forever. If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that I would give everythingRead MoreThe Picture Of Dorian Gray Essay1460 Words   |  6 Pagesbe the theme of Oscar Wilde’s book, The picture of Dorian Gray, art an beauty are both the same, yet they are different. But how can this be? Well, beauty and art are intertwined the moment art is used to capture a sliver of pure beauty, in order to make that moment last forever. According to Lord Henry, â€Å" Yes, Mr. Gray, the gods have been good to you. But what the goods give can easily be taken away. You only have a few years in which to live really, perfectly, and fully† (Wilde Pg. 22). HoweverRead More A Comparison of Oscar Wilde and Dorian Gray Essay1330 Words   |  6 PagesA Comparison of Oscar Wilde and Dorian Gray      Ã‚   One novel that stands out as literary masterpiece is The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Wilde wrote a dark tale of a man, Dorian Gray, who destroys his life by exchanging his soul for eternal youth and beauty. The character of Dorian Gray, in many aspects, mirrors the self-destruction of the authors own life. Therefore, Oscar Wilde portrays his own life through Dorian Gray, the main character of the novel. Oscar Fingal O FlahertieRead MoreHuman Connectivity And Response On Art : The Portrait Of Dorian Gray1030 Words   |  5 PagesPortrait of Dorian Gray Is it the morality or immorality of art that affects our lives, or do we bring that morality or immorality to art? Oscar Wilde’s novel, The Portrait of Dorian Gray, can be seen as a discussion on the effect of art on life and how there exists a unique connection between the morality (or immorality) of art and the importance of human connectivity and response to art. The preface to The Portrait of Dorian Gray exists as a lesson in contradictions; specifically, Wilde mentionsRead More Essay on Picture of Dorian Gray: The Character of Lord Henry Wotten1670 Words   |  7 PagesCharacter of Lord Henry Wotten of The Picture of Dorian Gray  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The purpose of this essay is to explore the character of Lord Henry Wotten, from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Oscar Wilde once said: I only know that Dorian Gray is a classic and deservedly. With this in mind, this essay is aimed at looking at how Lord Henry Wotton manipulates various conversations and how he effects the story with his challenging speeches, which is the reason The Picture of Dorian GrayRead MoreThe Theme of Decadence in the Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde1553 Words   |  7 PagesThe theme of decadence in The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde Staring from the definition found in the dictionary, the decadence is a literary movement especially of late 19th-century France and England characterized by refined aestheticism, artifice, and the quest for new sensations. [1] In decadence, important is not necessarily what is seen, but the hermeneutics: what man feels when he sees the creative result of this feeling. It is the current that requires a co-operationRead MoreThe Influences of Oscar Wilde The Picture of Dorian Gray1582 Words   |  7 PagesThe Influences of Oscar Wilde Throughout his life Oscar Wilde had many strong influences exerted upon him. During his early childhood his mother influenced him and into college some of his professors and certain philosophers left a substantial impression upon him. Into adulthood these influences leaked out in his writing. These influences gave him ample ideas for writing The Picture of Dorian Gray. Wildes study of the Hellenistic ideals of Epicurus, his coddled lifestyle as a child and his devotionRead MoreLord Henry s Manipulation Corrupting Dorian Gray1633 Words   |  7 Pages7, 2017   Lord Henry s Manipulation Corrupting Dorian Gray   In the eyes of Lord Henry, there is no such thing as a good influence, all influence is immoral (Wilde, 8)   meaning that anything being said is neutral; however, that person uses that information is the leading factor of manipulation and corruption.   Lord Henry is the prime instigator and had motive for turning Dorian into a destructive monster, opposite his naturally shy and youthful soul. Author, Oscar Wilde, uses Lord Henry in PictureRead MoreEssay on Disregarding Women in The Picture of Dorian Gray1297 Words   |  6 Pageswomen represented normal in the eyes of most men and women. However, Victorian novels such as The Picture of Dorian Gray illustrate the consequences of disregarding women. In Oscar Wilde’s only novel, the lack of importance surrounding the female characters and their careless treatment from men results in the selfishness of the male characters exemplified through Dorian Gray’s acts of evil. Dorian Gray inflicts his first and most important act of evil upon Sibyl Vane, a third rate actress he fallsRead MorePeople can easily be influenced by one another. Many people can affect the thoughts and actions of800 Words   |  4 Pagesthoughts and actions of others either deliberately or unintentionally. In the novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde it is evident that various characters influence one another’s actions and thoughts. The novel demonstrates various occasions of impact by others. Such as Dorian’s influence on Basil Hallward, as well as Lord Henry Wotton’s multiply influence on Dorian Gray, and additionally Dorian Gray’s influence towards Sibyl Vane. Relationships can have the dominance to not only have a control

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

How Skilled Immigrant Entrepreneurs Are Beneficial

In recent years, debates regarding policy have focused heavily on the topic of immigration in the United States. Despite all of the attention that this topic has gained, it seems that skilled immigrants is one group that has been overlooked. In large part, this particular group is becoming more prominent due to the fact that many are becoming entrepreneurs, especially in the Silicon Valley. Thus, I am interested in finding out how skilled immigrant entrepreneurs are beneficial in numerous aspects such as economic growth, innovation, public policy and societal changes. Moreover, I want to explore what challenges and opportunities these immigrants face and how their involvement within Silicon Valley provide a beneficial influence for growth. One primary source of my research will be the documentary film Starting-Up in America by Tarik Ansari. A very interesting fact quoted in the documentary stated by Vivek Wadhwa, colleague of the Stanford Law School, â€Å"Despite the fact that the y constitute only 12% of the U.S. population, immigrants have started 52% of Silicon Valley’s technology companies and contributed to more than 25% of our global patents†. Starting-Up in America focuses on the challenges experienced by Silicon Valley’s skilled immigrant entrepreneurs with U.S. Immigration. The documentary interviews a handful of successful immigrant entrepreneurs asking questions such as: â€Å"Why come to the United States to start a business†, â€Å"How does your project benefit the U.S.Show MoreRelatedThe Impact Of Immigration Policies On Communities And The Future Of West Michigan1567 Words   |  7 Pagessmall town in Texas in 2008. It perpetually amazed me as to how so many people had so many different â€Å"percents† and a few even impressed me more so by knowing them to decimal place. Many shared their heritage with a swelling pride, and I soon came to learn that this source of pride actually came from West Michiganâ€⠄¢s history built upon immigrants which can be traced back all the way to the 18th century. From the huge mass of Dutch immigrants that brought us tulips to the Germans that brought us oneRead MoreDo International Migration And Remittances Reduce Poverty? Developing Countries?1137 Words   |  5 Pagesfocus on how individual preferences concerning immigration policies are influenced by an individual’s socioeconomic status. Less-skilled workers fear an influx of â€Å"job-stealing† low-skilled immigrants, and therefore are more likely to favor restrictionist policies that limit immigration. While these fears are believed and often influence policy, they do not hold up to economic theory and should be disregarded. International and domestic law should ignore policy preferences of low-skilled native workersRead MoreThe Immigration Of The United States1184 Words   |  5 Pages The migration of immigrants to the U.S. has been a topic for many years now. American born citizens should become aware of the benefits of having immigrants in this nation because it can change a lot of prejudices between them. The U.S. Department of Agriculture states that, â€Å"about half of the hired workers employed in U.S. crop agriculture were unauthorized, with the overwhelming majority of these workers coming from Mexico.† The USDA has also warned that, â€Å"any potential immigration reform couldRead MoreImmigration : A Broken System1360 Words   |  6 PagesSystem Megan Mazzella April 13, 2016 Immigration reform and how legal and illegal immigrants affect the United States’ economy is a much-debated topic. Skilled foreign workers are helping to create jobs, which stimulates America’s overall economic growth. The current visa process should be reformed to create even more jobs and economic growth. According to a report published by the National Foundation for American Policy, immigrants have founded more than half of America’s billion-dollar startupRead MoreImmigration Reform Of The United States1245 Words   |  5 Pagesas a percentage of the United States population has been far higher in previous years compared to where it is now. Even as far back as 1870, the foreign-born population of the US was 5,567,229 while the US population was 38,558,371, meaning that immigrants were making up approximately 14.4% of the US population. Calculating the immigration percentage in the same way, it was 13.3% in 1880, 14.7% in 1890, 13.6% in 1900, 14.6% in 1910, and 13.1% in 1920, the last year before the first immigration quotaRead MoreHow Immigration Helps United States1600 Words   |  7 Pages I’m an immigrant, I moved to this country three years ago, as many legal and illegal immigrants I believe that we help the economy of this country. There are many immigrants in America and they come from all over the world. By no means I want to assume that they have all had my experiences. In my case I’m here on the pursuit of new opportunities, in my mind, or in the way I was raised by my parents, and how am I supposed to achieve my goals is exactly the way they work every day to support ourRead MoreThe Legal And Illegal Immigrants1726 Words   |  7 Pages’m an immigrant, I moved to this country three years ago, but since I was born here I’m considered a legal immigrant, as many legal and illegal immigrants I believe that we help the economy of this country. There are many immigrants in this country, they all come from all over the world. By no means I want to assume that they have all had my experiences. In my case I’m here on the pursuit of ne w opportunities, in my mind, or in the way I was raised by my parents, and how am I supposed to achieveRead MoreThe Impact Of Immigration On The Agriculture1723 Words   |  7 PagesAgriculture Labor Force The topic chosen is the impact of immigration on the agriculture in the United states. Within this topic, there are many aspects to be considered. How much of the labor force of the agricultural industry has included immigrants? How do the positive and negative aspects weigh out? Many people have an opinion on immigrants, but there are some that lack the basic knowledge of the positive effects of immigration. This specific topic was chosen due to its recent spotlight and the factRead MoreThe Immigration Of The United States2036 Words   |  9 PagesFrom the moment of its inception, the United States has always been a nation of immigrants. Throughout American history, the numerous immigration waves have undeniably defined the infrastructure of America. By bringing a different set of views and innovative ideas, immigrants injected the economy and advanced technology through innovative work. However, the United States has not kept up its immigration policies with the changing times for the past three decades. Many people are blaming illegal immigrationRead MoreA Report On The Eb 5 Program1627 Words   |  7 PagesIf you get highly skilled, highly talented immigrants with money, who are paying and committing to things that are positive, I m inclined to think it s terrific, former Treasury secretary Lawrence H. Summers said. Since the EB-5 program began in 1992, more than 29,000 people have received visas, foreigners have invested more than $6.8 billion and 50,000 American jobs have been created, U.S. officials said. USCIS administers the EB-5 Program. Under this program, entrepreneurs (and their spouses

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Customer Support Information and Management

Question: Discuss about the Customer Support Information and Management. Answer: Help desk is one of the essential sections of the overall business. The help desk is the lifeline of the organisation as it handles the entire business from one section. The helpdesk streamlines the business operation by providing the much needed information all across the business that helps in making effective decisions. It is important to mention that Help desk has number of key roles to play in the daily operations of business. Especially in the hospitality sector the help desk works as the lifeline for the organisation as it represents the entire business in front of consumers hence it is important that the Help desk has the right balance for the consumers as well as the internal communication for the companies (Laudon Laudon, 2011). There are certain key features of a help desk which are extremely favorable for the business. The two key features of a help desk are: Help desk has historical incident database: This feature is extremely effective to ease the access to different kinds of information without any hiccups which lubricates the process of operation within the organisation and also supports customer management (Davenport Klahr, 1998). A helpdesk with effective knowledge base is likely to help address the issues of the consumers as well as support the organisational operation with the help of supply of effective information. This feature facilitates sharing of knowledge and this kind of database integrated in the system can reduce lead time and workload of the employees (Heras et al., 2009). Friendly user interface: This is another extremely important feature of a help desk. If a help desk is not user friendly it could have serious problems to communicate with the employees that would again hinder the service provision of the consumers. Effective user friendly interface will help to communicate effectively and provide better user experience which will facilitate the service provision for the consumers (Jntti, 2009). As stated by Chan et al., (1999) help desks are the computer aided systems which help the consumers and their response. The study has been done in wake of the technological transition phase where new technologies were coming in the market. During the late 90s there was technological explosion which clearly indicated that with the arrival or new hardware and software it was important for the companies to develop an extremely effective helpdesk which could help in supporting the consumers and lubricate the communication within the organisation as well. The help desks were in during that time but with the advent of new technologies it was important for the companies to come up with better technology which will help to meet the needs and the wants of the consumers (Davenport Klahr, 1998). Case based help desk system was a new concept at that point of time and hence there wasnt much buzz about building case based help desks. The study has discussed the technicalities of building case bas ed help desks. The main focus of the case based help desks is to focus on solving problems of the consumers. It is important to mention in the last few years with the increase in software and hardware products have forced to implement effective case based help desks which are extremely important to fix up queries of the consumers effectively. The present study has highlighted the need of case based help desk that would help to communicate with the consumers effectively (Chan et al., 1999). The consistency of the database system is extremely important as it will help to have continuous approach to develop the support system for the consumers, and it is important to note that in this case it has not been discussed. The correctness of the software is extremely important for the effective operation of the help desk system. For the effective operation of the help desk there are few things which could have been included are the use of database in the operation of the help desk system. The databases are extremely essential in addressing consumers which is clearly missing in the study. The study has not been able to discuss the role of database in Case Based Help desk. On the other hand it has not included the essential aspects of user friendly system. Since the study of about developing a CBHD for customer support it was important that the concept of user interface was discussed. Finally the need of quick access to metrics and statistics hasnt been addressed which is also a key part of the help desk (Czegel, 1998). Hence these three aspects could be integrated in the study. The ITIL or Information Technology Infrastructure Library is the series of works that helps in providing the best possible IT services. It includes the best practices to deliver world class IT services (Davenport Klahr, 1998). The major principles of ITIL are mainly based on providing the best possible service to the consumers and hence it is important to mention that it is largely effective in setting up an efficient help desk. One of the main principles of ITIL is effective service support. Effective service support helps the companies to focus on setting up their service desk which is proactive all the time to provide the best possible assistance to the consumers. The effective formation of service desk as per ITIL will include three key perspective process, people and tool. Process is the first and major part of service desk set up (McNaughton et al., 2010). It states that everyone should work following the same guidelines and same language which helps to design the set up. Ther e are key service desk processes which are service desk dashboard, service desk communication with consumers, promote and market service desk, managing cost and recovery process et cetera. Service desk is the first point of contact of the customers after entering the company. Thus, involving people in the service desk is another key aspect as in service desk efficient employees are required. Finally Service desk tool should be time sensitive, properly configured and consistent (Orand Villareal, 2011). For a vehicle breakdown service the helpdesk should be streamlined in such a way that it gets maximum number of calls. Based on this, the dashboard should be configured so as to develop the user experience and assure the best service possible. Along with this, for the breakdown service it is important for the help desk set up to develop the incident management in order to address multiple problems without any issues. This even helps in case of any technical glitch, where it becomes ea sier to recover the lost data and helps in a smooth flow of the business. References Chan, C., Geng, L. Chen, L. (1999). Development of an Intelligent Case-Based System for Help Desk Operations. Paper presented at 1999 IEEE Canadian Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering. Alberta, Canada. DOI: 10.1109/CCECE.1999.808194 Czegel, B. (1998).Running an effective help desk. John Wiley Sons, Inc. Davenport, T. H., Klahr, P. (1998). Managing customer support knowledge. California management review,40(3), 195-208. Heras, S., Garca-Pardo, J. ., Ramos-Garijo, R., Palomares, A., Botti, V., Rebollo, M., Julin, V. (2009). Multi-domain case-based module for customer support.Expert Systems with Applications,36(3), 6866-6873. Jntti, M. (2009). Lessons learnt from the improvement of customer support processes: A case study on incident management. InInternational Conference on Product-Focused Software Process Improvement(pp. 317-331). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Laudon, K. C., Laudon, J. P. (2011).Management information systems (Vol. 8). New Jersey: Prentice Hall.Include ONE combined reference list at the end of this assignment. McNaughton, B., Ray, P., Lewis, L. (2010). Designing an evaluation framework for IT service management.Information Management,47(4), 219-225. Orand, B., Villareal, J. (2011). Foundations of IT Service Management with ITIL 2011: ITIL Foundation Course in a Book.c. August.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Microfinance in Philippines free essay sample

This Asia Focus report reviews the growth of the Philippines microfinance industry and discusses the mplications of commercial banks entering this market. What is Microfinance? The Philippines central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), defines microfinance as the provision of a broad range of financial services such as deposits, loans, payment services, money transfers and insurance products to the poor and low-income households and their microenterprises. The financial service most commonly provided is microcredit, which is typically issued in the form of a specific business loan for microenterprise purposes. A key defining characteristic of a microfinance loan is the ability to secure credit without collateral. In the Philippines, microfinance loans cannot exceed PhP 150,000 Microfinance providers in the Philippines often employ a group lending approach, whereby each person within a small group is liable for any default by another group member. Other group lending- based methodologies being used in the Philippines include the ASA model, whereby each group member is responsible only for his or her own loan, and the Alliance of Philippine Partners in Enterprise Development (APPEND) Scale-Up Branch Model, which is based on the Trust Bank model. We will write a custom essay sample on Microfinance in Philippines or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page ii,iv Development of Microfinance in the Philippines The Philippines microfinance sector is credited as one of the oldest and most active in the world. v While the roots of microfinance activity date back to the early 1900s through cooperatives, microfinance, as described today, surfaced in the 1980s and was codified into national law in 1997 with the signing of the Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act (RA 8425), and the establishment of both the National Anti-Poverty Commission and the National Strategy for Microfinance. With approximately 33% of the countrys 92 million population considered to be living below the poverty threshold, poverty alleviation is ne of the governments top priorities and microfinance is a primary tool to address this issue. vi The ultimate goal of the governments National Strategy for Microfinance is to create a sustainable private microfinance market, where the private sector limited to providing an environment which enables the market to thrive. The General Banking Law of 2000, which mandated the recognition of microfinance as a legitimate banking activity, is one of the primary catalysts for accelerated growth and commercialization of microfinance over the last several years. The law empowered he BSP to create measures recognizing microfinance providers as banking institutions and to provide regulatory guidelines specific to the microfinance portfolios for institutions falling under the BSPs purview. Furthermore, banks engaging in microfinance activities were given certain allowances and relieved of certain restrictions; for example, they were granted exemption from a moratorium on branch licensing. Today, the BSP defines its commitment to the development of microfinance in the Philippines in three specific ways: i) providing an enabling policy and regulatory environment, it) increasing the capacity of the BSP and banking sector ith respect to microfinance operations, and iii) promoting and advocating the development of sound and sustainable microfinance operations. ii Historically, the provision of retail microfinance services in the Philippines was achieved through rural and thrift banking organizations, as well as NGOs and finance cooperatives. Government financing programs also participated in the retail market. The BSP reports Asia Focus is a periodic newsletter issued by the Country Analysis Unit of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. The information contained in thi s newsletter is meant o provide useful context and insight into current economic and financial sector developments in the Asia Pacific region. The views expressed in this publication are solely that of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the Federal Reserve System. that government financing programs are transitioning away from direct retail business activities and toward providing wholesale funding for private microfinance institutions. Transitioning away from direct retail microfinance activity brings the government closer to achieving the ultimate goal of having a limited role in the icrofinance market, as outlined in the National Strategy for Microfinance. Meanwhile, the private banking sector is playing an increasing role in the provision of microloans. Microfinance activity across the Philippines banking sector, as measured by the size of microloan portfolios at thrift, rural and cooperative banks, nearly doubled between 2005 and 2008 alone (see Chart 1). During the same time period, the number of microfinance borrowers grew by 40%. PhP Millions 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 2005 20062007 2008 Total Rural Banks Microloan portfolio Total Thrift Banks Microloan Portfolio All data is as of June 30 Total Cooperative Banks Microloan Portfolio Source: BSP The Changing Role of Commercial Banks in Microfinance Traditionally, commercial banks role in the Philippines microfinance market has been exclusively through wholesale lending, by providing funds to microfinance institutions which then re-lend the funds in the form of microcredit, and the provision of general financial services to challenging operating environment due to the global financial and economic crisis, commercial banks are seeking new viable revenue options. As a result, some commercial banks recently have entered into the retail microfinance market. For example, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, the nations seventh largest lender, acquired JP Laurel Rural Bank in February 2009 and issued its first microfinance loan in July through JP Laurel Rural Banks branches. x This marked the first microfinance retail operation by a large commercial bank in the Philippines. Since then, Asia United Bank, ranked twentieth by asset size, acquired Rural Bank of Angeles to take advantage of its microfinance network. i In addition, Bank of the Philippine Islands, he nations third largest lender and the first privately owned commercial bank to engage in wholesale microfinance lending, was granted permission to launch the countrys first mobile microfinance bank. xii Demand for microfinance loans is expected to increase considerably over the next year as a key part of the rebuilding of Metro Manila, which was severely damaged by typhoon Ketsana in Septem ber 2009. Further demand is anticipated from displaced overseas Filipino workers, as a result of the global crisis, as these workers and their families turn to microenterprise business activities as a means to supplement family income. These increases in demand for microfinance loans, coupled with the reduced supply of microfinance providers resulting from the high rural bank closures in the last 18 months,xiii provide additional incentive for commercial banks, as well as other players, to enter the retail microfinance sector. Risks and Benefits Associated with the Retail Microfinance Market As commercial banks begin to venture into retail microfinance, they face a range of challenges that are specific to the microfinance market. Microfinance is highly specialized. It requires the loan officers to have significantly ore personal knowledge of the microclient than is usually required for a client of a traditional loan. It also calls for knowledge of the intrica- Chart 1: Microfinance Activity in Philippines Banking Sector In fact, a recent study by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIIJ) assessing the microfinance environment within countriesviii ranked the Philippines first in Asia and third overall on its microfinance index, after Peru and Bolivia. The Ell-J microfinance index categorized its indicators into three main groups: i) regulatory framework, it) investment climate, and iii) institutional development. Ell-J awarded the Philippines a perfect score for its regulation of microfinance activities at financial institutions, adding that the government has promoted a regulatory environment conducive to microfinance operations. ix While the Philippines also received a perfect score for the legal environment surrounding the formation and operation of specialized microfinance institutions, the Ell-J study highlighted a need to increase the diversity of microfinance products and services available to customers. Until recently, the microfinance industry in the Philippines has been primarily focused on microcredit products. Lately, there has been a broadening of services to include savings and microinsurance, but the portion of microfinance providers in the Philippines that are offering such services remains small. inherent to microfinance. Traditional loan officers typically need extensive training before transferring into a microlending environment. xiv Furthermore, commercial banks may not have the infrastructure in place to reach micro-clients who often live in rural areas. Toward this end, rural banks and NGOs have a competitive advantage in terms of specialized knowledge and necessary infrastructure; therefore, it is not urprising to see commercial banks entering the market through the acquisition of rural banks. Micro-clients are considered to be inherently risky, largely due to their extreme susceptibility to declining economic conditions and lack of information on their creditworthiness. This risk is somewhat mitigated by the use of the group lending methodology and more frequent repayment schedule options. During challenging economic times, institutions engaged in microfinance activity face not only the risk of rising delinquencies, but also the risk of default of other financial nstitutions with payment or funding obligations to these microfinance institutions. xv This particular risk is less of an issue for commercial banks than for other microfinance providers, as commercial banks hold sufficient deposits and do not rely on donations or wholesale funding to finance their microfinance activity. In addition, credit pollution, a term used in microfinance to describe when customers borrow from multiple institutions and often use loans from one institution to fund payments on a loan from another institution, is a growing problem in the Philippines microfinance market. This type of pollution appears to worsen as competition increases. As more microfinance players enter the market, micro-clients have more institutions from which to borrow.