Information Search and Analysis Skills

Student Guide

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Information Search and Analysis Skills

ISAS-Seminar Presentation ................................................................ 1.3

Methodology .................................................................................... 1.4

Evaluation Criteria ............................................................................ 1.4

ISAS Presentation: Dos and Donts ..................................................... 1.5

Topics ............................................................................................. 1.5

Table of Contents

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OObbjjeeccttiivveess In this project, you will be able to:

Acquire the skills associated with effective information access, and the building of knowledge bases in particular contexts

Gain familiarity with the contents and coverage of some information sources, such as newspapers, magazines and journals

Appreciate the need for information collection and classification

Acquire compilation and presentation skills, communications skills and group discussion

ISAS 1.3

The aim of the Information Search and Analysis Skills (ISAS) course is to develop information search skills in students. These skills will enable students to gather information on a given subject in a systematic and consciously-planned manner. It also aims to give an experience of a life-long habit of collecting, organizing, analyzing and presenting information. ISAS has proved to be an exciting and successful academic component at NIIT and IFBI.

There are many ways by which one could acquire information from the environment. The environment is a great source of knowledge and is a storehouse of usable information. Print media is an important channel for dissemination of information to large section of reading public. Not only the Government but also large corporates including banks have been making use of the print media to reach out to a wide spectrum of target audience.

Changes in the market place have become a constant phenomenon. As a service provider, a financial services and banking professional needs to keep him updated with what is going on in the market place. This has become more necessary as the urge of a customer for information has been on the increase. They seek information so that their decision-making is well informed.

There are many changes in the product, services and the regulatory environment. Organizations come out with new product feature regularly. It is important for every professional to know these developments. Such information is easily available from the print media. These may include articles on housing loans, rates of interest, modifications in the schemes as announced by the RBI, schemes of competitor banks and the economic scenario.

The knowledge about these would help one to project a professional image and view with emphasis on how the customer could benefit from the same. It gives credibility and authenticity to information, which are the corner stones of the customer retention strategy. Meaningful customer interaction can take place only when one is able to provide information that is current and useful and is easily assimilated. That calls for a lot of practice at collecting, collating and classifying data and information.

The key skills that the ISAS Project tries to inculcate are:

Identify sources of information in the print media

Gain knowledge on what kind of information is available in each source

Collect and collate information

Sift through information and decide what to dump and what to keep

Analyze and organize the information

Group learning

Present the information individually and as a team

Draw conclusions from the information collected

ISAS-Seminar Presentation

1.4 ISAS

The following points need to be followed for the project:

Student groups will normally consist of four to five students each.

A project will be allotted to a group and will consist of a theme (or main subject).

This theme will be divided into four to five sub projects (or sub themes) for allotment to the individual members of a group.

Each group will identify a leader who will co-ordinate the presentation. Each team member will make a presentation for approximately five minutes on the project allotted to the group.

Students will need to create a scrapbook diary for the documentation of the project.

Students should use current material from the print media (not more than one month old prior to the date of commencement of the project).

This could include newspapers, general interest magazines and financial/business/investment publications.

Internet cannot be a substitute for print media.

Students should paste the culled material onto the scrapbook, neatly under the appropriate section.

Students should submit the scrapbook to the course coordinator, two days prior to the date of presentation.

All the members of the group should sign the scrapbook.

The scrapbook should clearly mention the sources of the information, and also present a conclusion based on the information collected and analysed in the form of a 1-page Executive Summary.

The evaluation criteria for the project will be:

Documentation of the scrapbook – 50%

Presentation (Body language, attire, group coordination, quality of slides, analysis, conclusion and presentation skills) – 30%

Query handling (Knowledge of the subject, confidence and accuracy of answers) – 20%

English EBC Evaluation will also take place as part of ISAS presentation. The following points describe the English EBC evaluation criteria:

Spoken English language: 50%

Conversation skills: 30%

Written english: 20%

Methodology

Evaluation Criteria

ISAS 1.5

Dos:

Formal dress should be worn by all partiticipants on the presentation day.

There should be one leader who introduces and summarizes.

Summarization and Conclusion are very important.

Presentation should mention the sources from where data is collected.

All persons in the team should know all the topics.

Dont’s:

Not more than five slides per person.

Do not have to present all the information collected.

Do not exceed the time limit of five minutes per person.

The students need to collate information on the following topics:

Company profile:

A company profile gives deep information about the strategies and offerings of an organization. Collate the company profiles of some of the important companies in the BFSI sector:

ICICI Bank

One Public Sector Bank (to be provided by faculty)

One Private Sector Bank (A competitor of ICICI Bank to be provided by faculty)

One Cooperative Bank (to be provided by faculty)

Presentation guidelines – (Structure of the organization, Top Management, Vision, Mission and Values, No. of branches, No. of ATMs, how old is the organization etc.)

Banks as financial service providers:

Over a period of time, the role of bank has changed from simply providing basic banking services to positioning themselves as Financial Services Providers. Discuss the following services provided by banks under the role of provider of the allied services, in detail:

Distribution

Collection of taxes and bills

DeMAT accounts

Safe keeping

Advisory services

Comparison of savings account products (any one out of regular, woman, child and senior citizen account):

Savings bank accounts are meant to promote the habit of saving among the citizens while allowing them to use their funds when required. The main advantage of Savings Bank Account is its high liquidity and safety.

ISAS Presentation: Dos and Dont’s

Topics

1.6 ISAS

Compare the savings account products of the following banks:

ICICI Bank

One Public Sector Bank (to be provided by faculty)

One Private Sector Bank (A competitor of ICICI Bank to be provided by faculty)

One Cooperative Bank (to be provided by faculty)

Comparison of Equity or Debt or Balanced Mutual Funds (any one type of fund only):

Mutual funds make investing possible in an assortment of investment instruments, such as stocks, money markets and bonds. Analyse and compare any of the three (equity/debt/ balanced mutual funds) provided by:

ICICI Prudential

HDFC Mutual Fund

Axis Mutual Fund

SBI Mutual Fund

Comparison of online/DeMat trading accounts:

Online Trading allows you to buy and sell shares on exchange through the Internet. It is a truly powerful medium that helps you to directly control your investments. Analyze and compare the features of online trading accounts of the following providers:

ICICIDirect

Kotak Securities

HDFC Securities

Religare

Comparison of Health Insurance products:

Health Insurance protects the policy holder and his/her family against any financial contingency arising due to a medical emergency. It is popularly known as mediclaim in India. This policy provides for reimbursement of Hospitalisation/Domiciliary treatment expenses for illness/ disease or accidental injury. Collate the products and services of 4 key providers and present the comparisons information on the following aspects:

ICICI Lombard

New India Assurance

Max Bupa Health

Apollo Munich Health Insurance

Comparison of Term Plans/Money Back/ULIPs(any one type of life insurance only):

Life Insurance is the fastest growing sector in India since 2000 as Government allowed Private players and FDI up to 26% and recently Cabinet approved a proposal to increase it to 49%. Life Insurance protects the policy holder and his/her family against any financial contingency arising due to death of the policy holder. It is a popular method of savings and investment used in India.

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance

SBI Life Insurance

Life Insurance Corporation (LIC)

Max Life Insurance

ISAS 1.7

Role and function of Regulators in Financial Markets:

In India, the financial system is regulated with the help of independent regulators, associated with the field of insurance, banking, commodity market, and capital market and also the field of pension funds. It is therefore important for participants entering the BFSI sector to know the role and funcation of the regulators:

SEBI

IRDA

RBI

Current Account variants of ICICI Bank only:

Current Accounts are meant for business puproses. Gather information about the following current account variants of ICICI Bank:

Local Current Account

Roaming Current Account

Smart Business Account

Comparison of Home Loan Products:

Analyze the different home loan products provided by five different banks. Understand and compare all the features and arrive at a conclusion about the relative attractiveness and suitability of various products provided by the following providers:

ICICI Bank

State Bank of India

HDFC

IDBI

LIC Housing Finance

Tax Saving Instruments – Relative Merits:

Government encourages long term savings by individuals by providing them certain tax benefits for investment in certain specified saving instruments. Understand and compare the features and benefits of the following Tax Saving instruments for the salaried individuals:

Public Provident Fund (PPF)

National Savings Certificate (NSC)

Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS)

National Pension System (NPS)

Technology driven service delivery in ICICI:

Technology has changed the face of the world and the pace of life. The impact of technology has led to unprecedented changes in the service industry. It has helped the market players redefine the way they have been operating. New distribution channels have evolved with the advent of technology that has enhanced the ability to reach customers.

Impact of Mobile technologies and benefits to customers

Impact of Social Media and benefits to customers

EVaults

Mobile Wallet and benefits

Data Analytics

1.8 ISAS

Credit cards:

The usage of credit cards has become a rising trend among the customers. The term ‘plastic money’ has come into vogue because people have found this to be an easier mode of buying goods. However, along with easy buy comes the risk of defaulting. The major problem in the credit card sector is the increasing number of defaulters. Discuss on the following aspects:

Different categories of credit cards and their features

Factors that lead to defaulting

Credit risk management techniques

Advantages of ICICI Bank Credit Cards

Comparison of personal loan products:

Analyze the different personal loan products provided by four different banks. Understand and compare all the features and arrive at a conclusion about the relative attractiveness and suitability of various products provided by the following providers:

ICICI Bank

HDFC Bank

Axis Bank

Kotak Mahindra Bank

Comparison of auto loan products:

Analyze the different auto loan products provided by four different banks. Understand and compare all the features and arrive at a conclusion about the relative attractiveness and suitability of various products provided by the following providers:

ICICI Bank

HDFC Bank

SBI