

 Why is it important?
 Who wants commercial awareness?
 Questions you may be asked to demonstrate it
 Motivation-based interviews
 Further information

Employers keep asking about “commercial awareness”: what do

they mean and how can I show them that I have it?

 Commercial awareness could be summed up as an

interest in business and an understanding of the
wider environment in which an organisation
operates: its customers, competitors and suppliers.
 It might also encompass understanding of the economics
of the business and understanding the business
benefits and commercial realities from both the
organisation's and the customer's perspectives.
 Generally it includes awareness of the need for
efficiency, cost-effectiveness, customer care and a
knowledge of the market place in which the
company operates (current economic climate and major
competitors, for example)

Why is it important?

 It is a major criteria for selecting candidates (see the

table below). A survey by the CBI and UUK in 2009 found
that 35% of employers were dissatisfied with the
business and customer awareness of graduates.
One major consultancy felt that a detailed
understanding of the company, the issues facing
the industry in which they operate, professional
qualifications offered and job roles within the
company was even more important at interview than
answers to competency-based questions
 It shows your commitment to the job you are applying
for.
 It gives you more to discuss in an interview
 It improves your knowledge of a particular industry or
company and may allow you to spot career opportunities
you hadn't previously considered.

Who wants commercial awareness?

 Financial employers – banks, accountancy firms.

 Law firms.
 The “Top Ten” Skills % of
shortages among employers
HOW IT WORKS IN PRACTICE graduates surveyed
A few years ago the NHS interviewed
1 Commercial Awareness 67%
in the Careers Service for their
management scheme. 2 Communication Skills 64%
 3 Leadership              33%
Eight candidates were interviewed but 4 Ability to work in a team 33%
only one of these was put forward to 5 Problem solving 32%
the final round.
6 Conceptual ability 21%
Subject Knowledge &
The candidate put forward had an 7 19%
competence
average academic record and
although pleasant, didn't seem to 8 Foreign languages     19%
have any skills or attributes that a 9 Numeracy 19%
number of the other candidates didn't 10 Good general education 15%
also possess.
Source: Association of Graduate Recruiters
“Skills for Graduates in the 21st Century”
I asked the interviewer why this
individual had been selected. She said Consultancies.
 it was quite simple. He had spent a Employers recruiting for sales, marketing
and day at a hospital shadowing a senior customer service positions
manager and his knowledge of the  Al
NHS, how it works and the skills m
required was far better than any of os
the other candidates she had seen. t

any graduate recruiter!

Questions about your work experience

 What skills did you develop from your work experience? Any transferable skills?
 What would you do differently if you worked there again?
 What was your experience of working in a team?
 What is the management structure of the company? How
effective is this structure?
 Can you describe any good leadership skills you
witnessed?
 What is their recruitment and retention like?
 What would you do differently if you were in charge?
 Have there been recent changes in the industry the
company operates in?
 What market share does the company they have?
 Is it a Global Industry? If yes, what are the implications?
 Have they been in the press?
 What is the company's unique selling point?

For help answering these see our Answers to 150 common interview questions

Motivation-based interviews
Some organisations such as the Financial Services Authority (FSA) have changed their whole
selection process to focus on motivation. The FSA reviewed their graduate selection process as
applications had increased 300% due to the recession, costing more staff time and money.

Analysing candidate performance revealed that competency-based questions were no longer a

reliable indicator of a candidate’s ability. Assessors were also surprised by the number of
candidates who were unable to say

 why they had applied to the organisation

 what the organisation did
 what appealed to them about the job
 how they could contribute.
 "The public sector is increasingly
required to meet targets and
therefore values commercial
  awareness in addition to a
commitment to public services"
Many candidates had failed to research the organisation
sufficiently, only looking at the company website and making no Vitae
attempt to talk to current employees and alumni at the
organisation or to understand the core values and culture.

As motivation and business acumen were the root cause of these issues, they looked at
methods to test this at earlier stages in selection.

The following changes were introduced:

 Introduction of an
online financial  “Never say, ‘I want to be in
analysis test to publishing because I love books.
assess applicants'
ability to understand Of course that is important but
and interpret
you need to make it very clear
financially related that you understand publishing
information
is a profit-orientated business
(business acumen) like any other
 Removal of
competency based
questions from the .... Being clued up on the issues
application form and facing the industry—from the
replacement with changing role of the author to
motivation and digital rights and intellectual
business acumen property—is impressive to an
questions: employer and work experience is
often the best way to develop
this commercial awareness". 
an employer or who did not have the capability to be successful.

The Bookseller
Making the form harder also meant that candidates making
lots of ill-considered applications (the scattergun approach) did
not even complete the form: they had over six thousand
unsubmitted applications.

This also resulted in:

 25% more applications rejected at application and online

test stage saving £30K in telephone interview costs alone
 70% of those reaching final stage assessments received
an offer, resulting in happier assessors and candidates.

Some other companies have reviewed their recruitment methods to take this into account. In these
companies interviewers drill down to the core motivations of the candidate, leading to a higher
percentage of offers of employment being accepted rather than applicants waiting for a better offer

Companies want to see that the applicant has gone the extra mile of meeting people on
campus and has made a well informed decision on the companies they will apply to.

How to get commercial awareness:


 It may seem obvious but read the employer's
brochure and check their web site for background
information - don't just look at the "careers" section but
also at the sections for clients, potential clients and
staff. Review their annual report
 Find out who the organisation's competitors
are: you may well be asked this and which ones you
have applied to! Also try to find out the size of the
workforce, the turnover and profits of the company, its
share price and key activities which interest you.
 out so much.

 She was offered the job.




HOW IT WORKS IN PRACTICE
A Kent graduate applied for an
internal audit position with an
accountancy firm. We advised her to
do in-depth research on what internal
audit involved using Google.
At interview candidates were asked to
explain what they knew about internal
audit and she managed to speak for
nearly five minutes about this. Later
she was told that none of the other
candidates knew enough about
internal audit to talk for more than a
few seconds, and they had been
greatly impressed that she had found

Employers may look for evidence of CA in your answers to

general questions:

 Tell me about your vacation job last summer.

 Tell me about a time when you worked in a team to solve
a problem
 What is your greatest achievement?
 Which living person do you most admire?

Or you may be asked more specific questions to demonstrate

your commercial awareness:








 What do you know about our organisation?

 Why do you wish to enter the .... industry?

 What are our main products/services?
 What are the problems facing our industry at this time?
 What changes have there been in our industry recently?
 Who are our competitors? What are the differences
between them and us?
 Who are our clients?
 What do you think the job you would be doing entails?
 Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
 What salary do you expect?
 How do you keep up to date with what is going on in
business?
 What story in the business press has interested you most
recently?
 What is the current Bank of England base rate?
 How many euros would you get today in exchange for
£10?
 What is the FTSE 100? Did the FTSE go up or down
yesterday?

 What was our share price this morning?
 What skills did you develop from your work experience? Any transferable skills?
 What would you do differently if you worked there again?
 What was your experience of working in a team?
 What is the management structure of the company? How effective is this structure?
 Can you describe any good leadership skills you witnessed?
 What is their recruitment and retention like?
 What would you do differently if you were in charge?
 Have there been recent changes in the industry the company operates in?
 What market share does the company they have?
 Is it a Global Industry? If yes, what are the implications?
 Have they been in the press?
 What is the company's unique selling point?

 Why are you applying for this position

 Canola Re-financing Scheme

 ZTBL model village establishment
 Financing package for Karachi
  Crop Insurance Scheme
 Crop Maximization Project- II
 green Revolution Scheme
 One Window Operations/ Zarkhaiz Scheme
 White Revolution Scheme- ZTBL & PDDC
 White Revolution Scheme- ZTBL & Nestlé
 Sada Bahar Scheme (SBS)
 Awami Zarai Scheme- AZS (Farm Credit)
 Awami Zarai Scheme- AZS (Non-Farm Credit)
 Rural Development Scheme

Red Meat financing package for sheep/ goat rearers

»» Corporate Vision kss kisan support services Nov,10 2005

»» Brief on ZTBL

»» Corporate Objectives

»» Transformation of ZTBL to R.F.I of the country and

road to excellence.

Corporate Vision

Dedicated to serve the needs of the farming community, by delivering financial products and technical
services on a competitive and sustainable basis, in a convenient , efficient and professional manner,
leading to success of the Bank and the farmers.

Back to Top 

Corporate Mission

To play effective role in the promotion of economic growth, by enhancing the availability of credit to the
agriculture sector, through reliable access to sustainable financing, special lending programs, technical
assistance, and other products & services, and to promote career development opportunities for
increasing professionalism and technical proficiencies of employees.

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Brief on ZTBL

Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) erstwhile Agricultural Development Bank

of Pakistan (ADBP) is the premier financial institution geared towards the
development of agriculture sector through provision of financial services and
technical know how. The restructuring of former ADBP is being carried out
with the aim to uplift the agriculture and rural sector by raising farm
productivity, streamlining the institutional credit and increasing income
generating capacity of the farming community. ZTBL was incorporated as a
Public Limited Company on 14th December, 2002 through repeal of ADB
Ordinance of 1961.

The new corporate structure redefines the bank's status as a public limited
company registered under companies Ordinance'1984 with an independent
Board of Directors which aims at ensuring good governance, autonomy,
delivering high quality

ZTBL is a key R.F.I of Pakistan providing affordable, rural and agriculture

financial/non-financial services to the rural Pakistan , comprising 68 % of
the total population. The Bank through a country-wide network of 341
branches is serving around half a million clients annually and over one
million accumulated account holders with the average loan size of around
Rs.89,000 serving 65%, 31% & 4 % of subsistence, economic and large
growers respectively.

The total assets of the Bank stand at Rs.84 billion with authorized capital of
Rs.25 billion as of 31.12.2005, with a nation-wide working strength
comprises 5500 employees. The share of ZTBL in total national institutional
agricultural credit remains around 35%.

ZTBL was incorporated as a Public Limited Company on 14th December,

2002 through repeal of formal Agricultural Development Bank of Pakistan
Ordinance of 1961. Thereby transforming the bank as a corporate entity to
serve as a R. F.I

Back to Top 

Corporate Objectives

Develop and operate as a financially and operationally sustainable R.F.I of

the country.
Assist rural community, particularly the small farmers, in raising their
productivity and income levels through timely delivery of credit, advisory
and ancillary services.

Build ZTBL's image as a proactive, client friendly, financially & operationally

sustainable with indigenous product deployment.
Establish and provide backward and forward linkages to strengthen agri.
value added commodity chains.
Engage in public - private and wholesale - retail partnership to deepen
outreach and reduce operating cost.
To function as a rural commercial bank to mobilize rural capital formation
and to commercialize the agri. sector by delivering the true value of credit to
the client. Provide a wide range of risk insurance products to its clients.
Open up it venues of operation to Domestic & International Banking Industry
to avail comparative advantages.

Back to Top 

Transformation of ZTBL to R.F.I of the country and road to excellence.

Healthy and well-functioning rural finance markets are directly related to

achieving the two key national policy objectives of accelerating
rural/agriculture growth and reducing poverty.

The realization of these objectives depends on the simultaneity of

developments in rural finance and non-financial markets to foster the
creation of diverse sources of rural finance to build sustainable financial
institutions, and stimulate products and capital flows in the rural sector. For
this, rural finance must be seen as an integral part of equitable development
within a framework of macro economic stability. The ongoing corporatize
restructuring lays the basis for fundamental reforms for rural finance market
development.

The recurring financial drain, pursuing the old rural finance paradigm and
the narrowing fiscal space have also promoted a shift in Government
strategy that now seeks viable intermediaries for enhancing outreach.

For the majority, access to affordable rural finance services is also important
to enable them to compete in the post-World Trade Organization scenario.
Inability to compete because of high financial costs could reduce income of
the majority of farmers and rural clients, particularly the small and
subsistence clients. Lack of access to affordable rural finance services will
also prevent the clients from switching to non-farm activities.

The ZTBL restructuring plan covering the following; (i) governance: establish
an environment that facilitates good governance and accountability; (ii)
systems: modernize operations through use of technology, networking, and
communication tools; (iii) business processes: streamline products and
delivery systems so as to reduce transaction costs, simplify operations, and
increase outreach; (iv) products and services: introduce products and
services that are financially economically viable; (v) human resource
development: improve standards and skills of management and staff and
strengthen training capacity; and (vi) IT: establish new hardware and
software platform to support MIS, accounting system including forensic
accounting, and risk management functions.

The reforms shall establish ZTBL as a key R.F.I of the country, aiming to
outreach annual rural clientele to 600,000 by the end of year 2008. By
expanding its private sector role, the bank aims to establish network of high
tech rural and agri. financial services through intermediations under public
private participation and whole-sale -retail lending mechanism.

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Restructuring plan under RFSDP

To operate on commercial lines to expand its

outreach, the Bank is under going a process of

organizational, financial and functional

restructuring

Formation of the Bank’s subsidiary KSSL

subsequently endorsed in 20th meeting of ZTBL

Board held on November 16, 2005.

The Security Exchange Commission of Pakistan

allowed incorporation of KSSL, a Subsidiary of the

Bank
Supervised agriculture credit scheme

Under this scheme agriculture loans are given for short, medium and long term loans upto Rs.1.00
million per borrower/per case. The loans are sanctioned for In Fats, livestock, orchard, tractor,
agricultural machinery, tubewell and irrigation facilities etc. under the scheme besides provision of
credit, information are to the farmers for planning the farm, production, guidance for implementation
of the scheme, marketing and repayment of loans.

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Zarkhaiz (one window operation)

For timely and conveniently provision of credit to purchase inputs, loans are provided to the borrowers
under One Window Operation being conducted twice a week during Rabi and Kharif seasons. All the
related departments i.e. Revenue, Agriculture, Post Office etc. attend the focal points, established at
convenient places. The farmers get their pass books prepared and loan applications processed on the
same day whereas sanction payments are made within three days at Branch. For Rabi Crops one
window operation from October to January and for Kharif Crops from April to September each year
which is extendable as per requirement of particular area.

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White Revolution Scheme

PDDC (Pakistan Dairy Development Company) shall recommend good dairy

farmer to ZTBL and send the loan request to the bank along with necessary
documents. Initially the scheme will be for modernization of 5,000 farm
during 5 years period. The modernization of dairy farm will be carried out
through financing milk cooling tank, generator, voltage stabilizer, hot water
gezer, water pump, cooling pad and other dairy equipment. . . . Read More
»

 Back to Top 

Sairab Pakistan Scheme

Water plays vital role to improve per acre yield. Out of total 31 million
hectors area of Pakistan, 22 million hectors is cultivated while 9 million
hectors is culturable waste mainly due to non-availability of water. More
over increase in water supply being a key input is required to raise cropping
intensity and hence the income of the farmer. Since inception ZTBL financed
over 143000 Tubewells amounting to Rs.15 billion. For raising irrigated area
to accelerate the economic growth and to facilitate the farmers ZTBL has
signed collaboration agreement with M/s KSB Pumps Company Limited
(Company) on 28th May, 2007. Farmers of atleast 3 acres land holding will
be eligible to avail financing under the scheme provided loan proposal is
feasible. ZTBL will disburse Rs.6 billion to the farmers for installation of
30,000 Tubewells/Turbines during the next five years. KSB Pumps Company
will provide quality machinery/equipment for efficient pumping of water. The
company shall also provide after sale service including replacement of
parts/availability of spares etc. through its network of dealers. . . Read More
»
 Back to Top 

Sada bahar scheme

For providing timely input loans for crops and working capital for poultry and
fishery etc, the Bank has launched a Sada Bahar Scheme. Assessment for
inputs requirements for the whole year is made at the time of first
application. The amount so assessed is treated as Revolving Limit provided it
is within the security limit. The Managers are authorized to sanction such
loan limits upto Rs.O.500 million. Scheme's main features are as under:

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TEA FINANCING Scheme

In order to increase the tea cultivation in District Mansehra, Swat, Mutta,

Shangla par and Dir in Malakand Division, tea financing scheme has been
introduced which would not only save the hard earned foreign exchange but
would also help improve the socio-economic condition of the inhabitants of
the area. The salient future of the scheme are given as under:

Back to Top 

Crop maximization project

Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MINF AL), Government of

Pakistan has launched Crop Maximization Project in 109 villages in various
districts through out the country to increase the productivity/yield of crops.
Under the project MINFAL has to provide funds of Rs.299.893 million to
ZTBL for disbursing loans to the project farmers for purchase of inputs. Till
the time funds of Rs.168 Million have since been received by the Bank for
the purpose. These funds are to be revolved for meeting input credit needs
in the project villages till 30th June, 2014 after which Bank will return the
principal amount to MINFAL. Accordingly Credit needs of the project farmers
are being met by respective ZTBL branches through Village Organizations
formed for the purpose.Duly the currency of the project Bank is authorized
to charge 4% per annum mark-up on loans to project growers to meet its
operational cost, however in case of default Bank's normal rate of return i.e.
9% p.a. will be applicable.
$17.179bn

Inflation CPI% (Jul 10- 14.20%

Mar 11)
Exports (Jul 10-Mar 11) $17.80bn
Imports (Jul 10 - Mar 11) $29.02bn
Trade Balance (Jul 10 - ($11.22bn)
Mar 11)
Current A/C (Jul 10- Mar $99mn
11)
Remittances (Jul 10 - Mar $8.02bn
11)
Foreign Invest (Jul 10- $1.32bn
Mar 11)
Revenue (Jul 10 Mar 11) Rs.1012 bn
Foreign Debt (Dec 10) $58.39 bn
Domestic Debt (Dec 10) Rs.5497.4 bn
Repatriated Profit (Jul- $491 mn
Mar 11)
LSM Growth (Feb 11) 0.98%
GDP Growth FY10E 4.10%
Per Capita Income FY10 $ 1,051
Population 175.87mn

Debt/Equity Ratio

What Does Debt/Equity Ratio Mean?

A measure of a company's financial leverage calculated by dividing its total

liabilities by stockholders' equity. It indicates what proportion of equity and
debt the company is using to finance its assets.
 

Note: Sometimes only interest-bearing, long-term debt is used instead of total liabilities in the calculation.

Also known as the Personal Debt/Equity Ratio, this ratio can be applied to personal financial statements
as well as corporate ones. 

  

Watch: The Debt To Equity Ratio

Investopedia explains Debt/Equity Ratio

A high debt/equity ratio generally means that a company has been aggressive in financing its growth with
debt. This can result in volatile earnings as a result of the additional interest expense.

If a lot of debt is used to finance increased operations (high debt to equity), the company could potentially
generate more earnings than it would have without this outside financing. If this were to increase earnings
by a greater amount than the debt cost (interest), then the shareholders benefit as more earnings are
being spread among the same amount of shareholders. However, the cost of this debt financing
may outweigh the return that the company generates on the debt through investment and business
activities and become too much for the company to handle. This can lead to bankruptcy, which would
leave shareholders with nothing.

The debt/equity ratio also depends on the industry in which the company operates. For example, capital-
intensive industries such as auto manufacturing tend to have a debt/equity ratio above 2, while personal
computer companies have a debt/equity of under 0.5.