Case Study on Entrepreneurship: Larry Page

Business Analysis

The Boundaryless Career: Modern Contemperory Perspective on Career

Human Resource Management

Concepts of Throughput Accounting and Theory of Constraints

Financial Management

Kaizen – Understanding the Japanese Business Philosophy of Continuous Improvement

Operations Management

Role of Leaders in Shaping Organizational Culture

Management Principles

The Diamond-Water Paradox in Economics

The concept of the value of goods was one of the most actively discussed topics by economists in the 18-19th century. In “A Study of the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations,” published in 1776, Adam Smith voiced the question that would later become known as the diamond-water paradox. It sounded like this: “There is nothing more useful than water: but you can hardly buy anything with it… Diamond, on the contrary, has almost no use-value; but a very large number of other goods can often be obtained in exchange for it”. The classical economists Adam Smith and Karl Marx considered a product’s value concerning how it satisfies a human need. The price was associated with the effort and labor expended to meet a specific demand. Besides, classical economists used the concepts of use-value and exchange-value, which determine the nature and exchange value of products. Later, in the Continue reading

Abey Francis

Econometric Forecasting Models

Econometric model building holds considerable promise as a method of forecasting demand. The best  starting point towards an understanding of the basis of econometric forecasting is regression analysis. But  the difficulty with regression analysis is that it is used to forecast a single dependent variable based on the  value and the relations between one or more independent variables and each of these independent variables is  assumed to be exogenous or outside the influence of the dependent variable. This may be true in many  situations. But unfortunately, in most broad economic situations an assumption that each of the variable,  is independent is  unrealistic. For example, let us assume that demand is a function of Gross National Product (GNP), price and  advertising. In  regression  terms we would assume that all three independent variables are exogenous to  the system and hence are not influenced by the level of demand itself or by one Continue reading

Abey Francis

Defensive and Aggressive Securities

Defensive securities are kind of securities that exhibits less volatility than the market as a whole (i.e., its BETA is less than 1.0), providing lower, but more stable, returns. Investors often acquire defensive securities during periods of financial turmoil or uncertainty. Defensive securities tend to remain more stable in value than the overall market, especially when prices in general are falling. In times of market downturn, investors tend to seek defensive securities to provide a steady rate of return, or at least to lose less money than the market as a whole. Examples include stocks in utility companies and the health care industry. Defensive securities include stocks in companies whose products or services are always in demand and are not as price-sensitive to changes in the economy as other stocks. Aggressive in finance means relating to an investment or approach to investing that seeks above-average returns by taking above-average risks. Continue reading

Abey Francis

Keynesian View of Inflation

John Maynard Keynes, one of the most influential economists of the 20th century, relates inflation to a price level that comes into existence after the stage of full employment. While, the quantity approach emphasizes the volume of money to be responsible for rise in the price level. Keynes distinguishes between two types of rise in prices (1) rise in prices accompanied by increase in production, and (2) rise in prices not accompanied by increase in production. If an economy is working at a low   level, with a large number of unemployed men and un-utilized resources then expansion of money or some other factors leading to an increase in demand will result not only in a rise in the price level but also rise in the volume of goods and services in an economy. This will continue until all unemployed men find employment and capital and other resources are more Continue reading

Abey Francis

Diversity Management

The world’s increasing globalization trend demands more interaction between people from a vast diverse of cultures, beliefs, and backgrounds than the past. Today, people no longer live and work in an insulated marketplace. The reality is they are now part of a worldwide (or commonly mentioned as flatten) economy with competition coming from nearly every angle of the globe. For this reason, businesses need to be open to change and accept the concept of diversity to become more creative. In daily conversation, the word of “diversity” has the meaning of differences or variety. However, in the business world and in the business textbook, diversity often refers to the many differences present among people today in workplace as well as marketplace that were not aware of by most people in the past. Diversity management is often referred as acknowledging, understanding, accepting, valuing, and celebrating differences among people with respect to age, Continue reading

Abey Francis

PESTLE Analysis of Starbucks

Starbucks started off as a small coffee shop in 1971. The founders consisted of Gerald Baldwin, Gordon Bowker and Ziev Siegl who exchanged their ideas and launched their first outlet at the Pike Place Market in Seattle. In the early 1980s Howard Schultz joined Starbucks and has later felt the need that Starbucks needed to market themselves. He wanted to create a brand image that would attract customers and help them to differentiate their coffee outlet from other competitors. Schultz visited Italy and was ‘impressed with their popularity and culture.’ He thought it would be a good idea to bring the espresso bars, lattes and mochas to Seattle. Throughout the years Schultz has managed to differentiate Starbucks, creating a very strong brand image in the most unique way in American’s minds, gaining its competitive advantage through the comforting physical environment that they adapt encouraging the lounging experience. Schultz successfully embedded Continue reading

Abey Francis