Role of Advertising in Industrial Marketing

Advertising is the most preferred promotional tool in the consumer market  rather than in the industrial market. It is preferred less by the industrial  marketers compared to personal selling as they get to meet the customers  personally and understand their needs better in personal selling. But still  advertising is used to a good extent by the industrial marketers to assist their  sales force and intermediaries to generate more leads. Advertising plays an  important role in industrial marketing strategy by supporting and supplementing  personal selling efforts. The advertising budget for industrial goods is far less  compared to that of consumer goods. But, to have an increased efficiency and  effectiveness of the overall marketing strategy, industrial marketer should have  an integrated and well planned advertisement strategy that blends properly with  personal selling efforts. Before understanding the role of advertising in industrial marketing, we must be  aware that there are certain forces that Continue reading

Multinational Corporations and Accounts Receivable Management

Multinational Corporations (MNC’s)  grant trade credit to customers, both domestically and internationally, because they  expect the investment in receivables to be profitable, either by expanding sales volume or by retaining sales that otherwise would be lost to competitors. Some companies also earn a profit  on the financing charges they levy on credit sales. The need to scrutinize credit terms is particularly important in countries experiencing rapid  rates of inflation. The incentive for customers to defer payment, liquidating their debts with  less valuable money in the future, is great. Furthermore, credit standards abroad are often more  relaxed than in the home market, especially in countries lacking alternative sources of credit  for small customers. To remain competitive, MNCs may feel compelled to loosen their own  credit standards. Finally, the compensation system in many companies tends to reward higher  sales more than it penalizes an increased investment in accounts receivable. Local managers frequently Continue reading

Electronic Cheque Payment System

Electronic cheques address the electronic needs of millions of businesses, which today exchange traditional paper cheques with the other vendors, consumers and government. The e-cheque method was deliberately created to work in much the same way as conventional paper cheque. An account holder will issue   an   electronic   document   that   contains   the   name   of   the   financial   institution,   the payer’s   account   number,   the   name   of   payee   and   amount   of   cheque.   Most of the information is in uncoded form. Like   a   paper   cheques   e-cheques   also   bear   the digital equivalent   of   signature:       a   computed   number   that   authenticates   the   cheque   from   the owner of the account. Digital chequing payment system seeks to Continue reading

Problems with Management Control Systems

Despite of the benefits, there are some issues with the implementation of management control system in an organization.They are: Magnitude of Change. Management control system is designed to cope with changes of a limited magnitude. While designing the control system certain as assumptions are made concerning the variables expected to change and the degree of change. Corrective actions are decided on the basis of-these-assumptions. For example, overtime may be decided on the assumption that five per cent of the employees will on an average be absent. When the magnitude of change is too high, the corrective action cannot work. For example, if 90 per cent of the employees remain absent, on a particular day due to a strike, management can do little to correct the change. Thus, the control system fails when the variables go outside the range, which the system was designed to handle. Time Rate of Change. Control Continue reading

Hypercompetition

Hypercompetition is a relatively new term in strategic management,  coined by Richard D’Aveni, professor of business strategy at the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College,  in his book “Hypercompetition: Managing the Dynamics of Strategic Maneuvering.” In this book he defines hypercompetition as; “an environment characterized by intense and rapid competitive moves, in which competitors must move quickly to build advantage and erode the advantage of their rivals.” Richard D’Aveni  (1994: 217-218) Hypercompetition results from the dynamics of strategic maneuvering among global and innovative combatants. It is a condition of rapidly escalating competition based on price-quality positioning, competition to create new know-how and establish first-mover advantage, competition to protect or invade established product or geographic markets, and competition based on deep pockets and the creating of even deeper pockets dalliances. In hypercompetitions the frequency, boldness, and aggressiveness of dynamic movement by the players accelerates to create a condition of constant disequilibrium Continue reading

Management Control in Services Organizations

The type of control which would be suitable for a particular firm depends upon the nature and complexities of its operations. A suitable control system has to be designed to suit the specific requirements of a particular firm. Service organizations are those organizations that provide intangible services. Service organizations include hotels, restaurants, and other lodging and eating establishments; barbershops, beauty parlors and other personal service; repair services; motion picture, television and other amusement and recreation services; legal services; and accounting, engineering, research/development, architecture and other professional service organizations. Characteristics of Service Organizations 1. Absence of Inventory: Services cannot be stored. If the services available today are not sold today, the revenue from these services is lost forever. In addition the resources available for sale in many service organizations are essentially fixed in the short run. A key variable in most service organizations therefore is the extent to which current capacity Continue reading