Three Approaches for Promoting Diversity in the Workplace

Though, diversity can have a wide range of meanings, some companies use the traditional Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) definition of diversity, which deals with differences in gender, racioethnicity, and age. Other companies tend to favor the broadest definitions of diversity, ones that encompass differences in gender, racioethnicity, age, physical abilities, qualities, and sexual orientation, as well as differences in attitudes, perspectives and background. Many individuals rely on a more detailed definition of diversity considering diverse people as being in the non-dominant social system who have been traditionally under research and under served. While there is no correct definition of diversity, the three diversity initiatives discussed in this article seem to target a definition that encompasses creating a diverse work environment that is inclusive to  everyone, specifically focusing on the inclusion of minorities and non minorities. Three Main Approaches to Workplace Diversity 1. Colorblind Approach The colorblind approach is similar Continue reading

Determinants of Capital Structure

Capital structure refers to the way a firm chooses to finance its assets and investments through some combination of equity, debt, or internal funds. It is in the best interests of a company to find the optimal ratio of debt to equity to reduce their risk of insolvency, continue to be successful and ultimately remain or to become profitable.  The capital structure of a concern depends upon a large number of factors such as leverage or trading on equity, growth of the company, nature and size of business, the idea of retaining control, flexibility of capital structure, requirements of investors, cost of floatation of new securities, timing of issue, corporate tax rate and the legal requirements. It is not possible to rank hem because all such factors are of different important and the influence of individual factors of a firm changes over a period of time. The factors influencing the Continue reading

Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA)

Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) method was introduced by Geoffrey Boothroyd since 1960s on automatic handling. This enables the use of  gathered data of previously done mistakes, speeding up the development process and accomplishing new philosophies and technologies to further ensure that the activities that are quicker and more precise in generating results can really reach this target. All aspects of design, development, manufacturability, total parts, assembly time, cost and modularity are considered in this analytical process. This process mainly focuses on enhancing the product to allow improvements in the manufacturing, quality, reliability, cost, time to market, and many other fields. Integration of discrete but highly interrelated issues of manufacturing processes and assembly occurs in DFMA. Through its use companies can make the full use of manufacturing processes that exist while minimizing the number of parts in an assembly. Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) is a system that Continue reading

Building a Successful Corporate Culture

Building a strategy-supportive corporate culture is important to successful strategy execution because it produces a work climate and organizational esprit de corps that thrive on meeting performance targets and being part of a winning effort. An organization’s culture emerges from why and how it does things the way it does, the values and beliefs that senior managers espouse, the ethical standards expected of organization members, the tone and philosophy underlying key policies, and the traditions the organization maintains. Culture thus concerns the atmosphere and feeling a company has and the style in which it gets things done. Very often, the elements of company culture originate with a founder or other early influential leaders who articulate the values, beliefs, and principles to which the company should adhere, and that then get incorporated into company policies, a creed of values statement, strategies, and operating practices. Over time, these values and practices become Continue reading

Project Management Knowledge Areas

Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements. Project management is accomplished through the application and integration of the project management processes of initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing. The project manager is the person responsible for accomplishing the project objectives. Managing a project includes: Identifying requirements Establishing clear and achievable objectives Balancing the competing demands for quality, scope, time and cost Adapting the specifications, plans, and approach to the different concerns and expectations of the various stakeholders. Project managers often talk of a ‘triple constraint’ – project scope, time and cost – in managing competing project requirements. Project quality is affected by balancing these three factors. High quality projects deliver the required product, service or result within scope, on time, and within budget. The relationship among these factors is such that if any one of the three Continue reading

Mergers and Acquisitions – Synergies through Consolidation

Synergy implies a situation where the combined firm is more valuable than the sum of the individual combining firms. It is defined as ‘two plus two equal to five’ (2+2>4) phenomenon. Synergy refers to benefits other than those related to economies of scale. Operating economies are one form of synergy benefits. But apart from operating economies, synergy may also arise from enhanced managerial capabilities, creativity, innovativeness, R&D and market coverage capacity due to the complementarily of resources and skills and a widened horizon of opportunities. An under valued firm will be a target for acquisition by other firms. However, the fundamental motive for the acquiring firm to takeover a target firm may be the desire to increase the wealth of the shareholders of the acquiring firm.  This is possible only if the value of the new firm is expected to be more than the sum of individual value of the Continue reading