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

Organizational Culture – Development and Importance

Management Principles

Ansoff Matrix Analysis of British Petroleum (BP)

British Petroleum (BP) Oil Company is the leading supplier and trader of energy on an international context. The company contributes to a critical role in making sure that the complex supply chain of energy operates in a manner that is efficient as well as effective over the whole world. In the recent past, the company has strived to bring together the supply, optimization of the products that flow in and also out of the assets of the company, and the activities associated with risk management in to one single function. This entails the supply as well as the trading activities that encompass the crude oil together with the oil products, the natural gas, chemicals, power, finance as well as shipping thus creating a clear distinction between the company and its competitors in consideration of the structure as well as the scale of the organization. The application of Ansoff Growth matrix Continue reading

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Introduction to Venture Capital

Concept of Venture Capital The term venture capital comprises of two words that is, “Venture” and “Capital”. Venture is a course of processing, the outcome of which is uncertain but to which is attended the risk or danger of “loss”. “Capital” means resources to start an enterprise. To connote the risk and adventure of such a fund, the generic name Venture Capital was coined. Venture capital is considered as financing of high and new technology based enterprises. It is said that Venture capital involves investment in new or relatively untried technology, initiated by relatively new and professionally or technically qualified entrepreneurs with inadequate funds. The conventional financiers, unlike Venture capitals, mainly finance proven technologies and established markets. However, high technology need not be pre-requisite for venture capital. Venture capital has also been described as ‘unsecured risk financing’. The relatively high risk of venture capital is compensated by the possibility of Continue reading

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Global Product Division Structure of MNE’s

Global Product division structure contains the functions necessary to the specific goods or services a product/service division produces. The parental organization has headquarters divisions for different major product categories with respective resources, human and others. Overseas subsidiaries producing a particular product or class of product have to report to headquarters division responsible for that product or class of products. Global Product Division Structure locates manufacturing and value creation activities in appropriate global locations to increase responsiveness to competitive opportunities, efficiency, quality, or innovation. Global product divisions are responsible for Global Product Design and operate in divisional, cluster, or holding company formats. Global Product divisions have little in common. They are highly independent of each other. Following figure gives a simple model of Global Product Division Structure. Ford adopts this structure, abandoning its Global Geographic Structure. Today most of the multinational enterprises with their diverse acquisitions world-wide have diverse product portfolios. Continue reading

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Rights of Mutual Fund Investors

There are certain rights enjoyed by the investors with respect to service standards that they can expect from mutual funds: Investors are entitled to receive dividends declared in a scheme, within 30 days. Redemption proceeds have to be sent to the investor within 10 business days from the date receipt of such request by the AMC. Delays in this respect will lead to the AMC paying a penal interest on the proceeds at a rate specified by SEBI from time to time. (The current rate is 15% and is to be borne by the AMC or sponsor and not the fund). If an investor fails to claim the dividend or redemption proceeds he has the right to claim it up to a period of 3 years from the due date at the then prevailing NAV. After the expiry of this period, investors will be eligible to receive the NAV prevailing Continue reading

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International Asset Protection

Company’s investments and other assets in foreign countries may face the risk of expropriation. Governments are therefore concerned about the protection of the interests of their national companies in the foreign countries. The potential risk was more before the worldwide liberalization set in the 1980s. Important protective measures in this respect include the following: Coercion and Pressure Until the Second World War, home countries used military force and coercion to ensure that host governments would give foreign investors prompt, adequate, and effective compensation in cases of expropriation, under a concept known as the international standard of fair dealing. It may be noted that the home countries of the companies involved were developed ones and the host countries were developing nations and these host countries had little to say about this standard. In a two conference held at The Hague in 1930 and at Montevideo in 1933, participating developing countries got Continue reading

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Positioning Strategies in Marketing

Positioning is the strategy of differentiating your product from that of the competition, in the mind of the prospect. A positioning strategy may be developed from the product’s attributes, its specific uses, the type of uses, the product class or category, or the competition. Each of these represents a different approach to developing a positioning strategy. However, all of them have the ultimate objective of developing or reinforcing an image in the minds of the audience. Following are steps of positioning strategies: 1. Positioning by Product Characteristics/Consumer Benefits a) This is a commonly used strategy and consists of associating an object with a product characteristic or customer benefit. “Colgate is a cavity fighter.” The ability to fight cavities is a product attribute that translates into a consumer benefit. b) Sometimes, a new product can be positioned with respect to product characteristics that competitors have ignored. “The toothpaste with clove oil.” Continue reading

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