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

Five Important Organizational Cultural Models

Management Principles

Market-Based and Resource-Based Theories of Competitive Advantage

The competitive advantage, a concept introduced by Michael Porter in 1985 has become one of the key concepts in management science today. A firm is said to have a competitive advantage when it is implementing a value creating strategy not simultaneously being implemented by any current or potential competitors. Over the past 25 years, a large body of literature engaged in analyzing how organisations can achieve and, more importantly, sustain a competitive advantage. During this process, two different perspectives or ‘schools of thought’ emerged. The first school of thought is that an organization’s competitive ability depends more on the external environment and industry attractiveness. This perspective is referred to as the market based view and was largely triggered by Porter.  The second school of thought is based on the internal environment i.e. the fundamental attributes of an organisation, in terms of strengths and weaknesses determine a firm’s ability to compete. Continue reading

Abey Francis

Role and Significance of Budgetary Control

Budgetary control has the existence of broad and narrow sense. Broad budgetary control sees the entire budget system as a control system, which it is the formation of a prior, during and after the whole process control system. Through the budget preparation, budget evaluation, reward and punishment by monitoring of budget execution. Narrow budgetary control prepares a good budget as a basis for performance management and standards on a regular basis to compare actual performance with the budget analyze differences in the results and take corrective measures, which is mainly referring to something in the process of budget implementation in the monitoring of behavior. According to control activities, budget control includes target control, process control and system control, while the budget as the primary means of corporate internal controls provides a comprehensive management platform. Budget target of control is that Budget management through strategic planning to determine the annual business Continue reading

Abey Francis

Earnings Management – Meaning, Definition, Motives and Strategies

Over the past two decades there has been collapses in corporate sector affecting various companies including Enron, American International Group (AIG), HIH Insurance and National Bank of Fiji. Due to these collapses, the need for proper management of the earning or revenue generated by the company has become the very significant part as main objective of every company. Along with this objective, managers of the organization have different incentives to manage the earning of the company. Management of earnings means structuring the financial transactions and statements in the manner so as to have maximum benefit. It tries to mislead the users of the financial statements by presenting the earnings as budgeted or thought by the management instead of presenting the actual performance made by the company during the period. The different incentives for earnings management are – increased managerial remuneration, management buyout and managing the regulatory concerns imposed by different authorities. Continue reading

Abey Francis

The Control Function of Management

Control means, “Some sort of systematic effort to compare current performance to a predetermined plan of objective, presumably in order to take any remedial action required”. This is a very general definition of the term. However, as a management function, it has been defined as “the process by which managers assure that resources are obtained and used effectively and efficiently in the accomplishment of the organization’s goals”. Controlling is tool for achieving organizational goals and activities. Control is management’s planning, implementation, evaluation, and correction of performance to ensure that the organization meets its objectives in the short, medium and long terms. According to Henry Fayol, ‘Control of an undertaking consists of seeing that everything is being carried out in accordance with the plan which has been adopted, the orders which have been given, and the principles which have been laid down. Its object is to point out mistakes in order Continue reading

Abey Francis

Effect of Agglomeration in Urban Economies

In order for the economy to grow, an urban area has to be positioned in an area where development exists and where there is economic growth is running. As long as economic energy is in an urban area, also the activity of urban force, it is necessary to gain a contribution to the appearance of the role of urban areas in economic growth and development. Economists are concerned about how the economic growth of their cities is increased. Mostly populated urban areas, chances of an economic opportunity exist in those areas. The majority of ideas analyze the importance of growth opportunities in an urban area. Internal economies make the production of firms produce goods that are more cost-effective than single members. Agglomeration economies cause firms to cluster in the cities and clustering causes economic power and development in that city. Talking about people’s growth, it is the first time in Continue reading

Abey Francis

Five Reasons Why Organizations Change Constantly

As an organization becomes larger the need for strategy and structure change becomes apparent. Strategic change involves altering employees’ construction of meanings by using a discourse that sets a new direction for a firm. All organizations need to make changes in their strategies, structures, management processes and administrative procedures. Many organizations go about this change using a dual core approach, which is a balance between the technical side and the management side of an organization. The technical side refers to the employees who actually produce the product or service that the company offers while the management side ensures that the day to day operations of the company are being fulfilled and the performance objectives are being met. While the two sides may have very different ideas of what changes need to take place, it is imperative that both sides be on the same page and working toward the same goal. Continue reading

Abey Francis