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

Bowman’s Strategy Clock – A Competitive Strategy Analysis Tool

In many open markets, most goods and services can be purchased from any number of companies, and customers have a tremendous amount of choice. It’s the job of companies in the market to find their competitive edge and meet customers needs better than the next company. So, how, given the high degree of competitiveness among companies in a marketplace, does one company gain competitive advantage over the others? When there are only a finite number of unique products and services out there, how do different organizations sell basically the same things at different prices and with different degrees of success? This is a classic question that has been asked for generations of business professionals. In 1980, Michael Porter published his seminal book, “Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors”, where he reduced competition down to three classic strategies: Cost leadership, Product differentiation and Market segmentation. These three generic strategies Continue reading

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What are Dynamic Capabilities?

Concept of Dynamic Capabilities of a Firm A dynamic capability refers to company’s ability to integrate, build and transform internal and external competencies. They can help an organization to achieve innovative forms of competitive advantage through integration, building and transformation of internal and external competencies, as to respond to changes in the environment. This management theory was defined by David Teece, Gary Pisano, and Amy Shuen in their 1997 paper Dynamic Capabilities and  Strategic Management. In the context of achieving organizational change, aligned to the external pressure: namely, these capabilities are perceived as business processes that use resources — specifically the processes of integration, restructuring, acquisition and release resources — to adapt or create market changes. Dynamic capabilities are especially helpful in explaining the sources of competitive advantage in extremely volatile markets. Dynamic capabilities are determined by organizational and managerial processes, positions and paths. The organizational and managerial processes refer Continue reading

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E-Commerce – Definition, History and Types

Electronic commerce (e-commerce) is the term used for any type of business or commercial transaction that involves the transfer of products, services and information over electronic systems such as the internet and other computer networks. The trader and customer are not face to face at any point during these transactions, the business being conducted remotely, regardless of location. E-commerce covers a range of different types of businesses, from consumer based retail sites, through auction or music sites, to business exchanges trading goods and services between corporations. It is currently one of the most important aspects of the Internet to emerge. Almost all big retailers have electronic commerce presence on the World Wide Web. E-Commerce includes transactions within a global Information Economy such as electronic trading of goods and services, online delivery of digital content, electronic funds transfer, electronic share trading, electronic bills of lading, commercial auctions, collaborative designs, engineering and Continue reading

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Indian Banking Sector Reforms: Special Tribunals and Asset Reconstruction Funds

Setting up of special tribunals to speed up the process of recovery of loans and setting up of Asset Reconstruction Funds (ARFs) to take over from banks a portion of their bad and doubtful advances at a discount was one of the crucial recommendations of the Narasimham Committee. To expedite adjudication and recovery of debts due to banks and financial institutions (FIs) at the instance of the Tiwari Committee (1984), appointed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the government enacted the Debt Recovery Tribunal Act, 1993 (DRT). Accordingly, DRTs and Appellate DRTs have been established at different places in the country. The act was amended in January 2000 to tackle some problems with the old act. DRTs — a compulsion One of the main factors responsible for mounting non-performing assets (NPAs) in the financial sector has been the inability of banks/FIs to enforce the security held by them on Continue reading

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Causes and Effects of Low Productivity at Work

Productivity is measured of the efficiency of production. Productivity is defined as total output per unit of a total input. Low productivity in the workplace can have a dramatic effect on the company but the moment managers see the signs there are immediate change they make to help turn the situation around. Causes for Low Productivity Poor management: The main cause of low productivity is poor management. The manager does not take steps to implement the most productive way of doing the things. If the employee feels that their work is not recognized by their supervisor they will not give their 100 percent. Outdated system: If the company is using outdated machine or methods, it will lead to lower productivity. Employee dissatisfaction: Dissatisfied employee are unproductive ones, as compared to productive employees who are passionate about their work. If there is wrong person in the job or right person in Continue reading

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Impact of Organizational Culture on Strategic Management

An organization is a common platform where individuals from different backgrounds come together and work as a collective unit to achieve certain targets and goals. It contains individuals with different specializations, educational qualifications and work experiences all working towards a common objective. Culture is something which one inherits from the ancestors and it helps to make a distinction between one individual and others. It is termed as culture with the attitude, identify and behavioral patterns by means of governing the way an individual interacts with others. Meanwhile, strategic management is the process in which a management team develops a mission and vision, objectives and goals, roles and responsibilities and values which ensure the success of the organization. Organizational culture significantly influences the performance of an organization. Furthermore, strategic management helps in making the organizational culture through developing the vision, mission and values. So the appropriate strategic management would improve the Continue reading

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