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

Innovation Culture in Organizations

Growth creates a need for structure and discipline, organization changes which can strain the culture of creativity that is so vital to future success. To sustain competitive advantage, companies need to institutionalize the innovation process; they need to create an internal environment where creative thinking is central to their values, assumptions and actions. Innovation is the engine of growth. It is also a mindset – meaning it is influenced by beliefs, values, and behavior. Company culture therefore has a huge influence on innovation, being able to either facilitate it or restrain it. Realizing this, many companies have attempted to put systems and processes into place that encourage an innovation culture. However, while such measures are often viewed as the panacea, they are really just the beginning. To shape a truly innovation culture, the top people in a company need to develop a mindful approach where their every action and word Continue reading

Abey Francis

Inspection in Production Management – Concept, Objectives and Stages

Production control is introduced not merely to ensure that the goods will be produced on time, but is also meant to see that the goods produced are of the right quality. This is done through inspection of the products manufactured. Since the purpose of inspection is to compare the products with the standards of quality set earlier, it too, can be regarded as an effective agency of production control. One way of inspection is to examine the quality of finished products at the end of the process of production. But this may involve too much of wastage in the form of rejected products. To minimize the rejection of defective products, inspection may be conducted at every stage of production. Inspection can occur at three points: before production, during production, and after production. The logic of checking conformance before production is to make sure that inputs are acceptable. The logic of Continue reading

Abey Francis

Why Oligopoly is a More Common Type of Market Structure Compared to Perfect Competition

Perfect competition is an ideal model and so it is difficult to find markets that have all these characteristics. There are some markets in the real world that approximates perfect competition. Examples of such markets are farming, the stock exchange market and the foreign currency market. These markets possess some of the characteristics of perfect competition as explained in part (a). However, even in such markets, some of the characteristics are hard to fulfil. For instance, buyers and sellers may not be price takers. In the stock exchange market, there are some individuals or institutions that can influence the price of shares through their large holdings of a particular company’s shares. The product is also not homogenous if stock of different companies are considered., Thus, if they were to sell their shares, price will fall. Knowledge is not perfect either. Although buyers and sellers do have easy access to information Continue reading

Abey Francis

Market Entry Strategies by MNC’s

Once the Multinational Corporation (MNC) decides to target a particular country, it has to decide the best mode of entry. Mode of entry means the manner in which the firm would commence its international operations.   There are several entry modes, each with their own sets of advantages and disadvantages.   A firm would have to decide which mode suits its circumstances best before it could be adopted. The different entry modes are: (1) Export entry modes:   Under these modes, the firm produces in the home country and markets in the overseas markets. Direct exports do not involve home-country intermediaries and marketing is done either through direct agent/distributor or through direct branch/subsidiary in the overseas markets. Indirect exports involving intermediaries in the home country and who are responsible for exporting the firm’s products. (2) Contractual entry modes:   These modes involve non-equity associations between an international company and a Continue reading

Abey Francis

Accounting Methods Used in Merger and Acquisition Transactions

The two principal accounting methods used in mergers and acquisitions are the pooling of interests method and the purchase method. The main difference between them is the value that the combined firm’s balance sheet places on the assets of the acquired firm, as well as the depreciation allowances and charges against income following the merger. The pooling of interests method assumes that the transaction is simply an exchange of equity securities. Therefore, the capital stock account of the target firm is eliminated, and the acquirer issues new stock to replace it. The two firms’ assets and liabilities are combined at their historical book values as of the acquisition date. The end result of a pooling of interests transaction is that the total assets of the combined firm are equal to the sum of the assets of the individual firms. No goodwill is generated, and there are no charges against earnings. Continue reading

Abey Francis

Stress Management: Evaluating Stress

Feeling the effects of stress is a normal part of life, especially when you are facing major challenges. But each person responds to stress differently. What causes a lot of stress for one person may not cause stress for someone else. That’s because a large part of stress is a matter of perception-how you view a situation determines how much stress it causes you. Therefore, only you can best evaluate the amount of stress in your life and learn better ways to cope with it. Ask yourself the following questions to learn what is causing you stress and how you respond: What job, family, or personal stress do I have? Chronic stress can be caused by an ongoing stressful situation such as: Family or relationship problems. Caring for a family member who is elderly, has chronic health problems, or is disabled. Care giving is a major source of stress. For Continue reading

Abey Francis