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

Perception in Organizations

Perception in Organizational Behavior Perception is an important mediating cognitive process. Through this complex process, people make interpretations of the stimulus or situation they are faced with. Both selectivity and organization go into perceptual, interpretations. Externally, selectivity is affected by intensity, size, contrast, repetition, motion and novelty and familiarity. Internally, perceptual selectivity is influenced by the individual’s motivation, learning and personality. After the selective process filters the stimulus situation, the incoming information is organized into a meaningful whole. Individual differences and uniqueness are largely the result of the cognitive processes. Although there are a number of cognitive processes, it is generally recognized that the perceptual process is a very important one. It is a process that takes place between the situation and the  behavior  and is most relevant to the study of organizational  behavior.  For example, the observation that a department head and a subordinate may react quite differently to Continue reading

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The Toyota Production System (TPS) – Meaning and Methods

A key success factor that enabled Toyota to become the world’s most successful automobile company is its famous manufacturing method, the so called Toyota Production System (TPS). The evolution of the Toyota production system approach can be traced to the period immediately following the second world war when the economic outlook was uncertain and human, natural and capital resources were in limited supply. Against this background, the most important objective of the Toyota System has been to increase production efficiency by consistently and thoroughly eliminating waste. This concept developed between 1948 and 1975 by Toyota’s former president Toyoda Kiichiro and later by Ohno Taiichi and Eiji Toyoda represents a highly efficient production system that is similar to that of Henry Ford several decades earlier, although Toyota’s approach to both product development and distribution proved to be much more consumer-friendly and market-driven. The main objective of TPS is to produce goods Continue reading

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Recommendations of Narasimham Committee Report (1991)

The Narasimham committee (1991) assumed that the financial resources of the commercial banks from the general public and were by the banks in trust and that the bank funds were to be deployed for maximum benefit of the depositors. This assumption automatically implied that even the government had no business to endanger the solvency, health and efficiency of the nationalized banks under the pretext of using banks funds for social banking, poverty eradication, etc. Accordingly, the Narasimham committee aimed at achieving three major changes in the banking sector in India; Ensuring a degree of operational flexibility. Internal autonomy for the banks in their decision making process. Greater degree of professionalism in banking operations. Towards this end, recommendations of Narasimham committee covered such subjects as directed investments, directed credit programmes, structural of rate of interest, structural reorganization of the Indian banking system, and organization, methods and procedures of banks in India. Continue reading

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Indian banking system: Development banks: Export-import bank of India (EXIM Bank)

The Export-import bank of India (EXIM Bank) was set up in January 1982 as a statutory corporation wholly owned by central government. Its paid up capital in 1988-89 was Rs 220.50 crores. Activities performed by EXIM Bank: It grants direct loans in India and outside for the purpose of imports and exports; Refinances loans to banks and other notified financial institutions for the purpose of international trade ; Rediscounts usance export bills for banks; Provide overseas investment finance for Indian companies toward their equity participation in joint venture abroad and guarantees, along with banks, obligations on behalf of project exporters; It is also a co-coordinating agency in the field of international finance and it undertakes development of merchant banking activities in relation to export oriented industries; Thus it provides fund based as well as non fund based assistance in the foreign trade sector. The main objective of Export-Import Bank (EXIM Continue reading

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Macro Environment Factors in Retailing

What do you mean by retail environment? A retail marketing environment consists of the external actors and forces that affect the retailers ability to develop and maintain successful transactions and relationships with its target customers. We can distinguish between the retailers’ micro environment and macro environment. The macro environment consists of legal, social, economic and technological forces. Demographic Environment The first environmental fact of interest to retailers is population because people make up markets. Retailers are keenly interested in the size of the population, its geographical distribution, density, mobility trends, age distribution and social ethnic and religious structure. Demographic structure is seldom static for long and changes in its composition often test the residency of a marketing firm. Further, these changes influence the behavior of consumers which, in turn, will have a direct impact in the retailer’s business. The ripples of these changes will reach the organization forcing it to Continue reading

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A Phased Approach to Software Development

A software comprises of programs and associated data and documentation. Each of these items is a part of software development process. Software development process  is a structure imposed on the development of a software product. The process includes the phased approach to software development, software development models, the software development processes and the software project management processes.The main problems for software development currently are: high cost, low quality and frequent changes causing change and rework. Software has become a limiting factor in the evolution of computer-based systems. The intent of software development is to produce a framework for building higher quality software. In order to achieve successful and quality software certain methods and criteria need to be followed. These methods and criteria are classified as the software development processes. There are several models for such processes, each describing approaches to a variety of tasks or activities that take place during Continue reading

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