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

Foreign Credit Extension

One of the ever-present problems in international business is the extension of credit. Whenever international business people assemble and the subject turns to trade conditions in particular countries, the question inevitably raised is: “What terms do you grant?” The differences in the terms are often due to the products for which the terms are cited. There is also difference in the way marketers appraise a particular market. Therefore, it would appear that the appraisal of the credit situation of a buyer in a particular market is determined by a number of factors. Before looking at these factors, however, it would be well to examine closely the meaning of foreign credit. The Meaning of Foreign Credit Credit usually refers to the procedure of surrendering title to merchandise without immediate payment. In other words, credit means trusting the buyer to pay for goods after title to them has been obtained by the Continue reading

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PEST Analysis of Nokia

Nokia Corporation engages in the manufacture of mobile devices and mobile network equipment, as well as in the provision of related solutions and services worldwide. The company has four main business functions or segments: Mobile Phones, Multimedia, Enterprise Solutions, and Networks. The Mobile Phones segment provides various mobile voice and data devices. This segment offers mobile phones and devices based on GSM/EDGE, 3G/WCDMA, and CDMA cellular technologies. PEST Analysis of Nokia PEST analysis identifies the political, economic, social and technological factors that of which directly affect a company. Political Factors Political/Legal environment are usually considered as one because they are enforced by the nation’s government. It is vital for Nokia’s operation because different nations with their respective government have different Political/Legal platforms respectively; Nokia operating on  global level must abide to ground rules and regulation in different markets of host countries around the world. To its success, Nokia surveys its Continue reading

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Business Strategy: The Three Generic Strategies

Three of the most widely read books on competitive analysis in the 1980s were Michael Porter’s Competitive Strategy, Competitive Advantage, and Competitive Advantage of Nations. In his various books, Porter developed three generic strategies that, he argues, can be used singly or in combination to create a defendable position and to outperform competitors, whether they are within an industry or across nations. The strategies are (1) overall cost leadership, (2) differentiation, and (3) focus on a particular market niche. Cost Leadership, Differentiation, and Scope These strategies are termed generic because they can be applied to any size or form of business. We refer to them as trade-off strategies because Porter argues that a firm must choose to embrace one strategy or risk not having a strategy at all. Overall lower cost or cost leadership overall cost-leadership strategy, a strategy in which an organization attempts to gain a competitive advantage by Continue reading

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Areas of Social Responsibility

Even though corporate responsibility for increasing the wealth of stockholders is well recognized, other social responsibilities are only beginning to be accepted. Below is a brief list of the many areas in which corporations have acknowledged their social responsibility and established programs to deal with them. Responsibility for protecting the natural environment:  includes judicious use of natural resources, energy conservation, limiting polluting emissions, and waste management. Responsibility toward consumers: includes creating safe products and pack ­ages, educating consumers on product use and disposal, being truthful in advertising, and establishing a procedure for dealing with consumer complaints. Responsibility toward employee welfare: includes providing fair compensation and benefits and safe work environments, eliminating discrimination, pro ­viding opportunities for personal and professional development, and having progressive human resource policies. Responsibilities toward local, state, and federal government agencies: include fulfilling obligations under regulations and statures of these agencies, cooperating in planning and investigations, and Continue reading

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Accounts Receivable Management

Meaning of Accounts Receivables When goods and services are sold under an agreement permitting the customer to pay for them at a later date, the amount due from the customer is recorded as accounts receivables; So, receivables are assets accounts representing amounts owed to the firm as a result of the credit sale of goods and services in the ordinary course of business. The value of these claims is carried on to the assets side of the balance sheet under titles such as accounts receivable, trade receivables or customer receivables. This term can be defined as “debt owed to the firm by customers arising from sale of goods or services in ordinary course of business.” According to Robert N. Anthony, “Accounts receivables are amounts owed to the business enterprise, usually by its customers. Sometimes it is broken down into trade accounts receivables; the former refers to amounts owed by customers, Continue reading

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What is System Software?

System software consists of programs that manage and support a computer system and its information processing activities. These programs serve as a vital software interface between computer system hardware and the application programs of end users. System management programs. Programs that manage the hardware, software, network, and data resources of the computer system during its execution of the various information processing jobs of users. Examples of important system management programs are operating systems, network management programs, database management systems, and system utilities. System development programs. Programs that help users develop information system programs and procedures and prepare user programs for computer processing. Major development programs are programming language translators and editors, other programming tools, and CASE (computer-aided software engineering) packages. 1. Operating Systems The most important system software package for any computer is its operating system. An operating system is an integrated system of programs that manages the operations of Continue reading

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