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

Concept of Management Information Systems (MIS)

The concept of Management Information Systems (MIS)  has evolved over a period of time comprising many different facets of the organizational function. MIS is a necessity in all the organizations. The initial concept of MIS was to process the data available in the organization and present it in the form of reports at regular intervals. The system was largely capable of handling the data from collection to processing. It was more impersonal, requiring each individual to pick and choose the processed data and use it for his requirements. This concept was further modified when a distinction was made between data and information. Information is a product of an analysis of data. This concept is similar to a raw material and the finished product. However, data can be analyzed in a number of ways, producing different shades and specifications of the information as a product. It was, therefore, demanded that the Continue reading

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Business Continuity Management (BCM) According to ISO 22301

Doing business is a great thing if everything runs perfectly. As we all know there is no such thing as a perfect way of doing anything. This is true in the business arena. Things are going to happen which is not in the best interest of the day to day operation of any business. Natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, fire, and volcanoes can happen at any given time. Your business could be a victim of a serious data breach. All of the previously mentioned scenarios can seriously affect how business is run. To counteract those on foreseen events every company should have a continuity disaster recovery plan. Planning for the worst case and how the company is going to limit their downtime.  The ultimate goal of the disaster recovery plan is to limit every potential risk and get the organization running as close to normal in the shortest Continue reading

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Concept of Flattening Organization Structures

Organizational structures refer to the way in which an organization is designed, including how tasks are divided, how authority is distributed, and how information flows. Traditional hierarchical structures have long been the norm in many organizations, but in recent years there has been a growing trend towards “flattening” organizational structures. Flattening refers to the process of reducing the number of hierarchical levels in an organization and distributing decision-making power more widely. In this article, we will explore the benefits and challenges of flattening organizational structures and provide some guidance on how to implement this approach effectively. Benefits of Flattening Organizational Structures Increased agility and responsiveness – Flattening an organization can make it more agile and better able to respond to changes in the marketplace. In a traditional hierarchical structure, decision-making is often slow and cumbersome, as decisions need to be passed up the chain of command for approval. Flattening the Continue reading

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Measuring Depreciation – How to Calculate Depreciation

Economists consider depreciation as capital consumption. For them, there are two distinct ways of measuring depreciation either by assuming the value of depreciation of equipment to its opportunity cost or to its replacement cost that will produce comparable earning. Opportunity cost of equipment is the most profitable alternate use of that is foregone by putting it to its present use. The problem is to measure the opportunity cost. One method of measuring the opportunity cost, as suggested by Joel Dean, is to measure the fall in value during a year. By using this method cannot be applied when capital equipment has no alternative use, like a  thermal-power  project. In such cases, replacement cost is an appropriate measure of depreciation. Under this method, the cost of the new asset and the residual value of the old asset are taken as the depreciation of the asset. But depreciation is recorded only at Continue reading

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Gains from International Trade and Investment

The major gain of international trade is that it has brought about increased prosperity by allowing nations to specialize in producing those goods and services at which they are relatively efficient. The relative efficiency of a country in producing a particular product can be described in terms of the amounts of other, alternative products that could be produced by the same inputs. When considered this way, relative efficiencies are described as the comparative advantages. All nations can do simultaneously gain from exploiting their comparative advantages, as well as from the large-scale production and broader choice of products that are made possible by the international trade. Suppose that Japan is relatively more efficient in producing steel than food and the United States is relatively more efficient in producing food than steel. So we can expect food to be cheap relative to steel in United States, and steel to be cheap relative Continue reading

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Profit Maximization vs Shareholders Wealth Maximization

Profit is obtained by subtracting total cost (TC) from total revenue (TR). Under the assumption of the neo-classical theory, a firm will aim to produce a level of output where the difference between the total revenue and total cost is the greatest. The maximization of TR-TC is the equilibrium condition for a profit-maximizing firm. This is because once the firm is getting the most profit from a particular level of output and sales, it will not be incentivised to alter the level of output that is giving it the most yields in total investment performance. A firm which strictly follows the primary assumption of the neoclassical theory of the firm will make its decisions on inputs and outputs based on the marginal effects of the components in the profit equation. Thereby leading economists to arrive at the conclusion that the condition for profit maximization to be achieved is when marginal Continue reading

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