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

Strategic Information Systems

A Strategic Information System (SIS) is a system to manage information and assist in strategic decision making. A strategic information system has been defined as, “The information system to support or change enterprise’s strategy.” Simply says, a Strategic Information System is a type of Information System that is aligned with business strategy and structure. The alignment increases the capability to respond faster to environmental changes and thus creates a competitive advantage. An early example was the favorable position afforded American and United Airlines by their reservation systems, Sabre and Apollo. (American Airlines worked with IBM to develop an improved booking/reservation system, and the Airline Reservation Systems (ARS) and the Semi-Automatic Business Research System (SABRE) launched thereafter in 1960. The network completed set-up in 1964, and it was recognized as the largest data processing system in existence. United Airlines developed the Apollo Reservation System, and shortly after allowed travel agents access. Continue reading

Abey Francis

Cost-Benefit Analysis in Information Systems Development

Since cost plays quite an important role in deciding the new system, it must be identified and estimated properly. Costs vary by type and consist of various distinct elements. Benefits are also of different type and can be grouped on the basis of advantages they provide to the management. The benefits of a project include four types: Cost-savings benefits Cost-avoidance benefits Improved-service-level benefits Improved-information benefits Cost-savings benefits lead to reduction in administrative and operational costs. A reduction in the size of the clerical staff used in the support of an administrative activity is an example of a cost-saving benefit. Cost-avoidance benefits are those, which eliminate future administrating and operational costs. No need to hire additional staff in future to handle an administrative activity is an example of a cost-avoidance benefit. Improved-service-level benefits are those where the performance of a system is improved by a new computer-based method. Improved-information-benefit is where Continue reading

Abey Francis

Case Study of Apple iPod: Significance of Strategic Innovation Management within the Business

Importance of Innovation Management Innovation is vital for the survival of the business in highly competitive business environment where it is difficult for differentiating products as well as services. Innovation is usually applied to the enterprise in various ways that involves- Product or service innovation, process innovation, business model innovation, marketing innovation, financial innovation, supply chain innovation and enterprise innovation. Innovation management signifies the procedure of managing innovation of the enterprise that begins at initial phase of ideation to the final phase of effective adoption. It mainly encompasses strategic decisions, activities and various practices of planning as well as adopting the innovation strategy. Moreover, the managers of the organizations administer innovation through different stages of innovation cycle. The innovation cycle indicates the activities that are involved in moving innovative service or product to the market. There are two basic activities of this innovation cycle that includes- development of innovative goods or Continue reading

Abey Francis

Commodity Market Participants

Commodity market is a place where trading in commodities takes place. Markets where raw or primary products are exchanged. These raw commodities are traded on regulated commodities exchanges, in which they are bought and sold in standardized Contracts. It is similar to an Equity market, but instead of buying or selling shares one buys or sells commodities. Commodity market is an important constituent of the financial markets of any country. It is the market where a wide range of products, viz., precious metals, base metals, crude oil, energy and soft commodities like palm oil, coffee etc. are traded. It is important to develop a vibrant, active and liquid commodity market. This would help investors hedge their commodity risk, take speculative positions in commodities and exploit arbitrage opportunities in the market. In current situation, all goods and products of agricultural (including plantation), mineral and fossil origin are allowed for commodity trading Continue reading

Abey Francis

Underdog Strategy in Business

An underdog strategy involves a small and, usually, young firm taking on a much larger competitor. It is often employed by an upstart company that doesn’t hesitate to get into a fight with much bigger opponents in order to break their monopoly and offer the market better products, lower prices, or both. The underdog enters a market dominated by established players that are portrayed as being somewhat bureaucratic, complacent, and unresponsive to customer needs. Firms following underdog strategy promise to offer an attractive alternative to what customers have been buying. Southwest Airlines, in its early years, is an example of a company that became an underdog in its fight against established competitors, as it offered the traveling public highly attractive prices and superior value. Southwest was ready to begin operations in 1967 but could not do so until 1971 due to time-consuming court battles initiated by Braniff and Texas International Continue reading

Abey Francis

Treasury Bills – Meaning, Features, Types and Importance

Just like commercial bills which represent commercial debt, treasury bills represent short-term borrowings of the Government. Treasury bill market refers to the market where treasury bills are brought and sold. Treasury bills are very popular and enjoy higher degree of liquidity since they are issued by the government. Meaning and Features of Treasury Bills A treasury bills nothing but promissory note issued by the Government under discount for a specified period stated therein. The Government promises to pay the specified amount mentioned therein to the beater of the instrument on the due date. The period does not exceed a period of one year. It is purely a finance bill since it does not arise out of any trade transaction. It does not require any ‘grading’ or’ endorsement’ or ‘acceptance’ since it is clams against the Government. Treasury bill are issued only by the RBI on behalf of the Government. Treasury Continue reading

Abey Francis