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

Discontinuous Improvement – Abernathy and Utterback Model

The common innovation process happens in a set frame, following certain rules and ways of thinking. This ‘game played’ by competitors is to innovate by doing what has been done before like product or process innovations or even position and paradigm innovations, but doing it better. In this competition of ‘playing the same game’ some firms manage to do better than others and can gain a competitive advantage through these innovations, but the ‘set of the game’ is accepted and do not change. Very rare something happens that breaks up this framework and changes how the game is played. This will not happen every day but when this arises the rules and boundaries of a market change rapidly. This will result in upcoming new opportunities and challenge the existing players in their way of working, thinking and doing business. A discontinues improvement occurs out of a technological and conditions stable Continue reading

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Capital Sources for Business: Retained Earnings

Like an individual, companies also set aside a part of their profits to meet future requirements of capital. Companies keep these savings in various accounts such as General Reserve, Debenture Redemption Reserve and Dividend Equalization Reserve etc. These reserves can be used to meet long term financial requirements. The portion of the profits which is not distributed among the shareholders but is retained and is used in business is called retained earnings or ploughing back of profits. As per Indian Companies Act., companies are required to transfer a part of their profits in reserves. The amount so kept in reserve may be used to buy fixed assets. This is called internal financing. Retained Earnings = Beginning Retained Earnings + Net Income – Dividends A company that has experienced more losses than gains to date, or which has distributed more dividends than it had in the retained earnings balance, will have Continue reading

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Case Study: Marketing Strategy of Walt Disney Company

What started out to be nothing more than a dream of Walter Elias Disney, with the release of Alice in Wonderland, a series of short film comedies, the beginning of a world renowned global corporation Walt Disney had evolved. Walter and his brother Roy were equal partners in what was originally the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio in 1923 and with the suggestion of Roy, it soon was renamed The Walt Disney Studio. After four years of success and profit, Walter and Roy experienced a business set back when they found their film distributor M.J. Winkler had stolen their cartoon characters and animators in attempt to undercut them. With the help from their chief and loyal animator, Ub Iwerks, Walt created Mortimer Mouse, which was renamed Mickey Mouse by his wife. The first cartoon with synchronized sound was released at the Colony Theater in New York, November 18, 1928. Walt Disney Continue reading

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Major Participants in Securitization Process

Securitization is the process whereby relatively illiquid financial assets such as mortgages are packaged together and sold off to individual investors. Securitization turns relatively illiquid instruments into quite liquid investments called asset-backed securities. A market maker agrees to create a secondary market by buying and selling the securities. Securitization originated in the mortgage market in the early 1980s, when mortgage loans began to be packaged together and sold off as securities in the secondary market often with government insurance guaranteeing that the principal and interest would be repaid. Securitization became popular because it provides a way of protecting against interest rate risk in an environment of increased interest rate volatility. Securitization offers reduced credit risk because of the pooling of assets. Read More: The Concept of Securitization Process of Securitization Benefits of Securitization The securitization process  involves a number of  participants. The role of major participants in securitization process are Continue reading

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Discharge of a Contract

When the rights and obligations arising out of a contract are extinguished, the contract is said to be discharged or terminated. In other words, discharge of a contract means termination of the relationship between the parties to a contract. The ways of discharging a contract can be discussed as:- i) Discharge of Contract By Performance: When a contract is duly performed by both the parties within the specified time and in the manner prescribed, the contract is said to have been performed and discharged. Performance may be: (a) Actual (b) Attempted. Actual Performance: When each party to a contract fulfils his obligation arising under the contract within the time and in the manner prescribed, it is called actual performance of the contract and the   contract is discharged. Attempted Performance — When the promisor offers to perform his obligation under the contract, but is unable to do so because the Continue reading

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Functional Organization – Meaning and Features

Functional organization is technically called functional foreman-ship because the function itself becomes a supervisor and the employees automatically perform their respective duties.   The emphasis of functional organization structure is on operations rather than on management.   Functional organization is commonly used in business organizations.   The spirit of organization, which involves grouping tasks together and allocating them to genuine employees is observed in functional organization. Functional sets like marketing, finance, production and personal are grouped systematically. Departments and sub departments are developed according to the requirements of the business.   Functional organization is the basic building block or module from which other forms of organization are built. Functional organization is characterized by function, sub-goal emphasis, division of work, functional relationship, centralization and decentralization, span of control, divisionalization of product and regionalization.   All employees are not equal; they have distinctive and special interests in different activities, while some of Continue reading

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