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

Case Study on Business Ethics: Bernard Ebbers and the WorldCom Scandal

The question as to whether Bernard Ebbers, the co-founder and former chief executive officer of the WorldCom trial that led to his conviction for twenty-five years in federal prison was fair still remains unanswered and can only be proven by appraising his conduct and actions when he was the chief executive officer at WorldCom. Ebbers was charged with conspiracy, security fraud, and making false filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Several civil lawsuits were brought before Ebbers and other senior executives of WorldCom including the former chief financial officer Scott Sullivan but however dismissed after Ebbers and the other senior agreed to distribute over six billion dollars plus interest to stakeholders who had invested their money in the company stocks. Ebbers was also charged with the indictment of the state securities laws by defrauding investors of WorldCom on numerous occasions between the periods of January 2001 and March 2002. Ebbers Continue reading

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Quick Response Manufacturing (QRM) – Meaning, Principles, Benefits, and Drawbacks

Quick Response Manufacturing (QRM) is a strategy which needs to applied throughout the company and whose primary goal is the reduction of lead-time in each and every operation of the company while simultaneously reducing costs and improving quality. QRM can be defined in two contexts: (i) Externally (Customers point of view): QRM means quickly responding to customer needs by designing and producing goods customized to cater those needs. (ii) Internally, QRM stresses on reducing the lead times throughout the organization, leading to lower inventory, better quality, reduced cost, and greater responsiveness. Quick Response Manufacturing (QRM) uses Manufacturing Critical-path Time (MCT) as the metric for measuring the success of QRM processes. MCT is an extension of the concept of lead-time, which is the time from the receipt of order from the customer till the product is delivered to the customer. There are 2 ways of implementing QRM: one is using large Continue reading

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Whistle-Blowing: Definition, Reasons, and Issues

Definitions of Whistle-Blowing Whistle-blowing has been defined as the act of a man or woman who, believing that the public interest overrides the interest of the organization he serves publicly ‘blows the whistle’ if the organization is involved in corrupt, illegal, fraudulent or harmful activity. It has also been defined as the disclosure by organizational members (former or current) of illegal, immoral or illegitimate practices under the control of their employers, to persons or organizations that may be able to affect the action. Many other definitions of whistle-blowing exist, though they run into problems of inclusion and exclusion and create problems for the researcher attempting to operationally the concept as a form of organizational communication. The following definition comes close to providing sufficient clarity: Whistle-blowing occurs when an individual performs an action or series of actions intended to make the information public. The information is made a matter of public Continue reading

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Software Patent – Intellectual Property Rights in Software

A software patent is one of the intellectual property rights giving a company or individual owners the privileges of preventing others from using, making, or selling patented inventions without approval. For an innovation to be considered patentable, it must meet some criteria. There must be an industrial or commercial way of using it, meaning its software should be used with a machine to ensure it is not merely an abstract idea. The invention should be new, unique, and not obvious to any person with average industry skills. However, patentability has led to the public uproar with some experts arguing that software patent is a deterrent to innovation and should be scrapped altogether. The clear line between software and machine, ordinary idea, and patent troll are controversial among other issues. The main concern is how can computer software be patented to prevent other people or firms from using similar programs and Continue reading

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Rummler-Brache Process Improvement Methodology – 9 Boxes Model

From their best seller Improving Performance: How to Manage the White Space on the Organization Chart, Rummler-Brache Process Improvement Methodology draws inspiration from Gilbert’s Behavioral Engineering Model and its understanding of the interdependency of performance and the environment. According to Rummler-Brache Process Improvement Methodology: Addresses performance in a comprehensive, rather than “piecemeal” fashion. Focuses on the 9-variables that represent management’s performance improvement levers. Presents tools rather than mere theory or model of performance. Demystifies the connection between human performance and organizational performance. Provides a basis for optimism: the challenge can be met. The Rummler-Brache Process Improvement Methodology is comprised of three levels of performance; organizational, process and job/performer; and three performance dimensions; goals, design and management. This model forms nine variables in a structured manner, examining human performance in an organizational system. The Three Levels of Performance:  Consists of monitoring performance at Job/Performer level, Process Level and Organizational level.  These three levels are intricately depended on each other. Any Continue reading

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Case Study: The Whistleblowing Case of Sherron Watkins in Enron

Whistleblowing Case of Sherron Watkins in Enron Whistleblowing is more about an individual’s moral judgment than it is about clear requirements that obligate individuals to reveal tricky organizational transactions that pose great risks to the public. There are two types of whistleblowing, namely internal and external. In many cases, only external whistleblowing is recognized because reporting that exists within an organization comprises the normal feedback channels that solve internal problems. Moreover, many feedback channels work within the organization and internal issues are not taken outside. In the Enron scandal of 2001, the main whistleblower Sherron Watkins informed the company’s top management that Enron was at risk of collapse because of the innumerable financial inconsistencies she had discovered in the firm’s financial statements. Watkins wrote an anonymous letter to the company’s founder, Kenneth Lay after discovering that Enron was engaging in unethical accounting practices. Prior to the eruption of the scandal, Continue reading

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