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: The International Growth of Zara

The emergence of global fashion has transformed the way fashion is perceived in the contemporary world. In the recent years, there has been a surge of global fashion brands; triggered by the intensive involvement of internationalization processes in the fashion industry. Large retailers in search of sustained growth increasingly decide to expand overseas, responding and contributing to the globalization process. Operating internationally is an increasingly common option for organisational growth. The process becomes a necessity when the domestic market shows increasing levels of competition and commercial saturation. Incidentally, there are increasing numbers of born-global companies deciding to internationalize their businesses from the beginning of their activities, regardless of the domestic market situations. The desire to benefit from the exposure of exclusive brands to foreign markets was one of the key motive for internationalization. Notwithstanding, internationalization strategies differ across retailers and also their results. During the initiation of an internationalization strategy, Continue reading

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Porter’s Generic Strategies – Differentiation Strategy

Differentiation Strategy is the  strategy that lays emphasis on offering a superior product, on some dimension(s), compared to what competitors are providing. Differentiation is possible along one or more of various dimensions — product features, quality, customer service, guarantee, distribution, delivery, product customization, etc. Michael Porter asserts that businesses can stand out from their competitors by developing a differentiation strategy. With a differentiation strategy the business develops product or service features which are different from competitors and appeal to customers including functionality, customer support and product quality. “Differentiation provides insulation against competitive rivalry because of brand loyalty . . . The resulting customer loyalty and need for a competitor to overcome the uniqueness create entry barriers.    Differentiation yields high margins with which to deal with supplier power and clearly mitigates buyer power since buyers lack comparable alternatives and are thereby less price sensitive. Finally, the firm that has differentiated Continue reading

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Effect of Portfolio Capital Flows in an Economy

The notion that one can make inferences about the characteristics of financial  flows by just observing their label is not new in economic. There is much  convention wisdom that show capital flows reflect speculative, unstable  behavior  while flows reflect evaluations of long run profitability and are based  on fundamental economic condition. The flows of funds approach used by many  central banks and others for a analysis of the domestic economy developments is  based on labels which are deemed meaningful. This view has also been an important part of the traditional analysis of  international finance for many years. In fact, the structure of balance of  payments accounts  reflects an implicit theory that different types of capital  flows have different economic implications. For example, the distinction  between short-term “hot money” and long-term capital flows undoubtedly  reflects the view that short-term capital movements are speculative and  reversible while long-term capital flows are based Continue reading

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Parts of a Cost Accounting System

Cost accounting is linked to tax accounting, financial accounting and managerial accounting because it is an important component of each discipline as cost accounting involves determining the cost of something, such as a product, a service, an activity, a project, or some other cost object. These costs are needed for several purposes. For example, the costs of products and services produced and sold are needed for both tax and external financial statements. In other words, tax and financial accounting depend on cost accounting to provide cost information. Information about costs is also needed for a variety of management decisions. For example, cost estimates are needed to determine whether or not a product or service can be produced and sold at a profit. Unit costs of a product (or service) are also needed for product pricing and product discontinuance decisions. In addition, accurate cost information is required to determine whether or Continue reading

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Starbucks Porter’s Five Forces Analysis

Starbucks Coffee Company’s success in the coffee business echoed resoundingly across the globe. Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington, United States. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 16,635 stores in 49 countries, including 11,068 (6,764 Company Owned, 4,304 Franchised) in the United States, followed by nearly 1,000 in Canada and more than 800 in Japan.  Starbucks sells drip brewed coffee, espresso-based hot drinks, other hot and cold drinks, snacks, and items such as mugs and coffee beans. Through the Starbucks Entertainment division and Hear Music brand, the company also markets books, music, and film. Many of the company’s products are seasonal or specific to the locality of the store. Starbucks-brand ice cream and coffee are also offered at grocery stores. Starbucks marketed itself as the “Third Place” — a place where people can go aside from home and the Continue reading

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The Benefits and Limitations of Budgets

A budget is a comprehensive, formal, coordinated, detailed, quantitative plan that estimates the probable expenditures for acquiring and using financial and other resource for an organization over a specific time period. Budgeting describes the overall process from preparing budget, using budgets during the business operation, and later performance evaluation. It provides us the valuable tools for planning and control of finances and affects nearly every type of organization-from governments and large corporations to small businesses-as well as families and individuals. A small business generally engages in budgeting to determine the most efficient and effective strategies for making money and expanding its asset base. Budgeting can help a company use its limited financial and human resources in a manner which best exploit existing business opportunities such production expansion and acquisition that might otherwise miss. A good and through understanding of how budgeting works is a must for ambitious business executive if Continue reading

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