Case Study on Entrepreneurship: Larry Page

Business Analysis

The Boundaryless Career: Modern Contemperory Perspective on Career

Human Resource Management

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

Floating or Flexible Exchange Rate System

A floating or flexible exchange rate system is one in which the exchange rate between currencies is determined purely by supply and demand of the currencies without any government intervention. The rates depend on the flow of money between the countries, which may either result due to international trade in goods or services, or due to purely financial flows. Hence in case of a deficit or surplus in the balance of payments, the exchange rates get automatically adjusted and this leads to a correction of the imbalance. In a floating exchange rate system, economic parameters like price level changes, interest differentials, economic growth and government policies have an impact on the exchange rate as these factors influence the supply and demand of currencies. A purely floating exchange rate system is more of a theoretical benchmark rather than reality in practice. Most economies fall in between the two extremes — a Continue reading

Abey Francis

Political Environment of International Business

Political factors constitute an important environment factor in International Business. Actually politics and economics are inter-related as one influences the other. That was the reason for early writers of Economics preferred to caption their work as Political Economy. Political system, political parties in power, political parties in the opposition, political maturity of the parties, number of political parties, political awareness of people, political stability and the like have great impact on the business environment in a country. The economic policies pursued by a Government are to a great extent the by-product of political environment that impacts businesses very often. Basic Political Ideologies Political ideology refers to, ‘the body of ideas, theories, aims and means to execute the ideas, adapt the theories and fulfill the aims that constitute a sociopolitical programme for action’. Depending on the mix of different ‘ideas, theories, aims and means’, there exists Pluralism, Democracy and Totalitarianism as Continue reading

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Recent Developments in International Financial Markets

Recent financial market developments have also blurred the distinction between different segments of the financial markets. Creditors and investors now compete with each other for good financial transactions. In addition, borrowers can now structure the best deals available in the entire market rather than focusing on specific market segments. By borrowing in the most accessible financial market segment and then swapping aspects of the debt to other markets, successful borrowers tailor the currency, cost, maturity, and form of their financial transactions to their financial needs. These developments in international financial markets do entail some adverse consequences for developing country borrowers. Lenders and investors can be more selective in choosing their financial transactions, using swaps and other hedging techniques to pass on unacceptable risks. Given the present shortage of available financing, securitization provides flexibility and more accessible financing to creditworthy borrowers, limiting the options available to less creditworthy borrowers, such as Continue reading

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Dollar Market: Some Basics

The US financial market or dollar market is the largest and the most versatile financial system in the world. It has the broadest range of funding options to offer and some of the most sophisticated and innovative financial institutions. The importance of this market is further enhanced by the dominant role played by the US dollar as the vehicle currency in international transactions, though over the years this has declined somewhat. At the same time, it is not a market that is readily accessible to borrowers from developing countries like India except perhaps those with the highest ratings and sovereign guarantees. In some ways the US financial system is perhaps the freest system. Institutions enjoy complete operational freedom in terms of products and instruments offered, pricing, etc. In other ways, it is subject to a host of supervisory regulations both, from the Federal and State authorities. The core of this Continue reading

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Factors Influencing Organizational Change

Organization Change is a response of the organization to the various forces within and external to it. Organizations exist within a society and therefore respond to various factors like the economic, the political and legal framework as well as various socio cultural factors. An organization is like a system and is constituted of various sub systems. However what determines an organizations sustainable competitive advantage is its ability to accept change and plan for it. The two major factors, which can influence an organizations strategy and its ability to survive and grow, are: Business Cycles and Industry Life Cycle. Business Cycles Just as a biological organism grows and dies, organizations too experience life and death based on the overall economic activity. Growth in the economy means a growth for the organization and slump in the economy may reflect in a slump in the business. However all organizations do not respond the Continue reading

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Limitations of Ratio Analysis

Ratio analysis is useful, but analysts should be aware of these problems and make adjustments as necessary. Ratios analysis conducted in a mechanical, unthinking manner is dangerous, but if used intelligently and with good judgement, it can provide useful insights into the firm’s operations. Limitations of Ratio Analysis 1. Accounting Information Different Accounting Policies The choices of accounting policies may distort inter company comparisons. Example IAS 16 allows valuation of assets to be based on either revalued amount or at depreciated historical cost. The business may opt not to revalue its asset because by doing so the depreciation charge is going to be high and will result in lower profit. Creative accounting   The businesses apply creative accounting in trying to show the better financial performance or position which can be misleading to the users of financial accounting. Like the IAS 16 mentioned above, requires that if an asset is Continue reading

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