Contemporary Forms of Organizational Design

Organizational design is the overall configuration of structural components that defines jobs, groupings of jobs, the hierarchy, patterns of authority, approaches to co-ordination and line-staff differentiation into a single and unified organizational system. Consider, for example, the differences in organizational design that might exist between a computer manufacturer and university. Since the computer manufacturer has to respond to frequent technological breakthroughs and changes in its competitive environment, it is likely to have a relatively flat and decentralized design whereas the university has a more stable environment and is less affected by technology. Therefore, it has a more centralized structure with numerous rules and regulations. Every organization has its own unique design depending on its technology, limits and potentials of its environment and the life cycle stage it follows. Following are the various  contemporary forms of organizational design: 1. The U-Form Organization In the U-form organization. U stands for Unity, It Continue reading

The Dow Jones Theory on Stock Market Movements

The Dow Jones Theory   The Dow Jones Theory is probably the most popular theory regarding the behavior of stock market prices. The Dow Jones theory has been around for almost 100 years, yet even in today’s volatile and technology-driven markets, the basic components of this theory still remain valid. The theory derives its name from Charles H. Dow, who established the Dow Jones & Co. and was the first editor of the Wall Street Journal — a leading publication on financial and economic matters in the U.S.A. Although Dow never gave a proper shape to the theory, ideas have been expanded and articulated by many of his successors. The Dow Jones theory classifies the movement of the prices on the share market into three major categories: Primary Movements, Secondary Movements and Daily Fluctuations. 1) Primary Movements: They reflect the trend of the stock market and last from one year Continue reading

What is Over Capitalization?

Concept of Over Capitalization The phrase ‘Over Capitalization’ should not be confused with excess of capital. Truly speaking, over capitalization is a relative term used to denote that the firm in question is not earning reasonable income on its funds. According to Bonneville, Dewey and Kelly, when a business is unable to earn a fair rate of return on its outstanding securities, it is over capitalized. Thus over capitalization refers to that state of affairs where earning of the corporation do not justify the amount of capital invested in the business. The main symptom of over capitalization in a company is the amount of earning which it is making on its total capital. Thus, a company is said to be over capitalized when it earns less than what it should have earned as fair rate of return on its total capital. To ascertain whether the company is earning reasonable rate Continue reading

Factors that Motivate the Mergers and Acquisitions

There are several factors that motivate the mergers and acquisitions. These factors can be broadly summarized into two categories: 1. Exogenous Factors Affecting Mergers Accounting. The availability of pooling accounting for mergers has been a significant factor in the 1990s merger activity. Pooling avoids dilution of earnings brought about by the recognition and mandatory amortization of goodwill when a merger is accounted for as a purchase. As pooling came under increasing pressure from the SEC and the FASB, its impending demise, first at the end of 2000 and then in the first-half of 2001, undoubtedly acted as a stimulant for some mergers, but it is not possible to gauge accurately how many deals were undertaken in 1999 and 2000 to beat the deadline. Now, at the beginning of 2001, the FASB is proposing that purchase accounting replace pooling but that goodwill should not be automatically written down, but instead should Continue reading

Understanding Decreasing Term Life Insurance: A Guide to Protecting Your Loved Ones

Life insurance is a crucial aspect of financial planning. It provides financial support to your loved ones in case of your untimely death. Different types of life insurance policies are available in the market, including term life insurance, whole life insurance, and universal life insurance. One of the most popular types of term life insurance is decreasing term life insurance. What is Decreasing Term Life Insurance? Decreasing term life insurance is a type of term life insurance where the death benefit decreases over the policy term. It’s designed to cover a specific debt or liability that decreases over time, such as a mortgage or a business loan. The premium stays the same throughout the policy term, but the death benefit reduces at a predetermined rate. For example, suppose you take out a decreasing term life insurance policy to cover your mortgage. The policy term is 30 years, and the death Continue reading

Case Study on Business Strategies: The Downfall of Sun Microsystems

Sun Microsystems has been described as “the last standing, fully integrated computing company adding its own value at the chip, OS and systems level.”   The product line of Sun Microsystems include servers and workstations, Solaris operating system software for client-server networks, UltraSPARC and Java microprocessors, Java Internet software, and enterprise-wide support services.   The major competitors of Sun Microsystems in the technical and scientific markets were primarily Hewlett-Packard (HP), IBM, Compaq, and Silicon Graphics. The information technology industry was extremely competitive and characterized by rapid and continuous change, frequent product improvements, short life cycles, and price reductions.     This environment was forcing Sun Microsystems to rapidly and continuously develop quality products and services at competitive prices.   By 1998, Sun was the leading provider of UNIX-based servers with a U.S. market share of 26% of all web servers in use.     Sun was also a strong force Continue reading