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

The Customer Satisfaction Model – Based on American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI)

Marketing Management

Culture – Definition, Characteristics and Elements

Anthropologists and sociologists define culture as “Ways of Living “, built up by a group of human beings, which are transmitted from one generation to another. A culture acts out its ways of living in the context of social institutions, including family, educational, religious, governmental, and business institutions. Culture includes both conscious and unconscious values, ideas, attitudes, and symbols that shape human behavior and that are transmitted from one generation to the next. In this sense, culture does not include one-time solutions to unique problems, or passing fads and styles. As defined by organizational anthropologist Geert Hofstede, culture is “the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one category of people from those of another”. In addition to agreeing that culture is learned, not innate, most anthropologists share two additional views. First, all faces of culture are interrelated: Influence or change one aspect of a culture and Continue reading

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Industrial Distribution Channel Design

It is very important that a distribution channel is properly aligned to satisfy the  needs of channel members and also for the success of any industrial marketing  strategy. A good industrial channel creates the communication and physical  supply linkages with existing and potential customers. Channel designing in industrial markets is a  dynamic process that consists of either developing the new channels or  modifying the existing ones. Designing an appropriate industrial distribution channel and managing it is a tough and  continuing task. A well designed channel structure helps to achieve the desired  marketing objectives. A channel structure consists of types and number of  middlemen, terms and conditions of channel members, number of channels. The  various steps that are involved in industrial distribution channel design in industrial markets are given in the following  figure. Let us understand each of the stages of industrial distribution channel design process in detail: 1. Analyzing the Continue reading

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Foreign Exchange Risk Management by Banks

Exchange Dealings When the foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities are held, by the banks or the business concern, two types of risks are faced. Firstly, the risk that the exchange rates may vary and the change may affect the cash flows/profits. This is known as exchange risk. Secondly, the interest rate may vary and it may affect the cost of holding the foreign currency assets and liabilities. This is known as interest rate risk. The present section discusses exchange risk management by banks. Dealing Position Foreign exchange is such a sensitive commodity and subject to wide fluctuations in price that the bank which deals in it would like to keep the balance always near zero, The bank would endeavor to find a suitable buyer wherever it purchase so as to dispose of the foreign exchange acquired and be free from exchange risk. Likewise, whenever it sells it tries to Continue reading

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Project Management Process Groups

The project management processes are presented as discrete elements with well- defined interfaces. However, in practice they overlap and interact in ways that are not completely detailed here. Most experienced project management practitioners recognize there is more than one way to manage a project. The specifics for a project are defined as objectives that must be accomplished based on complexity, risk, size, time frame, project teams experience, access to resources, amount of historical information, the organizations project management maturity, and industry and application area. The required Process Groups and their constituent processes are guides to apply appropriate project management knowledge and skills during the project. In addition, the application of the project management processes to a project is iterative and many processes are repeated and revised during the project. The project manager and the project team are responsible for determining what processes from the Process Groups will be employed, by Continue reading

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Indian Banking Sector Reforms in 1991

In 1991, the country was caught into a deep crisis. The government at this juncture decided to introduce comprehensive economic reforms. The banking sector reforms were part of this package. The main objective of Indian banking sector reforms was to promote a diversified, efficient and competitive financial system with the ultimate goal of improving the allocative efficiency of resources through operational flexibility, improved financial viability and institutional strengthening. Many of the regulatory and supervisory norms were initiated first for the commercial banks and were later extended to other types of financial intermediaries. While nudging the Indian banking system to better health through the introduction of international best practices in prudential regulation and supervision early in the reform process, the main idea was to increase competition in the system gradually. The reforms have focused on removing financial repression through reductions in statutory preemptions, while stepping up prudential regulations at the same Continue reading

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How to Develop a Mission Statement

The most common initial act in establishing organizational direction is an organizational mission. The statement that describes the mission talks about the target market and also talks about its strategy to be profitable by providing good customer service through friendly and knowledgeable people. It is essential to look into external influences like labor, conditions, competitors, government rules while considering mission statement. Company’s mission statement should define stakeholders expected return along with the measurement of the performance of the company through those returns. The expected profit too should be included in the organization’s mission. Moreover, the company should come to consensus as to what all areas should be measured like margin growth, efficiency, competitive cost position, product quality, market share etc. A mission statement sets the boundaries for how resources should be allocated and what strategic and operational goals should be set. The mission statement should acknowledge the company’s strength and Continue reading

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