Currently, the development of market relations implies a free and equal coexistence of various forms of entrepreneurship and sectors within each type of ownership. A special place in the international economy at this stage belongs to start-up businesses. These are small enterprises that do not require large initial investments and guarantee a high rate of turnover of resources that can quickly and economically solve the problems of economic restructuring. The formation and saturation of the consumer markets are the key elements in the current destabilization of the economy. It should be noted that for a highly monopolized economy, the small business acquires paramount importance since it makes a significant contribution to the development of a competitive environment. However, there are both rewarding advantages and serious disadvantages of starting a business, which need consideration. If a person plans to open a business, it is important to consider the upcoming possible gains Continue reading
Modern Management Practices
Concepts of Ethical Consumerism and Consumer Activism
Concept of Ethical Consumerism Over the last ten or twenty years, more and more people around the world, primarily in industrialized countries, have become better informed and more aware of the origins of the goods they purchase on a day-to-day basis, the buying policies and practices of the shops they visit and the policies and principles of the services they buy. In a growing number of cases, this increased awareness and knowledge is affecting consumer practices and may be the difference between someone buying a particular product or service or not. There are a number of reasons for this development, which is commonly referred to as “ethical consumerism”, or also “ethical consumption”, “ethical purchasing”, “moral purchasing”, “ethical sourcing”, “ethical shopping” or “green consumerism”. Fundamentally, ethical consumerism is consumers taking responsibility for their decisions in purchasing goods and services. Two key elements that have contributed to this development and that are Continue reading
Importance of Stakeholder Engagement in Business
Stakeholders are all those people or businesses that are essential for a company, because they contribute to keep it afloat or in operation. They can be affected if their expectations or needs are not met. There are three interested parties: suppliers, customers and investors. Each of them is an indispensable part. Without its essential contribution, the business could not be sustained or built. Suppliers provide the input, customers are those who consume our products and refer us to new prospects and investors or owners, contribute their capital for the sustainable development of the business. Stakeholders can benefit or be harmed by any action or decision taken. That is why every business or company must identify them and know their needs and expectations to fulfill them. Since above all, they are the ones that contribute in a special way to our business. Stakeholders have increasingly become an essential component of business Continue reading
The Toyota Way Philosophy
Japanese quality movement was a miracle and created world-class products. All these methodologies and concepts developed these quality gurus for internal process and quality improvement crisis are still practiced in various companies. These have become universal approach to improve the quality and manage performance crisis. Quality gurus created work culture and dedicated teams, which developed Japanese production systems through group activities. Toyota Corporation developed a new philosophy to create major change in manufacturing systems and delivered world-class products with internal benchmark for quality of vehicles. In reality, Toyota changed external business environment for competitors and created a long-lasting impact on automobile industry. The Toyota Way is a set of principles and behaviors that underlie the Toyota Motor Corporation’s managerial approach and production system. It consists of principles in two key areas: continuous improvement, and respect for people. Toyota use operational excellence as a strategic weapon. Company places the highest value Continue reading
The Nature of Organizational Change
Organizations introduce changes through people. Unless the people are willing to accept the need and responsibility for organizational change, intended changes can never be translated into reality. In addition, individuals have to learn to adapt their attitudes and behavioral patterns to constantly changing environments. Management of change involves both individual and organizational change. Individual change is behavioral change, which is determined by individual characteristics of members such as their knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, needs, expectations and skills. It is possible to bring about a total change in an organization by changing behaviors of individual members through participative and educative strategies. Although, the degree of difficulty involved in the change and the time taken to bring about the change will depend on the target of change. The attitudes towards change are largely dependent on the nature of the situation and the manner in which changes are initiated and executed. Changing individual behavior Continue reading
Entrepreneurial Marketing
Entrepreneurial Marketing is the combination of two discrete management areas. Existing as distinct disciplines, entrepreneurship and marketing have emerged to capture the several facets of marketing that are often not explained by existing traditional marketing theories and concepts. Definitions of both marketing and entrepreneurship differ considerably and we cannot expect that one single definition of entrepreneurial marketing will cover everything. A contemporary definition that meets the present scope in which entrepreneurial marketing is defined as: “the proactive identification and exploitation of opportunities for acquiring and retaining profitable customers through innovative approaches to risk management, resource leveraging and value creation.” Recently, entrepreneurial marketing has gained popularity in the marketing and entrepreneurship disciplines. The success of business activities pursuing non-traditional marketing approaches can be attributed to entrepreneurial marketing practices. Despite the large numbers of marketing models and concepts, there are notable successes that deviate from these and are labeled “entrepreneurial.” Economic growth Continue reading