Kaizen – The Philosophy of Continuous Improvement

What is Kaizen?

Japan’s management philosophy has introduced a new creative strategy for competitive success in business, or the so-called “Kaizen” model. The term Kaizen began to receive attention from management experts and scholars around the world when Masaaki Imai published his first book in 1986, “The Key to Japan’s Competitive Success”.

Kaizen is a Japanese word with literally mean improvement, taken from words ‘Kai’, which means continuous and ‘zen’ which means improvement. Some translate ‘Kai’ to mean change and ‘zen’ to mean good, or for the better.  In the context of Lean manufacturing, kaizen is understood to signify small, incremental, and frequent improvements to a process.… Read the rest

The Effects of Globalization on Multinational Corporations

Globalization is the competition in an international market. The growth rate of developing nations and their acquisitions of previously first-world owned corporations indicates that the developed world no longer has the upper hand economic growth in the west has been miniscule in comparison. Success in this new global market requires the ability to accommodate the different needs of diverse consumer groups. Companies can achieve this through product and process innovations and maximize profits. Entrepreneurship is also increasingly recognized and as an alternative course to fortune as opposed to trading rare commodities.

Companies from emergent economies are following the lead of their developed counterparts, issuing stocks and encouraging investment.… Read the rest

What is CounterTrade?

Countertrade constitutes an estimated 5 to 30 percent of total world trade. Countertrade greatly proliferated in the 1980s. Perhaps, the single most important contributing factor is  Least Developed Countries (LDC’s) decreasing ability to finance their import needs through bank loans.

Countertrade, one of the oldest forms of trade, is a government mandate to pay for goods and services with something other than cash. It is a practice, which requires a seller as a condition of sale, to commit contractually to reciprocate and undertake certain business initiatives that compensate and benefit the buyer. In short, a goods-for-goods deal is countertrade.… Read the rest

Eurocurrency Market

Prior to 1980 Eurocurrency markets are the only international financial market of any significance. They are offshore markets where financial institutions conduct transactions which are denominated in currencies of countries other than the country in which the institutions currencies of countries other than the country in which the institutions are located. The Eurocurrency market is outside the legal preview of the country in whose currency the finance are raised in the market. Eurocurrencies are bank deposits denominated in currencies other than the currency of the country in which the bank is located. The bank deposits and loans are denominated in Eurocurrencies, particularly dollars.… Read the rest

Rangarajan Committee on Balance of Payments

Dr. C. Rangarajan, former Governor, Reserve Bank of India who headed the high level Committee on balance of payments submitted its report on June 4, 1993. The Committee made the following findings and recommendations for correcting balance of payments:

1. The Committee stressed the fact that a realistic exchange rate and a gradual relaxation of restrictions on current account transactions have to go hand in hand.

2. In the medium-term care has to be taken to ensure that there is no capital flight through liberalized windows of transactions under invisibles. At the same time there is no escape from a very close control overall capital transactions so that future liabilities are kept under control.… Read the rest

Significance of Balance of Payments (BoP) Data

Balance of payment records all economic transactions between a county and the rest of the countries around the world annually. The balance of payment is made up of two distinguished components respectively the current account, capital and financial accounts. Transactions such as exports and imports of goods and services, income and transfers are recorded in the current account. On the other hand transactions relating to portfolio and foreign direct investments are recorded on the capital and financial accounts. Balance of payment is an important indicator of the health of any country’s business as it reflects its international trade and investment performance.… Read the rest