Theories of Capital Structure

In practice it is difficult to specify an optional capital structure-indeed, managers even feels uncomfortable about specifying an optional capital structure range. Thus, financial managers worry primarily about whether their firms are using too little or too much debt, not about the precise optimal amount of debt. Even if a firm’s actual capital structure varies widely from the theoretical optimum, this capital structure decisions are secondary in importance to operating decisions, especially those relating to capital budgeting and the strategic direction of the firm. Different kinds of theories have been propounded by different authors to explain the relationship between capital structures. The four important theories of capital structure  are: 1. Net Income Approach: According to this approach, a firm can minimize the weighted average cost of capital and increase the value of the firm as well as market price of equity shares by using debt financing to the maximum possible Continue reading

Case Study of Nestle: Training and Development

Nestle is world’s leading food company, with a 135-year history and operations in virtually every country in the world. Nestle’s principal assets are not office buildings, factories, or even brands. Rather, it is the fact that they are a global organization comprised of many nationalities, religions, and ethnic backgrounds all working together in one single unifying corporate culture. Culture at Nestle and Human Resources Policy Nestle culture unifies people on all continents. The most important parts of Nestle’s business strategy and culture are the development of human capacity in each country where they operate. Learning is an integral part of Nestle’s culture. This is firmly stated in The Nestle Human Resources Policy, a totally new policy that encompasses the guidelines that constitute a sound basis for efficient and effective human resource management. People development is the driving force of the policy, which includes clear principles on non-discrimination, the right of Continue reading

Analysis of Porter’s Diamond Model of National Advantage

Michael Porter introduced the diamond model of national competitive advantage (1990) to explain why a number of countries are more competitive than others and why a number of businesses within the countries are more competitive. Porter’s Diamond Model proposes that the national home base of an industry plays an important role in achieving an advantage on a universal scale. This home base contributes the essential factors that will support the organisations in building advantages in global competition. Porter identified four determinants in attaining a national competitive advantage he concludes that a combination of the four determinants within a nation has an enormous influence on the competitive strength of the firms located there. Porter argues that competitive industries take the form of specialized clusters of home based firms. Clusters are correlated through vertical relations such as buyers integrating with suppliers or through horizontal relations through customers, technology, skills, distribution channels etc. Continue reading

New Trends In E-Business

E-business changed the way business was being done over the years. It created more and more avenues and opportunities. E-business changed the competitive platform. While the old competitive barriers are diminishing it created new entry and competitive barriers. The hard competitive barriers are becoming weak while the soft competitive barriers became more and more prominent. It is believed that not even 50% of the potential of e-business is to be unleashed yet. This definitely indicates that e-business has lot more to offer. E-business has appealed the businesses and customers from all segments. E-business increased the connectivity among different businesses. The integration among departments, different businesses, and different sectors through e-business made it possible to offer variety of services to customers. The new technologies, high speed internet made the transactions possible. Improved integration and interoperability needs of next generation e-business systems are met by new e-business solution architectures. New technologies of Continue reading

Boundaryless Organization – Definition and Types

Organizations, by definition, are entities with  boundaries. External boundaries separate a company from its suppliers and customers and define  its geographic reach. Internal boundaries separate  the departments between each other, management from employees. Such lines of  differentiation have been necessary.  Different departments in the organization work towards the common goal the overall success of the business. However, companies that thrive within the new environment  of global competition, rapidly changing technologies, and shifting markets are characterized by  not having many boundaries.  The new model of success is defined as “boundaryless organization”,  a term created by Jack Welch during his term as CEO of GE. A boundaryless organization is a contemporary approach in organizational design.  In a boundaryless organization, the boundaries that divide employees such as hierarchy, job function, and geography as well as those that distance companies from suppliers and customers are broken down. A boundaryless organization seeks to remove vertical, Continue reading

Altman Z-Score Formula – Corporate Bankruptcy Prediction Model

The financial failure of a company can have a devastating effect on the all seven users of financial statements e.g. present and potential investors, customers, creditors, employees, lenders, general public etc. As a result, users of financial statements as indicated previously are interested in predicting not only whether a company will fail, but also when it will fail e.g. to avoid high profile corporate failures at Enron, Arthur Anderson, and WorldCom etc. Business failure is defined as the unfortunate circumstance of a firm’s inability to stay in the business. Business failure occurs when the total liabilities exceeds the total assets of a company, as total assets is consider a measure of productivity of a company assets.  The main reasons for business failure are high interest rates, recession squeezed profits, heavy debt burdens, government regulations and the nature of operations can contribute to a firm’s financial distress. The traditional analysis of Continue reading