Successful Change Management: Principles and Processes

Managing the changes in an organization requires a broad set of skills like political skills, analytical skills, people skills, system skills, and business skills. Having good analytical skills will make you a good change agent. You should evaluate the financial and political impacts of the changes that can take place. You should know that following a particular process at that instant would fetch you immediate financial effects and start that process so that the change process is noted by the management. The workflow has to be changed in such a manner to reflect the financial changes that are taking place. Operations and systems in the organization should be reconfigured in such a manner that you get the desired financial impact. Successful management improvement efforts require the active involvement of managers and staff throughout the organization to provide ideas for improvements and supply the energy and expertise needed to implement changes. Continue reading

What is Enterprise Architecture (EA)?

The Evolution of Enterprise Architecture (EA) Enterprise Architecture evolution began as an idea in 1980 and was embodied in John Zachman’s early EA framework. Thus, informing the reference to John Zachman, as the father of EA. The evolution of Enterprise architecture was to address the increasing complexity of IT systems and difficulty of delivering business value using those systems. Enterprise architecture is characterized by a framework that supports the alignment of business and IT strategy. It was first defined in 1992 by Zachman and Sowa, resulting in its reference as the Zachman framework. It was then referred to as Information System Architecture but later changed in reference, to enterprise architecture in 1996 when Clinger-Cohen Act of the U.S. government directed all federal agencies to implement a holistic approach to incorporate IT to their business goals. Interest in adopting Enterprise architecture has increased as a result, as both government and private Continue reading

Liquidity – Meaning, Fundamentals, and Effects

Working capital is a term of liquidation as per the accountants. For them it is more important to ascertain if the company would be in a position to pay off its liabilities using its cash flows than to what level of current and non-current resources it holds. The disparity between current assets and current liabilities is therefore considered to be more important than the volume of the investment either in current assets or current liabilities. The success of the management of working capital ultimately depends on the optimal level of liquidity held by the organization. Higher level of liquidity has a bearing on the profitability of the firm whereas lower liquidity level can affect the operations of the firm. There are many factors that contribute to the changes in the level of liquidity but the changes in the composition of the working capital elements is probably the most significant among Continue reading

Treasury Bills and Inflation Control

Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (or TIPS) are the inflation-indexed bonds issued by the RBI Treasury. These securities were first issued in 1997. The principal is adjusted to the Consumer Price Index, the commonly used measure of inflation. The coupon rate  is constant, but generates a different amount of interest when multiplied by the inflation-adjusted principal, thus protecting the holder against inflation. TIPS are currently offered in 5-year, 7-year, 10-year and 20-year maturities. 30-year TIPS are no longer offered. In addition to their value for a borrower who desires protection against inflation, TIPS can also be a useful information source for policy makers: the interest-rate differential between TIPS and conventional  Treasury bonds is what borrowers are willing to give up in order to avoid inflation risk. Therefore, changes in this differential are usually taken to indicate that market expectations about inflation over the term of the bonds have changed. The interest payments Continue reading

The Role of Government in a Market Economy

In a market economy, commerce and customers make a decision of their own decision what they will consume and manufacture, and in which conclusions on the allotment of those sources are without government interference. Hypothetically this denotes that the manufacturer is required to decide what to produce, how much to produce, what prices to set up for consumers for those productions, what to pay workers, and so on. These conclusions in a market financial system are impacted by the forces of competition, supply, and demand. This is frequently distinguished with a premeditated economy, where central government concludes what will be manufactured and in what amounts. A market economy is also compared with the mixed economy where there are market processes through the system of markets that is not completely free but under some state control that is not widespread enough to comprise a deliberate financial system. In reality, there is Continue reading

Case Study: The Rise and Fall of Toys “R” Us

In 1948, Charles Lazarus founded Toys “R” Us as a children’s furnishing company. He used investments from savings and bank loans. In 1957, the organization founded its first formal toy shop, completely devoted to children’s toys, and became public in 1978. The firm had several conventional toy stores, shops focusing on baby commodities, over 100 children’s apparel stores, and various educational specialist stores. Nonetheless, the firm owned numerous toy shops in other international countries, led by Asian vendors. Toys “R” Us offered its items online via toysrus.com and other platforms, with online retailing performed through a partnership with Amazon. Inc. In 1982, the company expanded its product line by adding the Kids “R” Us and Babies “R” Us labels, bearing copyrights. These brands enjoyed tremendous development and became one of the most frequented sites for toys and children’s clothes. The company experienced robust achievements during its inception stages, and the Continue reading