Article on Indian Banking Sector- “Innovation in Banking”

Innovation derives organization to grow, prosper & transform in sync with the changes in the environment, both internal & external. Banking is no exception to this. In fact, this sector has witnessed radical transformation of late, based on many innovations in products, processes, services, systems, business models, technology, governance & regulation. A liberalized & globalized financial infrastructure has provided had provided an additional impetus to this gigantic effort. The pervasive influence of information technology has revolutionaries banking. Transaction costs have crumbled & handling of astronomical brick & mortar structure has been rapidly yielding ground to click & order electronic banking with a plethora of new products. Banking has become boundary less & virtual with a 24*7 model. Banks who strongly rely on the merits of ‘relationship was banking’ as a time tested way of targeting & servicing clients have readily embraced Customer Relationship Management (CRM), with sharp focus on customer Continue reading

Organizational Performance – Meaning, Definition and Measures

Managers are concerned with organizational performance–the accumulated end results of all the organization’s work processes and activities. It’s a complex but important concept, and managers need to understand the factors that contribute to high organizational performance. After all, they don’t want (or intend) to manage their way to mediocre performance. They want their organizations, work units, or work groups to achieve high levels of performance, no matter what mission, strategies, or goals are being pursued. Managers measure and control organizational performance because it leads to better asset management, to an increased ability to provide customer value, and to improved measures of organizational knowledge. In addition, measures of organizational performance do have an impact on an organization’s reputation. Managers at high-performing companies do–they manage the organizational assets in ways that exploit their value. Asset management is the process of acquiring, managing, renewing, and disposing of assets as needed, and of designing Continue reading

Understanding Different Types of Supply Chain Risk

There have been many different definitions of supply chain risk, but it can be broadly defined as the variation in the distribution of possible supply chain outcomes, their likelihood, and their subjective values. However, this definition has since been expanded upon to account for all the different departments and functions that operate within a supply chain. This leads to an overall definition of supply chain risk as any risks for the information, material and product flows from original supplier to the delivery of the final product for the end user. Simply put, supply chain risk refers to the probability of a risk event occurring the supply line and when the product goes on sale. Furthermore, risk sources are the predominant causes of risk events, which are the environmental, organizational or supply-chain variables which cannot be predicted with certainty and which impact on the supply chain outcome variables. Identifying Supply Chain Continue reading

The Behavioral Science Approach to Management

The behavioral science approach to management  focuses on the psychological and sociological processes (attitude, motivations, group dynamics) that influence employee performance. While the classical approach focuses on the job of workers, the behavioral approach focuses on the workers in these jobs. Workers desisted the formal and impersonal approach of classical writers. Behavioral approach started in 1930. This gave rise to the Behavioral  science approach to management. Two branches contributed to the Behavioral approach. Human Relations Movements:  The human relations movement refers to the approach to management and worker productivity that takes into account a person’s motivation, satisfaction, and relationship with others in the workplace.  The human relations movement grew from the Hawthorne studies. Development of Organisational Behavior: Pioneers of the human relation movement stressed inter-personal relations and neglected the group behavior patterns. This led to the development of field of organisational  behavior. It respects a more. Interdisciplinary and multi-dimensional approach Continue reading

Case Study: Tata Salt’s Advertisement Campaign

The ‘Meine desh ka namak khaya hai’ TATA advertisement campaign in 2002 offered viewers an instant connection.   In India, salt and loyalty have been associated from time immemorial.   ‘Namak halal” and “Namak Haram” are commonly used terms for honest and dishonest people respectively. According to cultural connotations, after consuming salt at a person’s house the one who has consumed the salt should not cheat his/her host.   The campaign connected with the consumer at an emotional level. TATA Chemicals Ltd (TCL) started manufacturing salt in 1939 after establishing a solar salt works at Mithapur, Gujarat.   It pioneered the concept of iodized and vacuum-evaporated salt in India in the early 1980s and created a need that was not felt by consumers before. Interestingly, the opportunity came accidentally, when in 1983, the company needed fresh water for its boilers that produced soda ash at its Mithapur plant in Gujarat. Continue reading

Capital Structure of a Company

The assets of a company can be financed either by increasing the owners’ claims or the creditors’ claims. The owners claim increase when the firm raises funds by issuing ordinary shares or by retaining earnings; the creditors’ claims increase by borrowing. The various means of financing represent the financial structure or capital structure of a company. The term capital structure is used to represent the proportionate relationship between debt and equity. Equity includes paid-up share capital, share premium and reserve and surplus (retained earnings). The company will have to plan its capital structure initially at the time of its promotion. Subsequently, whenever funds have to be raised finance investment, a capital structure decision is involved. Capital structure of a company refers to the mix of sources from where the long-term funds required in the business may be raised. A demand for raising funds generates a new capital structure a decision Continue reading