What is Price Control?

Price control refers to a direct measure on the part of the Government in fixing the prices for achieving certain macro economic goals like social welfare, efficient resource allocation, prevention of exploitation of the consumers etc. The Price Control may be informal or formal. In case of informal price control the producers voluntarily agree to regulate the prices which are within limits suggested by the Government whereas under formal price control, the prices are statutorily fixed by the Government and have to be accepted by the producers.  The government regulation that makes it illegal to charge a price higher than a specified level is Price ceiling. There are two types of price ceilings: one is set above the equilibrium price and one that is set underneath. The one that is set above the equilibrium has no effect because it does not constrain the market forces. The one that is set Continue reading

High Performance Work Teams

Managing projects, setting goals, clarifying roles, and solving problems in teams are skills that must be developed. New organizational skills must be developed if teams are to operate effectively and efficiently. Teamwork as a form of organizing work will vary in its manifestation between societies. Nevertheless teamwork is a recognizable approach to the organization of work. Thus, teamwork forms one of the underlying dimensions of work organization and employee involvement that we use to characterize high performance work organizations (HPWOs). At a broader range we may include employee satisfaction, employee stress, labor turnover rates, customer satisfaction, client retention and so on in HPWOs. Practices like developing higher levels of commitment to the organization, higher levels of motivation and using employees knowledge to introduce continuous improvements, etc. will increase the productivity and other organizational outcomes. We have heard much about the benefits with implementing team approaches to improve organizational effectiveness and Continue reading

Value Creation – Definition, Implementation and Principles

The idea of value creation is to capitalise on what, as an organisation, you already possess. The organisation may be a business, a school, a corporation, a government department — anywhere, in fact, where the main asset of the company is the people within it. Establishing value creation as a way of life for both managers and workers can help define the role of each more precisely, whilst simultaneously making both feel more integrated and involved within the day to day running of a place of work. Making everyone within an organisation feel that they are more than just ‘cogs in a wheel’ establishes a new feeling of unity and cooperation in organisations and can be a great asset in moving a company or other organisation forward because if everyone feels that they are part of the decision-making process then carrying out the aftermath of those decisions is more likely Continue reading

Measuring National Income – Three Methods of Measuring National Income and Output

National income can be defined as the part of the objective income of the community including income derived from abroad which can be measured in money i.e the money value of goods and services which is produced and made available for consumption in an economy for a particular period which is usually a year.  National income, also known as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is very helpful to the economists to track the economic growth’s rate, average living standard in one country as well as the distribution of income between different groups of population (i.e. inequality gap). For  measuring  the national income, the national economy is viewed as follows: The national economy is considered as an aggregate of producing units combining different sectors such as agriculture, mining, manufacturing and trade and commerce. The whole national economy is viewed as a combination of individuals and household owning different kinds of factors of Continue reading

Commercial Credit Analysis: Collateral

Collateral is the security given to the bank as a safeguard for the facility/ facilities advanced. This is effectively the Bank’s insurance that should there be a default, the bank has something to fall back on to either recover in part or full the amount advanced. It is important for a prospective borrower to realize that there is no such thing as a standard collateral. The nature of the collateral, the amount and the percentage of the facility advanced that it covers will vary from borrower to borrower and from bank to bank. However, there are some standard collaterals. The collateral sought for an overdraft and working capital facilities is the hypothecation of book debts and stocks. The amount advanced will be usually a percentage of the total value – the percentage held back being known in banking connotation as the margin. This is an additional safeguard for a bank Continue reading

Recruitment – Definition, Process, Need and Purpose

People are integral part of any organization today. No organization can run without its human resources. In today’s highly complex and competitive situation, choice of right person at the right place has far reaching implications for an organization’s functioning. Employee well selected and well placed would not only contribute to the efficient running of the organization but offer significant potential for future replacement.  Recruitment comes at this point of time in the picture. Recruitment is a strategic function for HR department. Recruitment means to estimate the available vacancies and to make suitable arrangements for their selection and appointment. Recruitment is understood as the process of searching for and obtaining applicants for the jobs, from among whom the right people can be selected. A formal definition states, “It is the process of finding and attracting capable applicants for the employment. The process begins when new recruits are sought and ends when Continue reading