Case Study: Business Model of Napster

The Napster brand has had a varied history. Its initial incarnation was as the first widely used service for ‘free’ peer-to-peer (P2P) music sharing. The record companies mounted a legal challenge to Napster due to lost revenues on music sales which eventually forced it to close. But the Napster brand was purchased and its second incarnation offers a legal music download service in direct competition with Apple’s iTunes. The original Napster Napster was initially created between 1998 and 1999 by a 19 year old called Shawn Fanning while he attended Boston’s Northeastern University. He wrote the programme initially as a way of solving a problem for a friend who wanted to find music downloads more easily online online. The name Napster came from Fanning’s nickname. The system was known as Peer to Peer since it enabled music tracks stored on other Internet users hard disks in MP3 format to be Continue reading

Guidelines for Being a Good Leader

The leader leads his people towards the goal. He is the person who can get his people to follow him. He is the one who is looked up to, whose judgment is trusted, and who inspires the people working with him and for him. Good leader should be motivating, inspiring and able to manage people. Leader should be charismatic and being visionary and have ability to acting decisively. There is very complex opinion about leadership either can take it as based on personality and physical traits or based on prescribed behaviors. Leadership can define in terms of power relationship between leaders and followers. As good leaders, they must try to get employees to concentrate around common goal and should have creative vision and strategic plan for an organization. Decisiveness is very important characteristic because every leader has to be taking some difficult decision in job. They have to take decision Continue reading

Historical Cost Accounting – Definition and Criticisms

The historical cost accounting values an asset for balance sheet purposes at the price paid for the asset at the time of its acquisition. The historical cost accounting is the situation in which accountants record revenue, expenditure and asset acquisition and disposal at historical cost: that is, the actual amounts of money, or money’s worth, received or paid to complete the transaction. Historical cost is based on actual transaction rather than forecasts. There are supporting records for all the figures provided in the financial statements. It is also relevant in making economic decisions, as past data transactions are needed for making future decisions. Another defense of historical cost is that ‘historical cost’ has been used throughout history as financial statements which use historical cost are found to be useful. Profit is the excess of selling price over historical cost. Profit is a very well accepted concept of measure of performance. Continue reading

10 Important Types of Innovation with Examples

Innovation is a very diverse term. In general, innovation means exploiting new ideas or change existing ones for the betterment. Innovation focuses on being creative at work. It can be technological, which includes product innovation or process innovation. Also, it can be related to changing business model, exploiting new markets, and developing new processes. The main aim of innovation it so make the business more successful. This can be done by increasing market share of an existing product or introducing a new product or reducing the cost of production. Innovation is important for both employees and the owner of the business. For the owner of the business, innovation helps to keep up with the competition. With the fast growing pace of competition, the organizations have to be on toes to keep an eye on the work of their competitors. The new processes or technologies developed by the competitors can be Continue reading

Exit Value Accounting

Exit value accounting is a form of current cost accounting which is based on valuing assets at their net selling prices (exit prices) at the balance sheet date and on the basis of orderly sales. An exit value is the maximum price a currently held asset could be sold for in the market less the transactions costs of the sale (the net realizable value for the asset). This normative accounting theory was developed by Raymond Chambers and labeled as Continuously Contemporary Accounting (CoCoA). The theory relies on assessments of the exit or selling price of an entity’s liabilities and assets. The exit value accounting theory was developed under the following key assumptions. Firstly, firms exist to increase the owners’ wealth. Secondly, the organization’s ability to adapt to changing circumstances is the basis of successful operations and Finally, the capacity to adapt will be best reflected by the monetary value of Continue reading

Bank Draft – Meaning and Definition

A bank draft is an order from one branch to another branch of the same bank  to pay a specified sum of money to a person named therein or to his order. A draft is always payable on demand. Banks issue drafts at the request of the customers on their branches at the place of destination for remitting money from one place to another place. Any person who wants to remit money has to purchase a draft from the bank by paying the amount in advance to the bank. The purchaser of the draft then sends the draft to the payee’s place of  residence by post or courier for the purpose of encashment at the drawee branch of the bank. The bank issuing the draft charges some commission depends upon the amount of the draft. The purchaser need not be a customer  of the bank. The bank draft is like Continue reading