Demand Forecasting in Managerial Economics

One of the crucial aspects in which managerial economics differs from pure economic theory lies in the treatment of risk and uncertainty. Traditional economic theory assumes a risk-free world of certainty; but the real world business is full of all sorts of risk and uncertainty. A manager cannot, therefore, afford to ignore risk and uncertainty. The element of risk is associated with future which is indefinite and uncertain. To cope with future risk and uncertainty, the manager needs to predict the future event. The likely future event has to be given form and content in terms of projected course of variables, i.e. forecasting. Thus, business forecasting is an essential ingredient of corporate planning. Such forecasting enables the manager to minimize the element of risk and uncertainty. Demand forecasting is a specific type of business forecasting. Concepts of Demand Forecasting The manager can conceptualize the future in definite terms. If he Continue reading

Forex Operational Risk Management through Production Management

There are four production related strategies available to deal with foreign exchange operational risk. These are input-mix, plant location, relocation of production and cost cutting. Input-mix: Global sourcing is a great strategy to deal with operating risk. In a survey of 152 manufacturing companies world over, the Machinery and Allied Products Institute, a research firm, found that 77% of them had increased their global sourcing since the rise of the dollar, which rises dollar cost. This is as it should be. The principal effect of a real exchange rate change is to change the price of domestically produced goods relative to foreign goods. A well-managed firm should be searching constantly for ways to substitute between domestic and imported inputs, depending on the relative prices involved and the degree of substitution possible. Plant Location: A firm without foreign facilities exporting to a competitive market, whose currency has devalued against currency of Continue reading

Approaches to Working Capital Financing

Having dealt with the size of investment in current assets, the methods of financing of working capital needs our attention. Working capital is financed both internally and externally through long-term and short-term funds, through debt and ownership funds. In financing working capital, the maturity pattern of sources of finance depended much coincide with credit period of sales for better liquidity. Generally, it is believed that funds for acquiring the fixed assets should be raised from long term sources and short-term sources should be utilized for raising working capital. But in the recent modern enterprises, both the types of sources are utilized for financing both fixed and current assets. There are basically three approaches to financing working capital. These are: the Hedging approach, the Conservative approach and the Aggressive approach. Hedging Approach:  The hedging approach is also known as the matching approach. Under this approach, the funds for acquiring fixed assets Continue reading

Case Study on Apple: Understanding the Real Innovation Behind the iPhone

Innovation is a field of study that is simply just a new method, idea or device. However, it is also often regarded as the application of better answers that are meeting unarticulated needs, new requirements or any already existing market needs. Inside the information and communication technology sector, the mobile phone industry has become a very innovative segment. Technical advancements and new product proliferation have molded this industry into an extremely dynamic one. This has happened even after the market shares are extremely concentrated in the hands of a few giants in the industry. Innovation is the core of every successful product, organization or new venture. Apple Inc. is no exception to that. From their iPod to their Apple Newton to iPhone, Apple, Inc. from the beginning itself have provided the pomp and performance. The iPhone has transformed the mobile phone business completely, along with the internet economy and society Continue reading

Co-ordination – Types,Techniques and Principles

In the words of Haimann, “Co-ordination is the orderly synchronization of efforts of the subordinates to provide the proper amount, timing and quality of execution so that their unified efforts lead to the stated objective, namely the common purpose of the enterprise.” Read More: Coordination in Business Management Types of Co-ordination The co-ordination may be divided on different bases, namely; 1. Scope – on the basis of scope or coverage, co-ordination can be. Internal — refers to co-ordination between the different units of an organisation within and is achieved by integrating the goals and activities of different departments of the enterprise. External — refers to co-ordination between an organisation and its external environment comprising government, community, customers, investors, suppliers, competitors, research institutions, etc.  It requires proper match between policies and activities of the enterprise and the outside world. 2. Flow – on the basis of flow, co-ordination can classified into: Continue reading

The Objective of Shareholder Wealth Maximization

In old times, the traditional approach of companies was to maximize the owner’s profit. Modern approach puts more emphasis on Shareholder Wealth Maximization rather than owner profit maximization. This includes increasing the earnings per share (EPS) of every shareholder so that their net worth is maximized. Wealth increase is equal to what gross present worth in needed for raising profits in the future. This value needs to be discounted as per the time frame to found out the annualized rate of return for the shareholder. In Shareholder Wealth Maximization, it places priority before any other objective for the organization. Any action which has positive effective on Shareholder Wealth Maximization needs to be given priority. In any capitalistic society, the goal of business should be Shareholder Wealth Maximization as mostly the ownership of goods and services is by individuals, since, they own all the means so that they can make money. Continue reading