SWOT Analysis of Mattel

Mattel was started in 1945 by Harold Mattson and Eliot Handler. The company was primarily focused on manufacturing doll-house furniture. Mattson eventually sold his ownership share to Handler and the company went on to manufacture a wide variety of toys. In addition to manufacturing toys, Mattel decided to sponsor the Walt Disney Mickey Mouse Club in 1955, which was a pioneering and very successful marketing step which provided direct access to millions of young potential customers. The famous Barbie (named after Eliot Handler’s daughter) was brought to market in 1959 and the company went public in 1960. After going public, gross sales increased to $75 million and the famous Hot Wheels line was launched in 1968. Over the next 20 years, there was a series of management and changes in strategy — the Handlers were forcibly removed from management in 1074 and the company proceeded to acquire non-toy business, such Continue reading

Maximizing Productivity through Lean Thinking and Just-In-Time (JIT)

Companies aim to improve their productivity and increase their profitability. Consequently, many firms adopt effective strategies and business models that enhance their operations. Lean Thinking and Just-In-Time (JIT) models help maximize their efficiency and viability. Lean thinking involves a transformational framework that organizes human activities to deliver value to human beings while eliminating waste. Meanwhile, JIT is an inventory model that allows goods to be received from suppliers only as they are needed. The rationale for companies adopting JIT is to reduce inventory holding costs and increase inventory turnovers. Therefore, Lean thinking and JIT are significant among businesses since they help reduce costs and promote business productivity. The lean thinking framework has been adopted by many companies and has proved successful in various industrial dimensions. James Womack and Daniels Jones first used the term. The concept integrates five principles that contribute to its success: value, value stream, flow, pull, and Continue reading

Strategic Outsourcing

The opposite of integration (a firm’s growth, in number of businesses) is outsourcing value-creation activities to subcontractors. In recent years there has been a clear move among many enterprises to outsource  non-core  or non-strategic activities.  Any function can be outsourced, if it is not critical to a firm’s success (is not one of its distinctive competencies). Outsourcing begins with a identification of a firm’s distinctive competencies–these will continue to be performed within the company. All other activities are then reviewed to see whether they can be performed more effectively and efficiently by independent suppliers. If they can, these activities are outsourced to those suppliers. The relationships between the company and those suppliers are then often structured as long-term contractual relationships. The term virtual corporation has been coined to describe companies that have pursued extensive strategic outsourcing. Advantages of Strategic Outsourcing There are several advantages of strategic outsourcing. First, by outsourcing Continue reading

History and Background of General Motors

Automotive legend of the last century, GM, is one of the biggest corporations in the world. Although GM had big turmoils in its business, it still operates successfully in all over the universe. The aim of this assignment is to determine the GM’s business strategies with rises and falls by looking into their history, having the data of what and how did they do in their businesses and analysing their company activities. Being a leader and pioneer of the automobile industry since this sector’s infancy times , General Motors Corporation still keeps its successful place in this competitive business. Since 1908, General Motors Corporation (GM) is one of the largest auto producer in the world as measured by global industry sales, whose headquarters is in United States of America. William C. Durant was the founder of General Motors Company with being an innovator in automobile technology. As being a multinational Continue reading

Financial Management Decisions

Financial Management is concerned with the acquisition and utilization of capital funds in meeting the financial needs and overall objectives of a business enterprise. Thus the primary function of finance is to acquire capital funds and put them for proper utilization, with which the firm’s objectives are fulfilled. The firm should be able to procure sufficient funds on reasonable terms and conditions and should exercise proper control in applying them in order to earn a good rate of return, which in turn allows the firm to reward the sources of funds reasonably, and leaves the firm with good surplus to grow further. These activities viz. financing, investing and dividend payment are not sequential they are performed simultaneously and continuously. Financial Management Decisions –  Three Major Decisions in  Financial Management The Financial Management can be broken down in to three major decisions or functions of finance. They are: (i) the investment Continue reading

Case Study: Lehman Brothers Fraud and Bankruptcy

The functioning of any company that operates on the international level and has huge incomes is always related to various risks. There is a great possibility of financial collapse and bankruptcy as the conditions of the modern market could be considered complicated. It is obvious, that the failure of a great international corporation could not but impact wide sections of the population and numerous companies whose functioning depends on its success. However, a case is more complex when there is a possibility of a fraud that might pursue various aims. Under these conditions, depositors and other actors who depend on the revenues of a company that is going to cheat or use some inappropriate strategies that could help owners of a company to obtain huge and undocumented incomes might suffer. That is why it is crucial to analyze a case of this sort to understand the main model according to Continue reading