Case Study on Entrepreneurship: Larry Page

Business Analysis

The Boundaryless Career: Modern Contemperory Perspective on Career

Human Resource Management

Concepts of Throughput Accounting and Theory of Constraints

Financial Management

Gantt Charts – Tool for Project Planning and Scheduling

Project Management

Kaizen – Understanding the Japanese Business Philosophy of Continuous Improvement

Operations Management

Mckinsey’s 7S Framework

The Mckinsey’s 7S Framework  suggests that there is a multiplicity of factors that influence an organization’s ability to change and its proper mode of change. Because of the interconnections of the variables, it would be difficult to make significant progress in one area without making progress in the others as well. There is no starting point or implied hierarchy in the shape of the diagram, and it is not obvious which of the seven factors would be the driving force in changing a particular organization at a certain point of time. The critical variables would be different across organizations and in the same organizations at different points of time. History  of Mckinsey’s 7S Framework The 7S Framework was first mentioned in “The Art Of Japanese Management” by  Richard Pascale  and  Anthony Athos  in 1981. They had been investigating how Japanese industry had been so successful. At around the same time Continue reading

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Concept of Distribution Channels in Marketing

The Importance of Distribution Most producers use intermediaries to bring their products to market. They try to develop a distribution channel (marketing channel) to do this. A distribution channel is a set of interdependent organizations that help make a product available for use or consumption by the consumer or business user. Channel intermediaries are firms or individuals such as wholesalers, agents, brokers, or retailers who help move a product from the producer to the consumer or business user. A company’s channel decisions directly affect every other marketing decision. Place decisions, for example, affect pricing. Marketers that distribute products through mass merchandisers such as Wal-Mart will have different pricing objectives and strategies than will those that sell to specialty stores. Distribution decisions can sometimes give a product a distinct position in the market. The choice of retailers and other intermediaries is strongly tied to the product itself. Manufacturers select mass merchandisers Continue reading

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Culture – Definition, Characteristics and Elements

Anthropologists and sociologists define culture as “Ways of Living “, built up by a group of human beings, which are transmitted from one generation to another. A culture acts out its ways of living in the context of social institutions, including family, educational, religious, governmental, and business institutions. Culture includes both conscious and unconscious values, ideas, attitudes, and symbols that shape human behavior and that are transmitted from one generation to the next. In this sense, culture does not include one-time solutions to unique problems, or passing fads and styles. As defined by organizational anthropologist Geert Hofstede, culture is “the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one category of people from those of another”. In addition to agreeing that culture is learned, not innate, most anthropologists share two additional views. First, all faces of culture are interrelated: Influence or change one aspect of a culture and Continue reading

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Industrial Distribution Channel Design

It is very important that a distribution channel is properly aligned to satisfy the  needs of channel members and also for the success of any industrial marketing  strategy. A good industrial channel creates the communication and physical  supply linkages with existing and potential customers. Channel designing in industrial markets is a  dynamic process that consists of either developing the new channels or  modifying the existing ones. Designing an appropriate industrial distribution channel and managing it is a tough and  continuing task. A well designed channel structure helps to achieve the desired  marketing objectives. A channel structure consists of types and number of  middlemen, terms and conditions of channel members, number of channels. The  various steps that are involved in industrial distribution channel design in industrial markets are given in the following  figure. Let us understand each of the stages of industrial distribution channel design process in detail: 1. Analyzing the Continue reading

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Foreign Exchange Risk Management by Banks

Exchange Dealings When the foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities are held, by the banks or the business concern, two types of risks are faced. Firstly, the risk that the exchange rates may vary and the change may affect the cash flows/profits. This is known as exchange risk. Secondly, the interest rate may vary and it may affect the cost of holding the foreign currency assets and liabilities. This is known as interest rate risk. The present section discusses exchange risk management by banks. Dealing Position Foreign exchange is such a sensitive commodity and subject to wide fluctuations in price that the bank which deals in it would like to keep the balance always near zero, The bank would endeavor to find a suitable buyer wherever it purchase so as to dispose of the foreign exchange acquired and be free from exchange risk. Likewise, whenever it sells it tries to Continue reading

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Project Management Process Groups

The project management processes are presented as discrete elements with well- defined interfaces. However, in practice they overlap and interact in ways that are not completely detailed here. Most experienced project management practitioners recognize there is more than one way to manage a project. The specifics for a project are defined as objectives that must be accomplished based on complexity, risk, size, time frame, project teams experience, access to resources, amount of historical information, the organizations project management maturity, and industry and application area. The required Process Groups and their constituent processes are guides to apply appropriate project management knowledge and skills during the project. In addition, the application of the project management processes to a project is iterative and many processes are repeated and revised during the project. The project manager and the project team are responsible for determining what processes from the Process Groups will be employed, by Continue reading

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