Prescriptive and Descriptive Schools of Strategy – Similarities and Differences

Strategy is a direction and scope of an organization over the long term, which achieves advantage in changing environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectations. Having strategy in an organization is very important because it helps on how to meet the goals in consideration with the organization’s situation. An organization strategy answers all questions about fundamental business whether to concentrate in single business or build a group of several businesses, either to go for a broad range of customers or to concentrate on a market niche, either to focus on a wide or narrow product line, whether to base on competitive advantage with low cost or product differentiation. An organization has to know deeply everything concerned strategic management, strategic levels, and has to reach to the level of achievement of the strategic goals. Organizations also use strategy as the most important tool Continue reading

Leadership and Management – Differences

A manager may be a leader, a manager may not be a leader, but a leader may emerge who is not a manager. This saying shows that roles of manager and leader not to be connected at all. However, for a business to be effective, managers must learn how to become leaders by developing effective leadership skills. A leader means a person that holds a dominant or superior position within its field, and is able to exercise a high degree of control or influence over others. A leader is one who has followers. Followers follow leaders because they are influenced by the leader’s personality and share belief in the leader’s visions, goals and values. Leaders gain personal power through credibility. They can communicate their beliefs to team members, who understand that these beliefs will not alter or vary because of circumstances and will become the rock on which their working Continue reading

Sources of Finance: Public Deposits

From the company’s point of view, public deposits are a major source of finance to meet the working capital needs. Due to the credit squeeze imposed by the Reserve Bank of India on bank loans to the corporate sector during 1970s – 1980s and also due to the recommendations of the Tandon Committee, restricting credit, many companies were not getting as much money in the 1980s as they used to get, in the past, from the banks. So, public deposits came handy as working capital fund for businesses. While to the depositor, the interest rate offered is higher than that offered by banks, the cost of deposits to the company is less than the cost of borrowings from bank. Moreover, the availability and volume of bank credit are restricted by consideration of margin, security offered, periodical submission of statements etc. The credit available to companies through public deposits is not Continue reading

Methods of Data Processing in Research

Data processing is concerned with editing, coding, classifying, tabulating and charting and diagramming research data. The essence of data processing in research is data reduction. Data reduction involves winnowing out the irrelevant from the relevant data and establishing order from chaos and giving shape to a mass of data. Data processing in research consists of five important  steps. They are: 1. Editing of Data Editing is the first step in data processing. Editing is the process of examining the data collected in questionnaires/schedules to detect errors and omissions and to see that they are corrected and the schedules are ready for tabulation. When the whole data collection is over a final and a thorough check up is made. Mildred B. Parten in his book points out that the editor is responsible for seeing that the data are; Accurate as possible, Consistent with other facts secured, Uniformly entered, As complete as Continue reading

Methods of Marketing Research

Marketing research is a systematic and objective study of problems pertaining to the marketing of goods and services. It is applicable to any area of marketing. Research is the only tool an organization has to keep in contact with its external operating environment. In order to be proactive and change with the environment simple questions need to be asked: What are the customer needs and how are they changing? How to meet these changing needs? What do the customers think about existing products or services? What more are they looking at? What are the competitors doing to retain customers in this environment? Are their strategies exceeding or influencing yours? What should you do to be more competitive? How are macro and micro environmental factors influencing your organisation? How will you react t this environment? Methodologically, marketing research uses four types of research designs, namely: Qualitative marketing research — This is Continue reading

Social Engineering Attacks – Explanation with Examples and Prevention Tips

The rise of 21st century marked the transition phase of the most global businesses towards a paperless office environment, where the focus shifted the manual to the computerized form of work culture. But at the same time, change brought a number of threats and menace in terms of one of the biggest issues of the current businesses, the social engineering used among the hackers for cracking techniques that rely more on human weaknesses rather than technology itself. The aim or motive of such attacks was getting access to passwords or other relevant information by tricking people for carrying out illegal or criminal activities. FBI and other security experts hold a firm view that majority of threats originate from the internal working environment or employees who have been granted additional privileges or authorities to company’s information. People who have an urge for power and control over other individuals exhibit the social Continue reading