Criticism Makes You Stronger and Sharper “Flattery is telling the other person precisely what he thinks about himself.” –Dale Carnegie “Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary.”-Winston Churchill Critics are always feared for their barbed tongue and piercing comments. If you look at popular figures and celebrities, they tend to give much importance to these comments as they are real tools for self improvement and personal enhancement. Criticism helps improve knowledge, helps all the parties involved and helps one to learn and react to the actions of others. It is also a no-cost source of research that promotes a team spirit as well as a certain broad-mindedness / open mindedness of the human resources of an organization. It is a non-monetary tool of motivation. It helps in achieving organizational goals and objectives, also helps in realizing hidden mistakes, and tackles various bottlenecks. No doubt, it is a mixed blessing! Despite its benefits, it renders the following costs, which are the dark side of the coin: 1. It paves the way to enmity and hostility amongst those who frame policies and those who implement them. 2. It may lead to industrial dispute. It creates an unpleasant, undisciplined atmosphere in an organization. 3. It may result in unhealthy conflicts in an organization, undermining its human resources base. 4. It could also kill the spirit of initiative. 5. A superior may feel hurt or insulted when his subordinates / peers pinpoint his short-comings. Criticism can be made more positive on the following premises: 1. Do not perceive it as something bad or a shortcoming. If you feel it is unworthy of you, turn a deaf ear to it. 2. Give some time for the dust to settle down when someone is rude in his criticism as, with time, its impact will be diluted. 3. If you are criticized unfairly defend yourself and stand by your conviction. 4. Perceive it as a source of potential help in making wise decisions. 5. Do not arm the critic by counter attacking. That blows into a vendetta at times. 6. Do not raise your voice above the voice of critic – let him go ahead and be mild and amicable with him. Criticism is like the proverbial double-edged sword, and so can easily be made more effective as a potential business management tool by selecting leading and conductive spots where critics can come together and draw their views verbally / non-verbally, publicly or anonymously. Perceive critics as a vital source to help solve and implement solutions for the problems raised. Explore the critic’s view fully and freely, providing all sorts of ways in which critics can express their deliberations without...

Game theory and strategy What is Game Theory: Set of concepts designed for decision making in situations of competition and conflict under specified rules. The prisoner’s dilemma: The prisoner’s dilemma is a canonical example of a game, analyzed in game theory that explains why two individuals might not cooperate, even if it appears that it is in their best interest to do so; Albert W. Tucker formalized the game with prison sentence payoffs and gave it the “prisoner’s dilemma” name.   To solve many practical problems that are encountered in economic, military or other disciplines, one has to deal with situations in which there are two or more conflicting parties striving for the same objective and the outcome of each action of one party depends solely on the opposite parties choice of a course of action. As we all know only one horse can win the race ultimately and the other parties only can prolong the race or see to that they make every possible move to delay the opponent’s success. So, what’s this game theory all about? This is a special mathematical method that was evolved mainly to analyze conflict situations where the number of competitors is finite, each participant has a definite set of actions to choose and there is a conflict of interest between the competitors. So it helped the participants to reach a decision that would put them in the winning post. This theory has spilled its implications on business situations where success is the motto and conflict and competition the order of the day. Only the best among the best survive. Darwin’s theory, “Survival of the fittest” applies not only to biological organisms but also to business organizations which are also abuzz with activity. Chance Moves: Games like chess, checkers are played according to a definite set of rules laid down and these game patterns has inspired business persons to introduce strategies in business, where the concentration is mainly focused on the chance moves that defeats the opponent. Big business corporates mainly concentrate on the strengths and weaknesses of their competitors to have an edge over them. A real game is controlled and regulated by the statutory rules to be followed but a business game involves lot of killer instincts and intuitions combined with rational thinking and logic. Optimal Strategy: The first party always puts himself in the shoes of the other party and tries to perceive how the other party would react in a particular situation. Although the aim is to win, choosing the optimal strategy is what matters. It will at least keep you in bay. Precise solutions can be arrived at if you plan your game fittingly. The anticipation and thrill that is involved in a strategic game is matchless. We witness a lot of firms imitating what the leader of the market does. The risk is borne solely by the firm introducing the change and the firm takes the major share of profit as it is the pioneer and if it loses the next strategic move is planned for.     For a company with sound financial position, the chance move is worth giving a try, head or tail doesn’t matter. The stalkers are benefited by the waiting period during which they come to know of the pros and cons of the strategy employed by the leader. Games are played in the true spirit of sportsmanship, but a business faces cut throat competition. There is no space for any courtesy or liberal approach. If you are quick enough to pick the pulse of the people by gauging their preferences, analyzing the market conditions and employing timely strategies you will at...

 Strategy Implementation Organizational objectives must be accomplished by strategic planning and thinking that makes your organization unique and also helps to have a competitive edge. What are the elements that are part of this planning strategy? Proper allocation of resources An appropriate organization structure Efficient human resource personnel An effective management information system A feasible budgeting system A good reward system Periodic strategy review system There are many more aspects that can be attributed to broadly define strategic planning and execution. The success or failure of this exercise is in the hands of managers, who should be adequately prepared for the planning process. The objectives of the organization must be well defined and clear so that the people in the organization can evolve the necessary plans to accomplish those objectives. The action plans are then formulated based on these initially formed plans. So, the planning premises form the base on which the organization is built. Strategic business units must be identified and nurtured to add value to the organization.  Why strategic planning becomes a failure in some of the organizations? Lack of proper training in strategic planning, and the key persons are the managers at all levels. Vague goals and objectives don’t make them meaningful and strategic excellence cannot be achieved. Long term goals not subjected to periodic review. If there is fluctuation in the political, economic or social environment, that is detrimental to the industry in which the firm operates, the goals can be reviewed and a revised strategic plan can be devised for the long term health of that organization. Poor budget planning. To enjoy a sustainable competitive advantage in the market, you need to have a good financial backup to give shape to your plans. The strategic plans must be supported by specific action plans. It is a pity that in many organizations, there is neither co-ordination nor co-operation between the peers to make the strategic plans successful. Integrating these various functional groups becomes a tough task for the management. Simple but effective measures: Above all odds, a company can make things work, if the management is wise enough to follow these  First and foremost thing to be done is to communicate the strategic plans to all the managers who are key decision makers.  The management must make sure that everybody involved in the strategic implementation understand those strategies.  Well devised action plans that contribute to the accomplishment of the firm’s objectives must be laid down.  A well defined span of management that makes communication flow easy and simple.  Revising the strategies in lieu of the contingencies.  A conducive organizational climate that is devoid of conflicts and pressure  Involvement of top management to ensure success. Thinking Out of the Box: You need “thinking managers“, to make your organization grow. The modern business management lays great emphasis on “getting people together” to accomplish the goals and objectives. How do you get people to work together? They should have a common business ideology that binds them to work for the upliftment of the organization. Although top level management cadre is responsible for formulating strategic plans, organizations must understand that the idea also reaches the lower level management in the right sense. That facilitates smooth execution delivering the expected result. Benefit from this Free Udemy Course on Marketing Strategies https://www.udemy.com/one-minute-marketing-lessons-30-quick-marketing-strategies/...

Strategies to Tide Over Competition Distinctive Competence: is nothing but a set of unique capabilities that certain firms possess allowing them to make inroads into preferred markets and to gain advantage over the competition. Human brain is the greatest think tank and it evolves new methodologies of business management from time to time in order to sustain as well as win the race. Planning is the key factor that decides the rise or downfall of a business empire. “Where we are?” and “Where we want to be in the next few years?” is how every business leader’s basic thought process must be, without which he cannot proceed further in the competitive corporate environment. If we call planning as the basement of a building, then it should be very precise, clear cut and robust so that the business empire built on this basement will never collapse and it will also serve as a role-model for everyone who aspires to set his foot in the corporate business world. At the corporate level, strategic planning helps to establish the Purpose Mission and Objective for the firm as a whole and “outlines the overall plan to attain them.” Strategy is nothing but a unique set of action plan that will distinguish you from your competitors and make you have an edge over them. Likewise strategic planning is nothing but thinking out of the box to” CREATE YOUR OWN NICHE MARKET” in the business environment. STRATEGIC COMPETENCE takes you to the top of the ladder; but to withhold your position you need to formulate innovative ideas to tide over the challenges in the market. Strategic planning facilitates this process by giving you time frame to complete your short term objectives and long term goals.   Infographic Courtesy: The 4 key sources to seek insights for marketing planning Planning for SBU’s: Business level planning is done for the enterprise’s STRATEGIC BUSINESS UNITS or SBU’S. These are individual” cash cows” that makes your business noteworthy and also brings in constant revenue to run your other units successfully even in periods of recession or if a particular product is not that successful as you might have expected it to be. I shall compare a business plan to a travel plan. Both involve planning, resources, capital, marketing and so on. . . Both have starting points but a business plan and its objectives never end and you can never come back to the starting point in a business as that of a travel, because you only expand and grow to greater heights in a business provided your plan is pucca. And also the strategy seeks the integration and control of marketing, finance, production and human resources at the functional level. Strategic Plans at different functional levels: Strategic plans at different levels must be integrated to ensure that they work in tandem and reinforce each other, thereby contributing to the corporate level strategy adopted for the entire corporate group. I would call strategic planning as” INTELLIGENCE DESIGN CHOICE ACTIVITY “adopted by a corporate and it has become an inevitable feature in the directory of the business world....

Demand vs. Supply- Parameter deciding market equilibrium The success of economic freedom of a country is naturally reflected in the form of human prosperity. Countries like India are evidencing a consistent increase in their annual GDP rates which obviously must have reduced the population percentage living below poverty line; yet this has not been accomplished and the question is, is it really something to do with the economic model or is it the bureaucracy and inefficiency the root cause for the strain in the economy? Flow of Economic Activity: This discussion aims at shedding some light on the flow of economic activity in a free market economy. The elemental players or contributors in a free enterprise market economy are individuals and firms. Individuals who own or control resources (in the form of labor, capital or natural resources), sell these resources to firms and obtain money. These resources which serve as necessary inputs in the production process add value to firms. The money received by individuals is called factor payment which is utilized to fulfill their consumption demands of goods and services. Two distinct areas of interaction exist between the individuals and firms. One is the product market where the products are bought and sold and the other being a market for production factors, where the inputs such as labor, capital and natural resources are traded. What is the activity in a product market? Fundamentally business is all about demand vs. supply. The consumers’ demand has to be met with by the manufacturers. Profit is the primary motive of any firm and the priority of a firm lies in responding to the demands of the consumer market by supplying goods and services to the potential and prospective buyers. Input costs and production technology are the determinants of supply conditions. People’s preferences and earnings decide the elasticity of market demand. The price of the product and quantity sold is a result of the interaction between demand and supply. In a product market money flows from consumers to firms and goods and services flow from firms to consumers. What happens in a factor market? The reverse of those conditions in the product market are seen in a factor market. Here the individual becomes the supplier of production factors and hence the money flows from firms to individuals and factors of production from individuals to firms. Prices and profits control the flow of money and resources through the factor market and flow of money and goods through the product market. What is a Free Market Enterprise? Added advantage of a free market enterprise is that, the effortlessness with which one can enter and exit the market. The activity flow proves advantageous to each person involved .Firms make profits, individuals are satisfied of their consumption demand for goods and services, resource owners are compensated for their services. If an individual is not able to benefit by trading in these markets, he or she is not required to do so or free to leave the market which ensures that nobody is made worse off by voluntary trade in these markets. Essentially countries have to go in for suitable economic restructuring that promotes equality and even distribution of wealth. Wall Street protest in US is a clear-cut indication of strained market economy which is a result of people’s fury against the prevailing economic...