Organizational Assessment – Motive and Means Organizational assessment involves creating a picture of “what it is”. The snapshot should provide a clear view of the present position of the company and it should indicate whether there is a need to go for a change process. The data provides a baseline which can be used as a reference point to measure change in the future. Employee opinion surveys and climate surveys form a critical part of this measurement process. The key to an effective assessment is being clear about the goal of the process and being specific about the questions the intended exercise must answer. Cultural assessment: This provides information about core dimensions of organizational culture which includes satisfaction with the work itself, satisfaction with pay and benefits, opportunities for advancement, satisfaction with leadership and supervision, motivation, common values and performance commitment. If the leader proves to be aggressive, committed, value driven, so will be the employees who obviously take after their leader to fulfill his vision. The purpose behind analyzing the culture of an organization is to determine its efficiency level and to generate recommendations for continuous improvement. This exercise should not be a one-time affair as periodical inputs and feedback are excellent ways to align culture with the vision. In this way, management is better able to anticipate and prevent any potential problem, and to assess employee attitudes regularly. Survey administration: Surveys are administered to large groups of employees at one time and it is emphasized to be anonymous to erase any apprehensions in their minds. Open-ended questions allow employees to express their opinions about areas that need improvement and also the problem areas or bottlenecks that hinder their development. Report generation: The statistics collected is summarized and presented for each and every dimension covered in the survey. The report compares the organization’s current culture with previous administrations of the survey. Such open ended discussions bring out the problem areas which the management had not been previously aware of. Feedback to management and employees: The managers discuss the outcome of the survey in order to gain a better understanding of the various issues facing the organization, and decide on a plan to give feedback to their employees. This is a kind of human resource strategy which helps the management to bridge the gap between various levels of the organization and its members. Recommendations to the management: A final report submission by managers of the respective departments along with their recommendations for management’s perusal is the final step in organizational diagnosis and with the approval of “the big boss” action plans are executed that aid in improving the organizational effectiveness. The notion of this entire exercise is to provide insight into the current skill levels of the work force and to design an effective plan for performance improvement based on the assessment of total development needs....

An Analysis to Understand the Art of Accounting Objectives of an Accountant: The pure objective of an accountant would be to record all business transactions that are monetary in nature, in order to ascertain if the company has earned profit or suffered loss during a financial year. The financial position of the company as on a particular date can thus be understood from the accounting journals and ledgers. We are talking about the conventional purpose of accounting. But with the lapse of time, more and more is being expected from accounting, in that, it has to meet the demands and requirements of tax authorities for the purpose of income tax and sales tax returns, government regulations, investors, owners and the management. Thus it can be aptly defined as the art of recording, classifying and summarizing events in a significant manner, that involve money transactions and/ or events that are of financial character, for interpretation. Systematic records for future reference: Book keeping is an accounting practice that tells us how to keep a record of financial transactions. A firm deals with its customers and suppliers, where numerous business transactions take place every day. It is not possible for us to remember every transaction, which we might need it for our reference at a future date. Especially, if it happens to be a credit sale, definitely the necessity of systematic book keeping arises. The owner would like to know, what amount is due from whom, from time to time. To know the financial position of the firm: Every merchant is in business to earn profits. So systematic recording of factual and financial information will facilitate the owner to understand where he stands financially at the end of a financial year, what is his net profit and to pull the ropes tight if credit margin is wide. Further more, he can also understand the nature of his business growth by comparing the accounting records of two consecutive years. Taxation purposes: Some people evade tax, but no one can avoid tax. The main source of revenue generation for government is tax payments from business merchants and corporate companies. You need to pay a percentage as tax, in accordance with profit arising from sales. The accounting records that you maintain contain facts that are taken into account by the taxation authorities as a basis for assessment. https://amzn.to/2sl5aL7 Good evidence in the court of law: To prove your genuinity, in case of some disputes between yourself and the customer or supplier, your records and vouchers, if authentic and valid, are going to speak for you in the court of law as solid evidence. Accounting also answers some of these questions: How well the different departments of business have performed all along? What is the most profitable product line? What are the products whose production has to be increase and what is to be stopped in order to avoid losses? Is the cost of production reasonable or excessive? Is there a need to revise policy decisions to improve the profitability? What will be the future plans of business in the wake of existing results presented to the management? Overall, is the firm proceeding towards the right direction in terms of productivity, profitability and growth? Accounting is not only about recording and classifying, the interesting features being analysis and interpretation, which are the key factors for the development of the organization as a whole. Note: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG),is the head of the Supreme Audit Institution of India (SAI) CAG is the sole auditor of the accounts of the Central (Union) Government and the State Governments. CAG is also responsible for the audit...

Strategy implementation is the transformation of chosen strategy into organizational action so as to achieve strategic goals and objectives. The journey towards success is a saga or penance, where your effort and concentration is focused only on achieving the goal. It can be compared to the blinkers of a horse to give direction and avoid distractions. Proper resource planning is the key factor that gives a practical shape to your strategies. The available resources should be put into optimum use. Corporate Resource Planning: Resource planning at the corporate level comprehensively covers the planning for physical resources, human resources, financial and intangible or intellectual resources like patents, copyrights, technology, trademark etc., at the macro level of the firm. These are needed for the corporates to achieve their vision and also give direction to the departments at the functional level. These resources are allocated after giving due consideration to the industry’s cycle position, competitor strength, technological changes in the industry, market share and the type of competition in the industry. Economic Models with Value Additions: For instance, automobile owners have tapped the customer psychology and are concentrating more on producing bug cars that is very appealing to the upper middle class families, since a four wheeler is more comfortable and safe to drive, well within the budget range, ideal for a nuclear family and at the same time serves the purpose of a status symbol. So, these car manufacturers become direct competitors for two wheeler producers. Even if say, 25 to 30 percent of two wheeler population is shifted to four wheeler usage it is a huge success to the car manufacturers. Tata Nano car, a brain child of Ratan Tata is one of its kind. He has capitalized on the middle class Indian frame of mind to go for economic models with value additions. “Nothing is permanent except change”, so in this fast moving business arena all business persons are subjected to the necessity of thinking new, if not big. Corporates concentrate more on their strategic business units which serve as functional units and also a part of an organization, say a factory or a showroom. The resources for each of these business units have to be planned. The human resource department has to play its part in a promising way as human personnel are the critical success factors of an organization that manipulate other resources efficiently. Product and Process Innovations: Product and process innovations are the need of the hour and corporates are spending huge amounts on research and development of new products and processes. It has to be kept in mind that the innovations have to reach the markets quickly in order have an edge over your competitors. Identify your strength Tap the unidentified needs of the consumer Allocate management responsibility for each task Set your priorities by resource rationing Test your key assumptions Whether your product is acceptable in the market Whether the technology is updated All of these help you in forming a strategic platform upon which strategic implementation is done. Rational and realistic assumptions are the basic premises on which your decisions have to be based. Adequate finance, machinery and maintenance, labor force, marketing mix, your product strength, critical success factors of your organization, everything has to be thoroughly analyzed and put into action for successful strategic implementation. Related Videos… Alternative Competitive Advantage Introduction to Strategic...

Zero defect achievement – Striving towards perfection! What is TQM: Quality management is all about being proactive and concepts like total quality management and six sigma of recent origin reiterate the fact that hundred percent error free performance is possible the first time and every time. This is what is called as zero defect achievement which most of the companies at corporate level are headed for. The intention is to strive for perfection in work, the way an archer aims for the bull’s eye on a target. It is time for people to cast off their conservative and archaic business practices and think out of the box to enjoy a sustainable competitive advantage driven by quality. Zero defects seek top performance standards the first time and every time. Management scholars offer several suggestions to improve the zero defects programme: The idea of zero defects programme has to be communicated through out the organization right from the top to the bottom level including managers, supervisors and workers. This would harmonize the functions of line and staff. Prerequisites needed for the programme have to be determined and made available. The culture and climate of the firm should be conducive to accomplish the programme. Explain in simple terms about the functions to be accomplished. Design some solid system of recognition. Set up a time schedule as time lines are very important when it comes to product delivery. Spot all the bottlenecks and remove them. Training is absolutely essential– the skill set and mind set of the employees have to be attuned to the goals of the venture. Mock training and rehearsals are helpful. Standardization is the key to the success of this programme. Bench Marking: Total quality management is a process contributing towards quality and bench marking is a means to achieve high quality performance by setting some top notch industry performers as reference points or standards. It is a continuous systematic process employed by a business enterprise to develop business and working processes that integrate the best practices available in the industry. Bench marking is a crucial element in the process of quality management. Quality is one field of production, which reflects the ethical viewpoint and approach of business firms towards the society and other investors or stakeholders. Bench marking is a modus operandi used to: Identify and define customer requirements Plan and establish effective goals and objectives Develop time measures of productivity Become more competitive Determine industry’s best practice The initial step is to decide what is to be bench marked-the product, services, customers or business processes in various departments. The second phase of action is to identify and select your competitors who will set the necessary precedence. With that as reference, decide on your company’s strategies by making meaningful and valid comparisons. Judge the competitor strengths and weaknesses and compare them with that of your own to get a clear picture of your current performance levels and capabilities. This will give you a clear indication on the action plans to be developed and implemented in a phased manner by your organization. Quality management is likely to happen only when all the employees of the organization work as a team with unified principles. Quality demands deep commitment and responsibility from the members of organizations. It calls for intense training to imprint the perception of quality in the minds of...

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....