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The Need of Math in Management

The Need of Math in Management
Operations Research-Emphasizing the need of Math in Management Business is all about “demand versus supply”. And as is always the case, industries operate in a tight situation, with limited resources and heavy demand, trying to make the ends meet. The production of required quantity with the available resources needs an approach that is quantitative and logical as well. This can be obtained by weighing the odds and choosing the right kind of decision that suits your business plan, be it production, distribution, marketing, selling or any business situation, where there is a need to compare and contrast between alternating decisions, to arrive at an optimal solution. High end mathematical concepts in Operations: Operations research comes into the picture in such situations, wherein, high end mathematical concepts and models are applied to problem situations, to first define the problem and then extract the best possible solution by quantifying the resources available. Quantitative data is then converted into linear equations to maximize the productivity and profit. Profit maximization is generally aimed by most of the firms that operate with limited potential and operations research helps to achieve this through optimal use of the available resources. Application of Scientific Methods: The emphasis is on application of scientific methods, use of quantitative data, goals and objectives and determination of the best means to reach them. Once the data is collected, it is carefully evaluated and the relationship among data is established, which helps in defining the problems and goals. The problem is represented logically to decide the course of action. Say, for example, Linear Programming represents each and every problem situation in the form of a linear equation and tries to allocate resources in an optimal fashion. Alternate decisions are evaluated and the decision that yields the best result in terms of productivity and profit is considered. Measure of Effectiveness: How do you measure profit? The measure of effectiveness will be determining the rate of return on investment, and every possible solution can be weighed against this measure. Theories of probability are also used to predict the success rate of the combinations of variables executed in different ways. But one has to understand that only some variables are controllable and others are not. Say, if the economy experiences inflation or recession, your predictions will undergo a drastic review in purview of the fluctuations in the economy. Similarly availability of labor is always a constraint, either labor is not available or they demand more pay. Simplex Methods: Since voluminous data is involved, computers with multi processors are used to manipulate the data. Mathematical tools like simplex methods, integer programming, graphical methods, transportation and assignment techniques, simulations, game theory and queuing theory can be very well applied to solve complex problem situations with ease. Today’s business world demands more sophistication in terms of technical updations. Evolution of Opeartions Research Techniques: Operations Research dates back to the Second World War period, and the accelerated growth of this discipline in recent years can be attributed to the fact that, researchers have found this useful in solving economic and political problems too. At the same time, critics point out that, application of operations research proves advantageous only to those people who are accustomed to the usage of rapid computing machines and understand the complex mathematical formulae and relationships. Note: Energy: The oil industry was one of the earlier users of operations research techniques to help manage their refinery processes, and operations research technologies are heavily used by all the major oil companies. Manufacturing: Manufacturing organizations continue to use operations research to optimize factory operations. Transportation: Operations researchers execute logistics for air traffic control, trucking, and railroads. Real-time dispatching and delivery truck...
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Turnaround Strategy

Turnaround Strategy
What is Turnaround Strategy Distress signals start flying around when a particular company, whether multinational, corporate or medium sized, is subjected to financial pressure and is at the brink of bankruptcy. What was happening all along? No body knows and nobody wants to be held responsible. The CEO has to bear the brunt and alas, extermination! Aim of Turn-around Strategy: The overall aim of a turn around strategy is to bring back a firm to normalcy which has been under distress in terms of acceptable levels of profitability, solvency, liquidity and cash flow. Turn around strategies should be very carefully formulated so as to stabilize the firm in distress, i.e., to bring the company out of the hole and then go for long term planning. Turn around can be in the form of operational efficiency management, financial restructuring, marketing management or savings in the form of cost reduction or liquidity in the form of asset reduction.  Facebook Marketing: A Step-by-Step to Your First 1000 Fans! Turn around to see what is around: We have seen so many such occurrences at the global level and micro level. Some companies rejuvenate like a phoenix bird from the ashes, some go haywire, and some dissolve into thin air. It all depends how well you handle the situation with either the help of an external expert consultant or you might want to go for joint venture or collaboration in order to save you skin from mounting interest payments or you right royally sell the company if somebody is ready to takeover. Either way you have to do something! “Turn around to see what is around”. Don’t see what you want to see See what has to be seen Change the CEO (He is the Ideal Victim!) Resurrect your employees’ confidence Cut down costs Look for Alternatives Lie low for Sometime(till the situation favors) Slowly capture the market by innovative Campaigns and ads Paint a new picture about your company Review your Mission and Vision statements Work on targets Bang on the right target customers and clients Strengthen your Channel of Distributors Go smooth with the bankers (You need them always!) Have confidence in yourself Crisis management is necessary Stress busters like yoga and meditation mandatory Evolve Strategies One step at a time (Slow and steady) Fear and Panic grips the organization in situations of crisis. So the first step would be to stay cool to assess the situation by calmly reviewing the damage with all the concerned people. The next step would be to stop the bleeding by cutting all unwanted costs, unnecessary overheads, and the final stage would be renaissance, recovery, renewal or by whatever name you want to call it, even if it means negative investment or profit. Proper Planning, Inventory Control, Strategic prepositions, Renewal of old strategies in accordance with the situation, Tightening finance controls, Defining the credit management limits, all these are precautionary measures which will hold you from falling into the danger of handling a crisis situation, as” recovery of damaged integrity is going to cost you more than ploughing back your profits....
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Redesigning Your Workplace

Redesigning Your Workplace
Effective people are preferred to rather than efficient people as the former does the right thing and the latter does things right. Redesigning your workplace not only refers to the infrastructure but also the internal factors that might affect the productivity of your firm. Big corporate firms generally face challenges in the form of Lack of co-operation between subunitsIncreasing complaints from the customersRising Operating costsDip in the moraleMajor changes in technology All these signs are indications of a not so enterprising organizational climate. And it calls for quick decision making regarding introducing some changes that bring some positive development in terms of improved efficiency and increase in productivity. Redesigning Workplace in Response to Exogenous Factors Growth of Organizations The challenges mentioned above may make an organization’s existing structure, management practice or its culture obsolete for the new situation. Growth of an organization should be a result of collaborative effort of all the units of an organization and it is objective and not subjective. An organization is comprised of different elements which interact in deciding the organizational effectiveness. The task or goal, technology, structure, people and the internal and external environment of the firm; all these coexist and hold the firm together. Be it a school, a hospital, a union, a club or a business enterprise the interactive nature of these elements make the process of managing very difficult. Medical tourism and business travel are becoming more popular in Asian countries as it increases the scope of collaboration of industries that can coexist to enjoy a win-win situation. Who is an Effective Manager ? An effective manager anticipates these challenges and proactively initializes a planned change. He strategically prepares the organization to be subject to planned change by manipulating the structure, technology and behavior. Understanding the dimensions of change helps him to manage change better as people are always resistant to change. Modern enterprises right from the start have to install and implement “systems” that are technologically most modern and hire suitable people who are techno-savvy; Because technology rules the world and the development of new software programmes and hardware components feed on themselves every day. Developing an Organization as a Whole Behavior of people is unpredictable but controllable. Individually oriented training and development programmes does not prove much to the benefit of the organization as it creates apprehensions in the minds of the individual that are related to the culture and attitude of his superior and subordinates. The idea of developing the organization as a whole through team building is a better perspective as it renews the enthusiasm of people working for you and as a team they feel more cohesive and adhered. Synergy plays its role in improving the interpersonal relationship amongst the team members. Firms are becoming more modern in their outlook. For instance, a showroom whose purpose is to showcase your products also provides entertainment by its aesthetic value. Only if the customer is impressed by the artistic way of your exhibit, will he enter your showroom. Change is inevitable and it improves the health of an organization. The focus should be on “total system change” and the orientation is towards achieving desired results as a consequence of planned activities. Flat Organizational Structure You would have come across the latest buzz word “flat organizational structure”. This is designed in order to bridge the gap between front line employees and the executive level. If there is only few levels of management, the process of communication is more effective, the art of delegation becomes mandatory and need for participation in the decision making process involves all the employees which in turn reduces bureaucracy. There is no set pattern...
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Management vs. Financial Accounting

Management vs. Financial Accounting
Management Vs. Financial Accounting Management Accounting : The process of preparing management reports and accounts that provides accurate and timely financial and statistical information to the management Financial Accounting : The purpose of accounting is to provide the information that is needed for sound economic decision making concerned with classifying, measuring and recording the transactions of a business. What is Management Accounting: Management accounting is the updated version of what you call financial accounting and the most circulated term in corporate business arena. Management involves planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling the resources available in an organization, namely the physical and human resources. Much importance is given to personnel management as they are the priceless assets of any organisation.But it is equally important for a firm to record all its business transactions for future reference and tax audits. Thus the necessity of accounting comes into the fray. Financial Statements Made Easy Functional Difference: Well, accounting means something to do with finance. So, what is the big difference, if it is financial or management accounting? One difference is in the title, and the other in their function. The rationale behind financial accounting is statutory, done for the benefit of shareholders, customers, government regulatory agencies, other external agencies, potential investors and the like. It records all business transactions that are purely monetary in nature and no further analysis is done. Essential for Management Planning: Management accounting is voluntary and reports are prepared to meet the internal needs of management. We talked about planning, for which interpretation and analysis of such quantitative data and other inputs becomes necessary to plan for future needs of management. The main functions being attention direction and problem solving, management accounting is primarily concerned with providing information relating to the various aspects of a business, like cost or profit associated with some portions of business operations. It employs techniques such as standard costing, budgeting, marginal costing, break- even analysis and so on., Inputs also stem from industry data, competitor data, published reports by public and private agencies and research studies findings, thus widening its scope for improvement in business operations. Financial Accounting: Financial accounting is restricted to deal only with “generally accepted accounting principles” and any deviation is considered to be errors for correction. Though it provides valid and authentic information, it lacks timeliness. The former restricts the accountant to a mere book-keeper while the latter transcends the role of the accountant to that of total business information technologist. Here he becomes an evaluator of different functional areas like marketing, production, purchase and personnel. As modern business is huge in size, complex, diversified and decentralized in terms of operations, financial accounting just does not fill the bill, as information is required as when an event happens at various hierarchical levels of an organisation. This infographic from Goodaccountants.com  details the industries that employ the most accountants and auditors, and the results are very interesting!  Management accounting is inter disciplinary in character and derives inspiration from organizational theory, economics, behavioral sciences, statistics and management. Although the paraphernalia required for management reporting is complex and expensive, it is worth the try, as it tries to compare and contrast the actuals with the standards and bring out variances if any. This is quite useful in determining the cost-effectiveness of a particular project or to be prepared for suitable action. Management accounting is nothing but a management information system where the managers have to be techno-savvy in order to handle the total information resource and project it suitably to the management to take timely actions for the increase in growth, profit and sustainability of the...
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Technology and Society

Technology and Society
Technology and Society Perhaps the most striking influence of technology is found on society. Practically every area of social life and the life of every individual has been, in some sense or the other, changed by the development in technology. Technology reaches people through business: Preferences of people are constantly changing and this has pushed the business firms to the point, where innovation has become the need of the hour. The new discoveries would remain idle as mere ideas if there were no laboratories to transform the ideas into creations. Technology reaching people through business is one part of the theory. The economic prosperity of a nation depends on technology. The Non-Technical Person’s guide to building products & apps High expectations of consumers: People are used to technological innovations and breakthroughs and they want variety in every kind of purchase they make. New varieties of products, more safe and comfortable, free from pollution, are to be produced and supplied to affluent sections. This calls for a massive investment in research and development. In countries like Japan, much importance is attached to product design, quality, sophistication, delivery schedules and prices. High expectations need not be considered as problems by business persons but treated as an opportunity to satisfy their customer group. System complexity: Technology has resulted in complexity. Modern machines work faster and better, no doubt. However, if there is a technical problem, the presence of an expert is needed to repair the machinery. Again, investment in machinery adds to the cost of capital and hence the merchandise has to be purchased form reliable sources. Social change: The change in the technological process undoubtedly has its effect on the society. First, there is a change in the social life, with mobile populations drifting about in search of new centers of employment. If it happens to be an agricultural economy, the result of such a drift would prove disastrous, with society being socially uprooted. Sometimes such a drift may result in new geographical distribution of population. Technological change also brings considerable changes in the family, life style and attitude. The way we cook, communicate, use media and work are all affected by technology. Technological phases and the social systems they create: There are five stages of technological development. Each stage leaves a distinct influence on work and on social system. Sequential progress is made from the lowest level to the highest level, in such a way that these five stages roughly represent the progress of civilization throughout history. Although one phase of technology tends to dominate a nation’s activities at a particular time, other phases will be often practiced at the same time. Technology means change and more change. It forces changes on people whether they are prepared for it or not. In modern history, it has created what is called future shock, which means that change comes so fast and furious that it approaches the limits of human tolerance and people lose their ability to cope with it...
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