Category Archives: Administration
Criticisms of indi¡erence curve analysis
First, the theory says nothing about the process by which preferences are set or howpreferences are changed. In practice, consumers may follow ingrained patterns ofconsumption based on experience and learning. Second, the theory is static and, although it compares one … Continue reading
LIMITING THE IMPACT OF UNCERTAINTY
Economics has traditionally assumed when building models that decision makerspossess clear objectives, perfect knowledge and perfect foresight; as a consequence,rational and fully informed decision-makers never make mistakes. In practice, thefuture is uncertain and decision makers are boundedly rational. As a … Continue reading
RISK VERSUS UNCERTAINTY
Economics, following Knight (1921), distinguishes between risk and uncertainty. Riskrefers to outcomes where the range of potential future outcomes is known from pastexperience. Future values and objective probabilities can therefore be attached to allpossible outcomes. The values of possible alternative … Continue reading
COMPARISON OF BEHAVIOURAL AND TRADITIONAL THEORIES
The behavioural model has been extensively criticized by economists. A summary of theassumptions of the model and those of pro¢t-maximizing are presented in Table 2.1.The behavioural model makes use of a more realistic decision-making process for alarge enterprise where the … Continue reading
Cyert and March model
Although satis¢cing generates a realistic learning process, the objectives associatedwith outcomes are rather vague compared with the precise objectives of pro¢t and sales maximization. This would appear to make the construction of a predictive behavioural theory rather di?cult. Nevertheless, Cyert and March … Continue reading
the vertical, horizontal and virtual organizations
The vertical organization The vertical approach to corporate management poses two problems to smooth operations. First, it creates boundaries that discourage employees in different departments from interacting with one another. Second, departmental goals are typically set in a way that … Continue reading
The power of hard and soft assets
Opportunistic attitudes lead directly to further fundamental change in management in leading organizations. Managers are recognizing how the character of companies is changing. The traditional concept of a company was largely based on hard assets and primarily hierarchical. This concept … Continue reading
Learn and innovate
The effects of innovation have long been recognized as a principal determinant of economic growth. In recent years the importance of management innovation has become one of the principal factors in that determinant. While difficult to quantify and measure, its … Continue reading
Innovate constantly your company
An important characteristic of a pacesetter company is that it emphasizes management innovation not as periodic events but as a general and constant theme, an ongoing process, a prevailing attitude.This orientation defines the organization. The company emphasizes innovation in order to … Continue reading
YOUR GE WORKOUT CHECKLIST
Identify business issues that can best be addressed by a small,multiplelevel problem-solving team.You may want to identify a few issues and give the workout team the opportunity to prioritize them during the session. Select the workout participants using the team … Continue reading
New Product Development
An industrial products manufacturer recently completed a new product development project and conducted a Lessons Learned Analysis with its project teams and functional support groups to determine areas for improvement. The goal was to learn what could be immediately applied … Continue reading
Lessons Learned Analysis
The Lessons Learned Analysis seeks the information and knowledge gained from analyzing both positive and negative experiences of a project, program, or major objective. The purpose of this exercise is to use the findings to improve performance. It should become a … Continue reading
Optimize Selling and Service Time
Often customer accounts aren’t viewed as investments in time and money, and may get unnecessary attention based on their actual and potential sales volume. Account Management. The major goals are to increase revenue, decrease costs, and enhance the customer experience … Continue reading
Being Proactive: Business Tune-Ups
A proactive approach to contingency planning is to conduct annual business tune-ups designed to uncover and identify situations that can be improved in the business. By asking the right questions, issues that need attention will surface. The subsequent actions can … Continue reading
Case Study: The Equipment Division
Company History. It all started back in the 1920s with a couple of guys who had a better idea, and in those days that was all it took to start a business. They began by manufacturing small equipment and parts … Continue reading