Tuesday, December 7, 2010

PRODUCTION

There are many types of businesses. But one generally correlates it with the primary profit-generating activity of production.
By production, we generally mean the act or process of making goods or services that has some economic value to the consumers or other producers. The production process is carried by employing various factors of production. Human labour and capital or machinery form the most basic of these factors of production.

However, in order that the production process runs smoothly and efficiently, there is a need for planning, implementation, and control of industrial production processes. Production management techniques are used in both manufacturing and service industries.

Production management responsibilities include the traditional “five PRODUCTIONM's”: men and women, machines, methods, materials, and money. Managers are expected to maintain an efficient production process with a workforce that can readily adapt to new equipment and schedules. They are responsible for managing both physical (raw) materials and information materials (paperwork or electronic documentation). Of their duties involving money, inventory control is the most important. This involves tracking all component parts, work in process, finished goods, packaging materials, and general supplies. Managers must also monitor operations to ensure that planned output levels, cost levels, and quality objectives are met.
This process of management can be broken down into three steps:

• First, management establishes a plan. This plan becomes the road map for what work is going to be done.

• Second, management allocates resources to implement the plan.

• Third, management measures the results to see how the end product compares with what was originally envisioned.

Most management failings can be attributed to insufficient effort occurring in one of these three areas.
Management also includes recording and storing facts and information for later use or for others within the organization. Management functions are not limited to managers and supervisors. Every member of the organization has some management and reporting functions as part of their job.

INVESTMENT


In the setting up of any firm or business, investment is one of the pre-requisites. In layman’s terms, investment is putting money into something with the hope of profit. More specifically, investment is the commitment of money or capital to the purchase of financial instruments or other assets so as to gain profitable returns in the form of interest or income.

In the setting up of any firm or business, a certain minimum amount of capital (both monetary and physical) is required to initiate the process. Even after the business has been set up, investment is still required to negate the effects of depreciation and to add to the capital stock. In fact, investment in the form of money capital is required in any step that the firm might undertake.
The investment decision (or capital budgeting) is one of the fundamental decisions of business management: Managers determine the investment value of the assets that a business enterprise has within its control or possession. These assets may be physical (such as buildings or machinery), intangible (such as patents, software, goodwill), or financial (stocks, bonds). Assets are used to produce streams of revenue that often are associated with particular costs or outflows. All together, the manager must determine whether the net present value of the investment to the enterprise is positive using the marginal cost of capital that is associated with the particular area of business.

The investment decisions are crucial in influencing the firm’s growth in the long run. The effects of investment decisions extend into the future and have to be endured for a longer period than the consequences of the current operating expenditure. A firm’s decision to invest in long term assets has decisive influence on the rate and direction of its growth. A wrong decision can prove disastrous for the continued survival of the firm; unwanted or unprofitable expansion of assets will result in heavy operating costs to the firm. On the other hand, inadequate investment in assets would make it difficult for the firm to compete successfully and maintain its market share

Monday, December 6, 2010

STRATEGIC SOURCING

Strategic sourcing is a process that determines the business' needs and plans for acquiring the necessary raw materials and services for the business. It continuously improves and re-evaluates the purchasing activities of a company. Strategic sourcing techniques are also applied to non traditionSTRATEGIC SOURCINGal area such as services or capital.
It can have a profound impact on a company’s a and can strongly influence the purchasing and procurement processes.
The steps in a strategic sourcing process are:
• Assessment of a company's current spend (what is bought where?)
• Assessment of the supply market (who offers what?)
• Total cost analysis (how much does it cost to provide those goods or services?)
• Identification of suitable suppliers

Development of a sourcing strategy (where to buy what considering demand and supply situation, while minimizing risk and costs)
• Negotiation with suppliers (products, service levels, prices, geographical coverage, etc.)
• Implementation of new supply structure
• Track results and restart assessment (continuous cycle)
An integral part of strategic sourcing is procurement. Procurement can be defined as the purchase of merchandise or services at the optimum possible total cost in the correct amount and quality. These good and services are also purchased at the correct time and location for the express gain or use of government, company, business, or individuals by signing a contract.
The process of acquisition of goods or services required as raw material (direct procurement) or for operational purposes (indirect procurement) for a company or a person can be called procurement. The procurement process not only involves the purchasing of commodities but also quality and quantity checks. Usually, suppliers are listed and pre-determined by the procuring company. This makes the process smoother, promoting a good business relationship between the buyer and the supplier.
Individual businesses set procurement policies that govern their choice of suppliers, products and the methods and procedures that are going to be used to communicate with their suppliers.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

MARKETING



In any business, the post-production phase is as important as the production itself. The production of a good will have no meaning if it fails to generate demand. This objective is achieved by the use of the process of marketing.

In very simple terms, marketing is the process of performing market research and selling commodities to customers. In the broader sense of the term it includes the promotion of the commodities via advertising to further enhance sales. It is an integrated process through which companies build strong customer relationships and creates value for their customers and for themselves.

The concept of marketing encompasses a wide coverage and may even be associated with sales. In fact, sales and marketing are two different concepts although both are closely coordinated. Marketing is the presentation of the products and services and making them available to the customers with the goal of generating profits. Sales, on the other hand, is the output of marketing implementations. A business produces good product sales out of effective marketing programs while poorly planned marketing plans end up in low sales generation.

Marketing is used to identify the customer, to satisfy the customer, and to keep the customer. With the customer as the focus of its activities, it can be concluded that marketing management is one of the major components of business management.

It is almost mandatory for the business organizations to invest in intensive marketing activities, what with the stiff competition that exists in almost every kind of industry. Marketing introduces the firm’s products and services to potential customers and target market. It is an important factor in the success of a business.

Marketing can be conducted in various techniques. The most prevalent strategies are as follows:



Offline Marketing: This is the traditional marketing technique through print ads in newspapers or magazines, television, radio, etc.



Online marketing: This refers to marketing campaigns through the internet



Word of mouth: This is the simplest strategy. Here, only excellent customer satisfaction is needed to make this campaign effective as the customers become the proponents of advertisement

Nonetheless, any type of marketing can be effective as long as a proper marketing strategy is designed
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Saturday, December 4, 2010

BUSINESS

BUSINESSIn simple terms, business implies any commercial activity engaged in as a means of livelihood or profit, or on entity which in such activities. In economic business is the social science of managing people to organize and maintain collective productivity towards accomplishing particular creative and productive goals, usually to generate revenue. The term " business " has at least three usage.

It might be used to refer to a particular company or corporation.

It might also be used in a generalized sense as in referring to a particular market sector, such as 'The computer business' or the 'garments business' .Further it might be used in a collective sense as in 'the business community'-the community of suppliers of goods and services. the singalur "business can be legally recognized organization designed to provide goods and services or both to consumers or tertiary business in exchange of money.

Business are predominant in capitalist economies, in which most business are privately owned and typically formed to earn profit that will increase the wealth of its owners.
In other words , one of the main objectives of the owners and operations of a business is the receipt or generation of a financial return in exchange for their work that is the expense of time, energy and money and the risk that are borne by them.

However business can also be state owned , whose prime motive is not the profit.
There are various types of business based on the ownership.Five most important types have outlined below:

Single Proprietorship: A single proprietorship business owned by one person. The owner may operate on own or may employ others.

Partnership : A partnership is a form of business in which two or more people operate for the common goal of making profit.
Private Limited Company(Ltd.): A small to medium sized business that is often run by the family or the small group who own it.

Public Limited Company: A business with limited liability and a wide spread of shareholders.

Cooperative: A cooperative is a limited liability entity that can be organized for profit or not for profit.