Sunday, September 5, 2010
Friday, November 27, 2009
Value add Management - Strategic Directions for the Future
In the aftermath of the financial crisis there were many discussions on the effectiveness of top business schools in grooming business leaders as corporations led by Ivy-league trained CEO found the going tough and many asked for government protection in the US. Is it true that what is taught in MBAs or DBA of such business schools are no longer relevant in today's business climate? I don't think that it is entirely true. In truth, due to globalization and the advent of e-Learning I believe that the same management principles and tools are readily available to potential captains of industry worldwide and it would be hard to explain while such management principles and tools can be used successfully in some countries while is not in others. Therefore, I believe what is been taught is not the issue but how it is been applied and the characteristics of the people apply such principles and tools that is the problem.
Top executives do not just regurgitate concepts and theories to the issues at hand in business but uses such concepts and theories within the framework of their past experiences and personality. in this premise I would like to use the "Value Added Management" to describe this process. I believe that no amount of studying can make someone a good chief executive. Chief executives must evolve into a position and in the process they are given the opportunity to learn the industry, the intricacies of each function area of the company as well as the interpersonal skills (include politics within that specific company). Even an MBA graduate with distinction will not be able to apply what he learns unless he or she has the Value Added part of the requirements that CEOs should have.
Top executives do not just regurgitate concepts and theories to the issues at hand in business but uses such concepts and theories within the framework of their past experiences and personality. in this premise I would like to use the "Value Added Management" to describe this process. I believe that no amount of studying can make someone a good chief executive. Chief executives must evolve into a position and in the process they are given the opportunity to learn the industry, the intricacies of each function area of the company as well as the interpersonal skills (include politics within that specific company). Even an MBA graduate with distinction will not be able to apply what he learns unless he or she has the Value Added part of the requirements that CEOs should have.
Friday, November 13, 2009
The Importance of Business Planning
The important Management function of Business Planning explained.
By Shum YL
Business planning is many things to various people and although elements of business planning appears in most management literature it has rarely been accorded the status of a stand alone management field.
Some of the reasons why people do business planning:-
-Trying to get a bank loan to start a business or a project
-Trying to impress an investor
-Preparation for listing the company in the stock market.
-Planning for the budgets of the next financial year
-Taking stock of the company's financial and feasibility status
-Strategic planning for the future
A company can actually do business planning for more than one of the reasons above over a period of time. However, the process is more or less the same which requires the following steps.
Below is the my own Business Planning process:-
-Setting broad missions or goals
-Analyzing information
-Setting objectives and targets
-Deciding on strategies
-Commandeering resources
-Implementing the strategies
-Reporting
-Monitoring the progress
-Take corrective actions
While the above is a bit more harder to remember than the often used "PDCA" cycle used in taking action or solving problems it provides a better understanding of what real businesses do. We postulate the above process in order to ensure that no issues are left out in the process and makes the plans awry. For example; in our model the act of reporting is included. Although it make sense and is commonsensical most models in planning ignores this with the result that most companies fail to emphasize in management accounting.
It is sad to see that a lot of companies pay top money to hire accountants who are actually not contributing any effort to improving business decisions but just to produce reports to adhere to accounting regulations and tax requirements.
The author is the business consultant of DRC Services which specializes in management consultancy and training. Mr. Shum has many years of senior experiences in financial management and business planning. He has held positions such as director, financial controller, group finance manager and regional business planning manager for multinationals and listed companies. Mr. Shum can be contacted at consultant@drcservices.biz for assignments on project basis in the field of business planning.
The article above is an independent work submitted by the above author and does not reflect or represent views of the management, owners and agents of this website.
© 2001 Shum Ying Loon. All Rights Reserved Updated 03/09/01
By Shum YL
Business planning is many things to various people and although elements of business planning appears in most management literature it has rarely been accorded the status of a stand alone management field.
Some of the reasons why people do business planning:-
-Trying to get a bank loan to start a business or a project
-Trying to impress an investor
-Preparation for listing the company in the stock market.
-Planning for the budgets of the next financial year
-Taking stock of the company's financial and feasibility status
-Strategic planning for the future
A company can actually do business planning for more than one of the reasons above over a period of time. However, the process is more or less the same which requires the following steps.
Below is the my own Business Planning process:-
-Setting broad missions or goals
-Analyzing information
-Setting objectives and targets
-Deciding on strategies
-Commandeering resources
-Implementing the strategies
-Reporting
-Monitoring the progress
-Take corrective actions
While the above is a bit more harder to remember than the often used "PDCA" cycle used in taking action or solving problems it provides a better understanding of what real businesses do. We postulate the above process in order to ensure that no issues are left out in the process and makes the plans awry. For example; in our model the act of reporting is included. Although it make sense and is commonsensical most models in planning ignores this with the result that most companies fail to emphasize in management accounting.
It is sad to see that a lot of companies pay top money to hire accountants who are actually not contributing any effort to improving business decisions but just to produce reports to adhere to accounting regulations and tax requirements.
The author is the business consultant of DRC Services which specializes in management consultancy and training. Mr. Shum has many years of senior experiences in financial management and business planning. He has held positions such as director, financial controller, group finance manager and regional business planning manager for multinationals and listed companies. Mr. Shum can be contacted at consultant@drcservices.biz for assignments on project basis in the field of business planning.
The article above is an independent work submitted by the above author and does not reflect or represent views of the management, owners and agents of this website.
© 2001 Shum Ying Loon. All Rights Reserved Updated 03/09/01
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