On Management

Appraisal   Criteria for Projects There are two broad categories of appraisal criteria: non-discounting criteria and discounting criteria.  The important non-discounting criteria are : Urgency, Payback period Accounting rate of return Debt service coverage ratio The important discounting criteria are: Net Present Value Benefit Cost Ratio Internal Rate of Return Annual Capital Charge   According to urgency criterion projects which are deemed to be more urgent get priority over projects which are regarded as less urgent. The problem with this criterion is: How can the degree of urgency be determined? The payback period is the length of time required to recover  the initial cash outlay on the project. According to this criterion, a project is acceptable if its payback period is less than certain specified payback period. The Accounting Rate of Return also referred to as the average rate of return, is  a measure of profitabilit...

The randomness of stock prices was the result of an efficient market. The key links in the argument are as follows: Information is freely and instantaneously available to all the market participants Keen competition among market participants more or less ensures that market prices will reflect intrinsic values. This means that they will fully impound all available information. Prices change in response to new information that by definition is unrelated to previous information otherwise it will not be new information. Since new information cannot be predicted in advance, price changes too cannot be forecast .Hence prices behave like a random walk. What is an Efficient Market? An efficient market is one in which the market price of a security is an unbiased estimate of its intrinsic value.Market efficiency is defined in relation to information that is reflected in security prices. Eugene Fama suggested that it is useful to distinguish three levels of market efficiency: ...

Three well established Schools of management thought  classical, behavioral and  quantitative  have contributed to managers understanding of organizations and to their ability to manage  them. Each offers a different perspective for defining management problems and opportunities and for developing ways to deal with them. In there current  state of evolution however each approach also overlooks or deals inadequately with important aspects of organizational life.  The newer systems approach based on general systems theory , and contingency approach have already been developed to the point where they offer valuable insights for the practicing manager. Eventually these most recently evolved perspective may lead to the integration of the classical, behavioural and quantitative schools ,on the other hand some new approach not yet perceived on the horizon may accomplish this end. Five possible directions for the evolution of management theory: ...

LEADERSHIP Leadership is an important subject for managers because of the critical role played by leaders in group and organisational effectiveness. Leadership may be defined as the process of influencing and directing the task related activities of group members. Approaches to Leadership Three approaches to to the study of leadership have been identified: the trait,behavior and contingency approaches. The trait approach has not proved useful,since no one combination of traits consistently distinguishes leaders from nonleaders or effective leaders from ineffective leaders. The behavior approach has focussed on leadership functions and styles. Studies have found the both task related functions and group maintenance functions have to be performed by one or more other group members in order for a group to function effectively. Studies of leadership styles have distinguished between  a task oriented ,authoritarian or initiating structure on the one hand and an employee cente...

Motivation Theories Motivation- those factors that cause ,channel, and sustain people’s behavior. Motivation is not always easy to discern. Most successful managers ,however, have learned by experience that people are generally very responsive to praise and encouragement-expressed not only in words but also in actions and need to feel successful in their work to give their best effort to the organization. Different View points on Motivation The Traditional Model The traditional model of motivation is associated with Fredrick Taylor and scientific management which held that an important aspect of the manager’s job was to make sure that workers perform repetitive  tasks in the most efficient way. The Human Relations Model In the human relations model, workers were expected to accept management’s authority because supervisors treated them with consideration and were attentive to their needs. The intent of managers ,however remained the same- to have the workers acc...