Vol. 4(11) November 2011
Research Articles:
Creation of Knowledge Management System
Ramani Gopal C.S. and Joy P.A.
Knowledge Management system creation can be viewed as a life cycle. Begins with
a plan and justification and ends with a system structured to meet Knowledge management
requirements for the whole company. Many companies have become so complex that their
knowledge is fragmented, extremely difficult to locate and share and therefore inconsistent,
redundant and ignored throughout the decisions that drive the company. This is where
a stable blueprint fits in. To be effective, the developed Knowledge Management
Team needs to build on a Knowledge Management blueprint. It should provides a road
map for building and incrementally improving a Knowledge Management system, should
provide for the explication of invaluable tacit knowledge that exists in the minds
of its employees. Bias in technology choice in favor of software components that
integrate well with company’s legacy systems should be avoided. A Knowledge Management
system built without a well defined architecture will lead only to chaos in near
future.
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New Parameters in Market Segmentation -Ethnic Marketing is
the Key
Venkatesh R.
Ever since marketing era began after the production and selling periods, different
concepts of marketing were followed. The early days started with mass marketing
as concept of moving products to customers and then marketer realized that customer
tastes and preferences differed from country to country and within the country.
They also realized that lot of other factors like age and income could play a vital
role in customer preferences for products. Segmentation of markets began. Initially
markets were segmented by Geography, Demography and Psychography. But then, the
liberalisation and free trade saw people moving from one place to another and settling
down comfortably. Ethnic minorities started growing in numbers and stature and the
demand for ethnic products increased. Ethnic markets grew in size and volume and
accounted for trillions of dollars worldwide. This necessitated Marketers to have
a fresh look at the way markets have to be segmented. Should they start looking
at multi-cultural markets and multi cultural products or should they stick to traditional
segmentation and producing mainstream products hoping that the ethnic minorities
will start following mainstream practices. This article examines the scope for micro
segmentation of markets based on multi-culture.
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Case Study:
Confronting Obesity: A Case Study of the Corporate Social Responsibility of
McDonald’s
Fortunato John A.
Engaging in corporate social responsibility activities is considered by many as
a necessity for any company. The necessity is heightened when a company has to deal
with the usage of its products being thought of as a behavior risk. Such is the
situation for a company in the fast food industry. This article examines how McDonald’s,
a leading global food service provider, implements and communicates its corporate
social responsibility initiatives to specifically address the societal concern of
obesity. This article details how McDonald’s tactics closely align with the strategies
that the scholarly literature provides for an effective corporate social responsibility
initiative.
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The Impact of Financial Risk on Capital Structure Decisions
in Selected Indian Industries: A Descriptive Analysis
Raiyani Jagdish R.
Financing decisions are one of the most critical areas for finance managers. It
has direct impact on capital structure and financial risk of the companies. It has
always been an area for interest for researchers to understand the relationship
between capital structure and financial risk of the company. This paper is a moderate
attempt to understand impact of financial risk on capital structure decisions in
selected Indian industries. For this purpose, the study used definition of capital
structure in scope of book value to market value and measures were assumed for financial
performance. In this paper, we applied the data of 59 companies listed on Stock
Exchange of India in a 10-year time horizon (1997-2007). For the present study,
data were collected through the secondary sources.
Industries of the study were selected based on ten years' data availability and
if the total assets value of the company were more than Rs. 100 crores, the statistical
tools used for analyzing them vary from general descriptive analysis such as Mean,
Standard Deviation, Coefficient of Variation, Compound Growth Rate to Linear Growth
Rate. Also, parametric t-test for ascertaining the level of significance of both
compound and linear growth rates and one way analysis of variance, simply called
F-test across selected industry sectors have also been used. Results of our study
demonstrated that finance risk variables, particularly risk followed by volatility
in ROE have significant effect on determining the additional variation in use of
debt financing in business through long-term sources among firms under all selected
sectors.
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Less Stressed at Work – Research on the Efficacy of Job Stress Coping Strategies
Chang Kirk
This research aimed to clarify the efficacy of common job-stress coping strategies
used by general employees. These strategies included: seeking assis-tance self assistance,
group intervention, avoidance and changing beliefs. Data were gathered from a large-scale
questionnaire survey (N = 880) with an anti-CMV strategy adopted. This research
first discovered that the efficacy of coping strategies was not universal but depended
on employees’ gender, educational levels and the interaction between different strategies.
Secondly, whether a strategy supported or worked against stress alleviation was
subject to its nature. Thirdly, using dual-strategies did not necessarily lead to
stress reduction. Findings have contributed to bridging the gap between stress coping
mechanism and the efficacy of coping strategies.
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Modeling the Optimization of Service Quality for Indian Food Retail Stores by
Prioritized Service Attributes -A Non-Linear Programming Approach
Jayakumar G.S. David Sam
This article attempts to codify the service quality dimensions within the scope
of the Organized Retailing Sector in India. It is a known fact that organised retailing
is making a strong impact in many parts of India’s growing economy. With rapid change
and expansion in the retail environment, it has become all the more necessary to
identify and streamline the different parameters. This research article takes up
dimensions like Physical Aspects, Reliability, Personal Interaction, Problem Solving
and Policy which access the retail service effective users of especially the food
retailers. The study attempts to optimize Service Quality of 4 major food retailers
(Spencer’s, Nilgris, Margin Free, Reliance Fresh) in Chennai city by using Non-linear
programming technique for the purpose of prioritizing the service attributes of
the food retail outlets. The data used in this study were collected from 630 retail
shoppers and they emphasize to give the actual perception about the retail outlets.
The results extracted from the study emphasize the food retailers have to consider
the priority weights for each service attributes before enhancing the service quality
and it will lead to render maximum service quality to customers of food retail outlets.
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Gender Differences affecting Familial and Work Responsibilities:
A Study of Indian Professionals
Tiwari Deepika and Jha Ajeya
In the last few years, the roles of men and women have changed to a great extent.
Despite great changes in the workplace, life at home for a woman is still much the
same as it was in past generations. Both men and women are increasingly working
together to learn about their new roles, still the women members have to face a
lot of difficulties to strike a balance between their family life and professional
life. This paper measures the expressed beliefs of working men and women affecting
their family and professional work responsibilities and its possible misinterpretation
in the context of team-work. Our findings conclude that both men and women believe
that their commitment to professional work is not reduced because of their familial
responsibilities.
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Growth in sales compared with asset turnover, leverage and profitability: An
analytical study of large Indian companies
Ramudu Janaki P. and Parasuraman N.R.
As a result of liberal Government policy and sufficient set of circumstances for
bringing about competitive strength, Indian companies, during the recent past started
surging ahead in terms of growth. However, the disturbing question often asked in
corporate circles is as to whether the super growth achieved has its roots on progress
and development in other key parameters that give rise to financial efficiency.
Thus Asset Turnover, Leverage and Return on Net Worth were not fully going up commensurate
with the growth in sales achieved. This paper seeks to study the relationship, if
any, between key parameters of growth and growth in sales. The DuPont equation is
taken as the basis for the study. The period from 2004 to 2008 has been considered
and companies have been grouped in terms of degree of growth achieved. Corresponding
grouping has been done in terms of other parameters so that the findings are reliable.
Companies which have achieved high growth in sales (40% or above), the other key
parameters – Asset Turnover, Leverage and Return on Net Worth – have moved synchronously,
while the same cannot be said of the companies which have achieved only moderate
or low growth.
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General Article:
“Jobs” Style
Padma Shankar
Steve Jobs, an innovator, computer geek and entrepreneur has logged out from this
world. It is an end of an era of the “greatest CEO”. An icon with foresight
and fashion helped the customers to realize their dreams. He is regarded as the
Leonardo da Vinci of the information era. After Adam, Newton, the great American
Apple “Michelangelo” who changed the life of every human incredibly
in this world is “Jobs”. His mantra as told by him is, “the only
way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet,
keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matter of the heart, you’ll
know when you find it.” Described by some as “tyrant” his management
style includes praising and berating people. He is believed to have embraced Indian
values and been humble and delightful also. He kept things simple but focused. Steve
Jobs is a historical CEO who inspired people, made big bets and also took big risks.
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An Overview of Industrial Marketing
Honnalli S.H.
Industrial marketing involves the sale of goods by one business to other businesses.
Typically it is the marketing of goods and services to business organizations for
use in the manufacture of their products or in the operation of their businesses.
Industrial Marketing is also known as Business-to-Business Marketing (B2B Marketing).
With industrial products the seller is not focused on appealing to the mass market
(as with consumer products), but is instead looking to appeal to a much smaller
number of specialist buyers. In B2B marketing firms often deploy a range of more
branding strategies in the marketplace. These are often based on secondary brand
associations which are outside the firm’s control and the traditional marketing
mix.
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