Showing papers on "Business model published in 1989"

The theory of business strategy.

Abstract: * The field of industrial organization has been transformed during the past twenty years. In the 1950s and 1960s, I.O. was predominantly an empirical field with little theory to guide either industry analysis or cross-section regression studies. During the 1980s, by contrast, there has been an intense flurry of activity in I.O. devoted to the development of new theory. This new wave of research consists almost exclusively of game-theoretic studies of behavior and performance in imperfectly competitive markets. In his companion piece Franklin Fisher argues that the game-theoretic approach to industrial organization has been unsuccessful. My aim here is to provide one participant's view of what industrial organization economists have learned from the recent theoretical research and where the field of industrial organization should go during the 1990s.

The study of international business: a plea for a more interdisciplinary approach

Abstract: scholastic efforts to study and teach international business is entirely dependent on our capability to marshal and organise the necessary human and other assets so as to supply a range of end products which are acceptable to the academic community of which we are part, our paymasters and the main purchasers of our products, viz, the business community. Of course, the determinants of success of the practice and study of IB are interrelated; and, in our particular pursuit for excellence, there is no unique or sure-fire recipe for success. But, I observe, that in an ever increasingly complex world of international business, which is dominated by rapid and far-reaching changes in technology and by environmental turbulence, this is no less true of successful practitioners. Rarely, in seeking to identify the reasons for business achievement, is one able to find a single common denominator. Sometimes excellence is primarily based on innovatory ingenuity; sometimes on the access to or control of key inputs or markets; sometimes on aggressive or novel methods of advertising and marketing; sometimes on super-efficient capital budgeting; sometimes on dynamic and imaginative entrepreneurship; sometimes on the diversity of operational experiences and capabilities; and sometimes on an unusual aptitude to manage human relationships. But in most cases, success is founded on some amalgam of these, and it is the way in which these discrete-though increasingly interdependent-advantages are &ombined with each other and with complementary assets in different countries and cultures, which contemporary research suggests is the key competitive advantages of international firms. Call it what you will-e.g.,

Research Strategies for Small Business: A Case Study Approach

Abstract: CLAUDIO A. ROMANO is with the Department of Accounting and Business Law at the University of Melbourne, Australia. He is currently undertaking a large small business research project which is considering the role of formal planning and control systems in the growth of 50 small manufacturing firms. A mixed qualitative/quantitative methodological approach is used. In conducting small business research, researchers should be prepared to consider a much wider range of research processes. Current small business research favours the scientific mode of research, an approach which has disadvantaged researchers in obtaining intimate small business knowledge. The methodological structure stresses the need to adopt a mixed methodological approach in understanding small business. Although the suggestions prresented are not conclusive, they tend to imply an alternative approach which is lacking in the literature. A case study approach is advanced as an alternative.

International Business Education: A Corporate View

Abstract: As a preliminary step in the internationalization of business school curricula, 122 major Canadian corporations were surveyed for their views on the importance of various management skills and international courses, as well as their opinion on the mechanisms (Institutions and academics) for delivering them This article reports on the responses obtained and suggests methods for improving the overall effectiveness of international business education

International Exchange: A Foundation for Theory Building in International Business

Abstract: There does not appear to be a consensus concerning what is the conceptual domain of international business. This paper argues that this is due in part to an emphasis on the firm as the unit of analysis. It is further argued that a comprehensive, generative and theoretically integrative definition of international business could be established if exchange were made the unit of analysis. By using the political economy paradigm and the various concepts of exchange adopted by the social sciences, nine characteristics are identified and developed which uniquely define the conceptual domain of international business.

Strategies for Internationalizing the Business School: Educating for the Global Economy:

Abstract: The global dimension of business has grown greatly in importance and has become an important aspect of business education. Business school curricula must be modified to reflect this new dimension. This article presents and evaluates the various strategies to achieve this change and finds that the strategy most appropriate for a given school depends on its objectives and the nature and extent of its long term commitment to the internationalization process.

The business plan

Abstract: One of the most important steps in establishing any new business is the construction of a business plan. It can help the owner/manager crystallise and focus his ideas. It can help him set objectives and give him a yardstick against which to monitor performance. Perhaps of more immediate importance, it can also act as a vehicle to attract any external finance needed by the business. It can convince investors that the owner/manager has identified high growth opportunities, and that he has the entrepreneurial flair and managerial talent to exploit that opportunity effectively, and that he has a rational, coherent and believable programme for doing so.

Performance Appraisal in Higher Education: Comparing Departments of Management with other Business Units

Abstract: The study reported here extends our knowledge of personnel practice in the public sector by looking at faculty performance evaluation in U.S. business schools. This study examined not only the rela...

Business Gaming: Current Usage Levels

Abstract: The growth and usage of business games in management training programmes and university business courses are examined. It is concluded that usage is quite high in both, and those unfamiliar with this instructional method are encouraged to find out what simulation gaming is about.

Business Ethics and Business Education: A Report from a Regional State University

Abstract: My central point is that the recent wave of interest in business ethics is an opportunity to review the whole enterprise of undergraduate business education. Business ethics, taught as if the students, faculty, curriculum and organization of the business school were important parts of the subject matter, is a way both to affirm the seriousness of ethical inquiry and to build an increased sense of collegial responsibility for the overall curriculum students are asked to undertake.

Anatomy of a Business Plan: A Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Business and Securing Your Company's Future

Abstract: From envisioning the organizational structure to creating the marketing plan that powers growth to building for the future with airtight financial documents, this guide provides the tools to create well-constructed business plans. Beginning with the initial considerations, this handbook offers proven, step-by-step advice for developing and packaging the components of a business plan--cover sheet, table of contents, executive summary, description of the business, organizational and marketing plans, and financial and supporting documents--and for keeping the plan up-to-date. Four real-life business plans and blank forms and worksheets provide readers with additional user-friendly guidelines for the creation of the plans. This updated seventh edition features new chapters on financing resources and business planning for nonprofits as well as a sample restaurant business plan.

The national survey of small business finances: description and preliminary evaluation

Abstract: The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Small Business AdministrationsponsoredtheNationalSurveyofSmallBusinessFinances(NSSBF)in1988. The NSSBF collected data from a national sample of 3,600 small business firms inventorying their use of transaction accomrts, other deposit and investment accounts, and credit services by source as well as obtaining a balance sheet, an income statement, and other characteristics of the business. A major concern of the study was to assess the degree to which small businesses rely on local commercial banks for credit, transactions, and deposit services. information that may have implications for public policy on mergers and deregulation in financial markets. The survey was intended, however, to serve a much broader purpose of providing basic data needed to address a wide range of issues in small business finance. This paper provides the first report of the purpose, content, and basic procedures used for the survey and presents a preliminary discussion of the coverage and overall response.

Business Strategy Formulation for a Financial Institution in a Developing Country

Abstract: This paper provides a summary of a project done in 1986 for an organization in a Central American country. The purpose of the work was to develop a global strategy and some functional strategies to improve the organization’s image and to generate new sources of funds.

Decision Thresholds and Developmental Stages in the Expanding Business

Abstract: Business owners and those who counsel them are often surprised by the crisis nature of operating a young, growing business. Even after the business has passed the breakeven point and seems comfortably in the profit range, these financial crises seem to occur. In this paper the authors present an explanation for these crises and suggest how they may be anticipated and planned. The traditional breakeven model has one crisis point, the point where the business "breaks even" or passes into the profit range. It is suggested here that fixed costs are not truly fixed in an expanding business, but rather increase in a staircase fashion. This produces discontinuities in the fixed cost and total cost curves. That is to say, a growing business must be continually expanding and must pay for the higher costs of expansion. There is a series of breakeven points (or times when profits will be quite thin) rather than a single breakeven point. As a result, expanding businesses face three stages in their life cycle - startup, profit management, and expansion. To some degree, they will alternate between profit management and expansion as long as they continue to grow. Entrepreneurs should recognize that the profits generated in the profit management stages need to be conserved and handled wisely in anticipation of the expansion stages. INTRODUCTION Business owners often find themselves overwhelmed by the seeming crisis nature of operating a small business. Just when the outlook seems rosy and the owner thinks the business is reasonably established, another crisis seems to come along. Those who counsel small business owners also seem to be surprised by the number of times a business appears to be healthy and then flounders. In this paper the authors discuss an explanation for the crisis nature of a young, growing business and suggest how decision thresholds and stages in the life of a business can be anticipated and planned. A BREAKEVEN MODEL FOR A GROWING BUSINESS A tool that is often used by new business owners and their consultants is breakeven analysis, or what is also referred to as cost-volume-profit analysis.7 The traditional breakeven model for a business is presented in Exhibit 1. If a business owner and his or her financial consultant think of the operation of the business in this fashion, they will adopt the view that the business will struggle to expand volume to the breakeven point or to the point of an acceptable profit level. After this point is reached, the owner can breathe a sigh of relief because he or she is past the crisis point. In other words, there is only one major decision point (or so it would appear); the decision to start the business. Likewise, there is only one major turning point; the point where the business begins to make a profit. Waiting in the wings is this one financial crisis that will determine whether the business will succeed or fail. (For those unfamiliar with breakeven concepts, the Horngren and Foster cost accounting text3 has an excellent discussion.) The problem with this one-crisis type of thinking is that after the business is comfortably in the profit range, the owner feels that he or she "has it made." The startup struggle is behind, and it is clear sailing ahead. When crisis after crisis seems to be the norm, the business owner feels he or she is the victim of particularly bad luck; his or her consultant may feel the owner is particularly inept at managing the business. It must be remembered that the traditional breakeven model is a financial model rather than a model for decision making. In addition, this model is intended to be used only for what accountants refer to as the "relevant range" of production. It is not intended to be operational over a long period of time, nor is it supposed to be accurate at low or high ranges of volume. If breakeven analysis is to be applied to the early life of a growing business, then a better breakeven model is needed. …

The entrepreneur and small business financial problem solver

Abstract: The Legal Aspects of Going into Business. Sources of Capital and How to Get a Loan. Business Insurance. Buying a Business. Leasing or Buying Equipment. Financial Management. Credit and Credit Collection. Record Keeping. Appendices: SBA Field Offices Minority Business Development Agency Directory Small Business Organizations and Contacts Directory of Operating Small Business Investment Companies Business Services Directory SBA Business Plan and Qualifications Resume Guide to Free Tax Services Provided by the IRS.

The Ranking of Masters Programs in International Business – Comment

Abstract: The recent article by Lee Nehrt on "The Ranking of Masters Programs in International Business" in the Fall 1987 issue of JIBS, aims to remedy the perceived inadequacies of the 1984 Ball and McCulloch ranking of "leading" International Business programs in the U.S., based on opinions of members of the Academy of International Business, by developing a ranking of these schools, based on "facts." Nehrt did indeed set himself a formidable task attempting to collect such information in view not only of the growing number of schools introducing international business programs, and the variety of "data" which might be collected, but also the complexity of the ranking task. Nehrt cites the Gourman Report (unreferenced) as developing rankings of business school programs based on:

Setting up a Business

Abstract: Nothing, in the over-regulated world of today, is ever simple. Before you launch your new business you should give some thought to the legal problems you will have to deal with. The first is deciding what is to be the legal form of the business you wish to launch. Technically there are three major forms of business organisation: the sole trader, the partnership, and the limited liability registered company. About 56 per cent of businesses are operated as sole traders and the balance are fairly equally divided between partnerships and companies.

Executive Characteristics, Strategy and Performance: A Contingency Model.

Abstract: This paper develops a contingency model that explores the impact of the fit between top executive characteristics and strategic orientation on organizational performance. Using the Miles & Snow (19...

An Empirical Examination of the Multiple Constituency Model of Organizational Effectiveness.

Abstract: This empirical study tested three hypotheses related to (1) the issue of determining constituency importance, (2) the assumption of strategic choice, and (3) the postulate of non-equivalence in eff...

Does company strategy have any lessons for educational planning

Abstract: Discusses the recent crisis in educational planning, proposing the adoption of business models for educational management. Describes ways to apply this approach to education policy. Identifies the problems of education, and suggests guidelines for change in educational policy.