Corporate Articles

Business » Corporate | By Mike Teng @ Monday, 18th December 2006 @ 2:46 PM

Many businesses are still focusing on yesterday's problems at the expense of forgoing future opportunities. The best chess players always have a strategy in place. But in businesses, future planning seems to play second fiddle to analyzing of past performance. Architects would not build a house without the architectural plans because selecting the wrong layout or laying the wrong foundation or using the wrong building materials could result in disaster. The house can collapse on you after y... more...

Business » Corporate | By Mike Teng @ Friday, 15th December 2006 @ 9:56 PM

The downfall of many countries and political leaders are attributable to poor leadership succession. Yugoslavia plunged into civil war with the demise of President Tito in 1980. Till then, he was all-powerful and had no intention of passing control to anybody. Former President Suharto tried to perpetuate his powers too by surrounding himself with weak subordinates. This brought about his downfall and the economic disaster in Indonesia when the Asian economic crisis hit in 1997. Similarly,... more...

Business » Corporate | By Mike Teng @ Friday, 15th December 2006 @ 9:55 PM

Over-eating or bingeing is detrimental to one's health. Similarly, over-acquisition can cause corporate indigestion such as over-leveraging, integration difficulties, cultural misfits etc. You are what you eat. While fast growth through acquisition is a thrilling experience in running businesses, it also holds much more risks than meets the eye. When the company is in trouble, some CEOs also go on a shopping spree's acquisition. It is more glamorous and exciting than trying to f... more...

Business » Corporate | By Mike Teng @ Friday, 15th December 2006 @ 7:14 PM

There is a strong parallel between corporations and medical science. Companies fall sick just as people do. Contrary to the common view, a company is not an inanimate object. Rather, it is a community of people, a living organism and an entity with its own distinctive personality and attitudes. Therefore, without proper care, a company, which has a life of its own, will perish. Rather than understanding businesses by using some mechanical or industrial models, it is useful to understand them fro... more...

Business » Corporate | By Mike Teng @ Friday, 15th December 2006 @ 3:29 AM

There are many important imperatives and factors which are not quantified or measurable by the traditional accounting system. Human capital is perhaps the single most critical success factor for companies. But its importance cannot be captured or measured by the financial numbers. One can anticipate the failure of companies by observing the high defections within their middle and senior management ranks. The exodus of these key managers is the precursor to a much more severe problem, whic... more...

Business » Corporate | By Mike Teng @ Friday, 15th December 2006 @ 3:24 AM

Many companies underestimate the potential gravity of getting into litigious situations. Lawsuits, especially in cases where one does not have strong legal legs to stand on, are potential minefields for disaster. Many organisations work hard to grow the top line only to have a lawsuit siphon off the money. It is like having a purse with holes in it. Regardless of whether you win or lose the lawsuit, the ultimate winner is the lawyer. Unfortunately if your company happens to be the loser, the mag... more...

Business » Corporate | By Mike Teng @ Thursday, 14th December 2006 @ 1:45 PM

Welcome to the real business world where troubled businesses abound. Distressed business owners and executives need to understand turnarounds and transformations in order to face the challenges in this competitive global market. Corporate turnarounds and transformations are no longer ad hoc. Instead they have become an integral part of daily corporate life with dynamic changes in the economic, political and technological arenas. Business turbulence is here to stay. Yet, there are many myths pert... more...

Business » Corporate | By Mike Teng @ Wednesday, 13th December 2006 @ 5:20 PM

Revenue is vanity, profit is reality and cash is certainty. In medical analogy, revenue is the food, profit is the water and cash is the oxygen. You cannot pay rent with profit, you can only pay your rent with hard cash. Cash talks, the rest walks. Just as a critically ill person needs to be administered with fresh oxygen, an ailing company's immediate lifeline is cash, cash and more cash. Fresh fund injections will provide the fillip needed to get the system moving on an even keel a... more...

Business » Corporate | By Mike Teng @ Wednesday, 13th December 2006 @ 5:17 PM

As the adage goes: Prevention is better than cure. In medical practice, prevention of the disease before its onset is better than giving medication when it is already malignant or full-blown. Getting it right early is much better than subsequent expensive treatments. Furthermore, when you lose your health, the road to recovery gets longer and rougher. Prevention is the name of the game for individuals and companies. Just like people, most companies get into trouble simply through sheer ne... more...

Business » Corporate | By Mike Teng @ Tuesday, 12th December 2006 @ 8:40 PM

Most diseases including cancer and heart problems are easier to cure if detected early. Similarly, most sick companies can be turned around if the problems are discovered early. Sick companies need to be placed urgently into the intensive care units as the normal treatment regime is ineffective. Unfortunately, owing to denial, ego or pure ignorance, many sick companies do not seek help till it is very late. Troubled businesses usually try to conceal their problems from others for obvious ... more...

Business » Corporate | By Mike Teng @ Monday, 11th December 2006 @ 11:39 AM

Within the corporate world, there are the 'living dead', which are the sick companies that go on a wretched existence, without any hope of turnaround. These companies need a miracle such as a resurrection from the dead. Many of these companies need a change of DNA or business models. They are technically commercially insolvent and the owners will face the fate of bankruptcy if they close down the operations. Therefore, these 'living dead' just hang around, waiting for the dea... more...

Business » Corporate | By Mike Teng @ Monday, 11th December 2006 @ 11:38 AM

Most firms start out small and lean. Over time, some of them put on fat as they grow and prosper. Corporate fats result from the accumulation of unnecessary and excessive or out-of-date business practices. It also places excessive and opulent perks and benefits of employees and shareholders ahead of customers' interests. Ultimately, it fails to provide sustained value to customers. Corporate fats can also be in the fiber of the culture. It is not my money but the company's is a common ... more...

Business » Corporate | By Craig Thornburrow @ Friday, 8th December 2006 @ 1:59 PM

The Internet has made quite a number of tasks much easier to accomplish. Among these easier tasks is the ability to incorporate your business. But is online incorporation really legal? How is it different from going through the usual channels? Here is some information about online incorporation and when it might be a good fit for you. One of the great things about online incorporation is that you have the opportunity to evaluate which state you want to register your incorporation with. ... more...

Business » Corporate | By William Smith @ Friday, 8th December 2006 @ 1:15 PM

Corporate actions affect the rights and privileges of the shareholders largely. Shareholders are of two kinds, the common shareholders and the preferred shareholders. Companies do offer their shareholders with voting rights if agreed by the board of directors. The following corporate actions can have a great impact on the fortune of shareholders. Liquidation: In case of liquidation of a company, the common shareholders are at a maximum risk. The funds raised by the liquidation of ... more...

Business » Corporate | By Craig Bullock @ Sunday, 3rd December 2006 @ 8:29 PM

In regards to the graphic design creative process, the relationship between client and designer is rather delicate, where success relies upon strong communication and understanding. It is the responsibility of both the client and designer to ensure the most beneficial lines of contact. A client may not always know what they want and a designer may not fully grasp the goal of their project. Using the telephone, email and face-to-face meetings will aid in the development of mutually satisf... more...

Business » Corporate | By Pj Germain @ Thursday, 30th November 2006 @ 2:04 AM

Goals: A goal is a pre-determined result. Something you intend to achieve over the long term. Priorities: A priority is a ranking. 1-2-3 and A-B-C, etc. of your daily tasks so the tasks related to your most important goals become your top priorities. Our goals provide our direction. Until we have established our goals much of our activity is pointless. Without goals, we have no reason to organize, ourselves and our time because we are not going anywhere in particular. It then makes... more...

Business » Corporate | By Ske Chay @ Sunday, 12th November 2006 @ 5:19 PM

In every kind of business, inventory management or management of the inventory consists of a series of processes on the multiple functions with reference to the tracking, handling and managing of goods and materials that are held in stock. Efficiency in effective inventory management will always give a competitive edge to the business, regardless of its nature. With effective control and management over inventory stock, as well as accurate visibility and fast efficient fulfillments, compa... more...

Business » Corporate | By Fidens Felix @ Tuesday, 7th November 2006 @ 9:21 PM

Lean manufacturing process (LMP) is the process of empowering companies to be able to implement manufacturing methodologies that attempts to maximize the valued goods and minimize the waste that comes with it. Every company has been asking what is actually LMP. What is LMP as compared to the present manufacturing methods and why should it be considered. LMP hopes to satisfy not only the customers of a company but its employees and shareholders as well. Answer to these quest... more...

Business » Corporate | By Lee Michaels @ Sunday, 22nd October 2006 @ 5:41 PM

If you're like most business owners, you probably scramble to throw together a bunch of marketing plans and restructuring packages near the end of each fourth quarter. The end result in most cases is that you start the new year behind schedule, either because your plans were poorly put together or because you simply couldn't finish them in time. One of the easiest ways in which you can eliminate these fourth quarter planning woes is to implement some type of corporate r... more...

Business » Corporate | By Phil Morettini @ Sunday, 22nd October 2006 @ 5:35 PM

In Part I of this article, we discussed Bill Gates and his impact on the Microsoft organization. Now let's move on to what might happen after he is gone. SUCCESSORS AND STEVE BALLMER While I'm on the topic of new leadership, let's talk about Steve Ballmer. It will be interesting to see how Mr. Ballmer is viewed in the history of Microsoft, as time goes by. Will he be seen as one of the "creators of the culture", or simply the first short term caretaker as Gates e... more...