Managerial Economics: Concepts and Principles

Managerial Economics: Concepts and Principles

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Economic principles inform good business decision making. Although economics is sometimes dismissed as a discourse of practical relevance to only a relatively small circle of academicians and policy analysts who call themselves economists, sound economic reasoning benefits any manager of a business, whether they are involved with production/operations, marketing, finance, or corporate strategy. Along with enhancing decision making, the field of economics provides a common language and framework for comprehending and communicating phenomena that occur within a business, as well as between a business and its environment. This text addresses the core of a subject commonly called managerial economics, which is the application of microeconomics to business decisions. Key relationships between price, quantity, cost, revenue, and profit for an individual firm are presented in form of simple conceptual models. The text includes key elements from the economics of consumer demand and the economics of production. The book discusses economic motivations for expanding a business and contributions from economics for improved organization of large firms. Market price quantity equilibrium, competitive behavior, and the role of market structure on market equilibrium and competition are addressed. Finally, the text considers market regulation in terms of the generic problems that create the need for regulation and possible remedies for those problems. Although the academic literature of managerial economics often employs abstract mathematics and large corporations create and use sophisticated mathematical models that apply economics, this book focuses on concepts, terminology, and principles, with minimal use of mathematics. The reader will gain a better understanding of why businesses and markets function as they do and how those institutions can function better.

Process Mapping and Management

Process Mapping and Management

$24.99

This book provides a blueprint of how to develop a discipline for process management that applies to any type of orientation.

As the economy moves toward a services orientation, companies are struggling with how to improve their offerings. Process management is a key component of the services that companies provide, and author Sue Conger has written a helpful tool to learn more of this key component now helping companies around the world.

This book has three main parts: mapping, improvement, and error-proofing and metrics. In the first part—mapping—the reader will learn how to map a process so that the map is immediately understandable for identifying the roles, work steps, and automation support used in process delivery. The second part improvement—provides a series of techniques for defining, prioritizing, and analyzing problems from several perspectives. The first perspective is called “leaning,” and its purpose is to remove waste from an existing process. The second perspective is “cleaning,” during which the remaining steps following leaning are analyzed for possible improvement. The third perspective is “greening,” which explores opportunities and trade-offs for outsourcing, coproduction, and environmental improvements related to the process.

The final part of the book—error-proofing and metrics—presents several techniques for ensuring risk mitigation for the new process and for measuring changes that define their impacts and discusses a method for proposing changes to executives in a “case for change.” And throughout this book, Conger provides a blueprint of how to develop a discipline for process management that applies to any type of orientation.

Effective Financial Management: The Cornerstone to Success

Effective Financial Management: The Cornerstone to Success

$21.99

In a fast changing world, brimming with social and economic uncertainty, financial information plays a vital role in the life of an organization and does so with two sets of eyes. One set looks back to see what has happened. This is the accounting function, which is simply about the recording of events and the production of the financial reports that satisfy the stewardship responsibility of management. The other set looks forward to determine the most appropriate strategic direction for an organization, guiding managerial actions, motivating behaviors, and creating and supporting the cultural values necessary to achieve an organizations strategic objectives. This book is all about the second set of eyes, which are the lenses of STRATEGIC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, that help organizations plot their way through an environment filled with opportunities and dangers. For students, aspiring managers as well as those who already have management responsibilities this book provides an insight, through the eyes of the characters of a start-up company, of some of the ideas and models that help to identify the possible strategies capable of maximizing an organization’s value, which is the same as making the owners as wealthy as possible, to determine how to finance the organization in the most proper way, to allocate the collected capital in the most effective way, to monitor the implementation of the chosen strategy to see whether it is meeting the planned objectives, and to reasonably decide on the reinvestment and distribution of profits.

Transforming U.S. Army Supply Chains: Strategies for Management Innovation

Transforming U.S. Army Supply Chains: Strategies for Management Innovation

$21.99

This text offers a practical approach for understanding the US Army’s extremely complex global logistics system, widely acknowledged as one of the largest in the world. The focus is on inventory management policy where prescriptions are illuminated through the prism of an enterprise supply chain analysis. Although Army aviation logistics examples are emphasized throughout, the fundamental issues and potential solutions are broadly applicable to other large-scale military and industrial supply chains as well. Following a summary of recent trends for background and context, a multi-stage conceptual model of the logistics structure is presented to segment and guide the effort. This multi-stage model is used to systematically analyze major organizational components of the supply chain, diagnose structural disorders and prescribe solutions. Integration challenges are addressed using cost-benefit perspectives which incorporate supply chain objectives of efficiency, resilience, and effectiveness. The design and evaluation section proposes an “analytical architecture” consisting of four complementary modeling approaches, collectively referred to as “dynamic strategic logistics planning”, to enable a coordinated, enterprise approach for Army Logistics Transformation. An organizational construct is presented for an “engine for innovation” to accelerate and sustain continual improvement for Army logistics and supply chain management – a “Center for Innovation in Logistics Systems”. Finally, strategic management challenges associated with enterprise integration and transformational change are addressed: organizational design; management information and decision support systems; strategic alignment for a learning organization; and workforce considerations including human capital investment needs. The text concludes with a relevant historical vignette and closes with a summary of expected benefits.

Revenue Management in Service Organizations

Revenue Management in Service Organizations

$21.99

Revenue management is concerned with maximizing revenue flows while controlling costs and offers a new framework for locating conventional management accounting concepts and methods, in combination with notions of yield management, pricing and process management. The revenue objective provides a unifying goal for the aforementioned concepts and methods that are especially suitable for service organizations where revenue considerations are inextricably linked to the activities performed. This book places revenue management at the forefront of management accounting with cost management and performance measurement in supporting roles. Revenue management introduces new ideas such as yield management, while uniting previously disparate subjects such as project management, capacity costing, and the theory of constraints. Methods of pricing and their associated strategies are included as well as techniques for segmenting consumer markets.

Drivers of Successful Controllership: Activities, People, and Connecting with Management

Drivers of Successful Controllership: Activities, People, and Connecting with Management

$21.99

This book is about drivers of successful controllership. Successful controllership services provide an imperatively required support to managers, especially in times of change. But what makes controllership services successful? Our book provides the first comprehensive set of answers to this question. We argue it is not the selection of latest tools and techniques but carefully customized services, motivated and skillful employees, and intensive mutual exchanges with managers and open cooperation with other internal service providers. Our book thus addresses managers who want to learn how they best profit from a close collaboration with controllers, and controllers who strive to improve the quality of “their” services to deliver superior performance.

Understanding Japanese Management Practices

Understanding Japanese Management Practices

$21.99

This book outlines the particulars of Japanese management and how modern Japanese management employs many practices which are very successful and worth adopting. The main objective of this book is to illustrate the many teachings that Japanese management practice can offer the rest of the world. The book thus targets managers who deal with Japanese business partners, or work in Japan, students of Japanese Studies, Asian Studies or International Business.

Effective Sales Force Automation and Customer Relationship Management: A Focus on Selection and Implementation

Effective Sales Force Automation and Customer Relationship Management: A Focus on Selection and Implementation

$21.99

As we move deeper into the 21st century, Firms continue to struggle with the implementation of sales force technology tools and the role they play in sales representative performance. Foreseeing this changing environment, many sales organizations have begun to focus on technology-related strategies, business processes, and applications to adapt to these emerging issues. As we move deeper into the 21st century, firms continue to struggle with the implementation of sales force technology tools and the role they play in sales representative performance. Foreseeing a changing environment, many sales organizations have begun to focus on technology-related strategies, business processes, and applications to adapt to these emerging issues. With this in mind, sales force technology usage has changed the methods of selling. Salespeople are no longer selling just a “product”; instead, they are providing a valuable “solution” to customer problems. Salespeople now act as consultants or experts and provide customized solutions. This role requires salespeople to develop a technological orientation to access, analyze, and communicate information in order to establish a strong relationship with customers. Sales technology enables salespeople to answer the queries of customers and effectively provide competent solutions. The ability to answer queries and provide solutions leads to strong relationships between a salesperson and a customer. Thus, technology tools are not only used for smoothing the work process, but also have strategic utilizations. With the adoption of technological tools at exponential rates, many firms fell into pitfalls and witnessed failure of their technology initiatives. The purpose of this book is to outline the important steps that must be considered and adhered to when implementing sales force technology. Perhaps the most important aspect covered within this book is that technology usage is both a strategy and a tool; therefore, we outline both strategic considerations as well as implementation procedures throughout each chapter. It is important to consider all the steps and the necessary actions that will need to take place before the first penny is spent; then and only then will the technology have its intended effect.

Positive Management: Increasing Employee Productivity

Positive Management: Increasing Employee Productivity

$21.99

There is a myth in American and other first-world business cultures that being tough and unreasonable are keys to extracting high productivity from employees. Not true. Profound economic, demographic, and cultural change is creating a workplace where that myth can no longer be believed. If your organization has people who are hard to work for or is facing increasing difficulty in finding top-quality employees, this book will help you learn more about positive management and how to reach your strategic objectives. This book explains how to use this positive management (PM) as an organization-wide strategy to motivate employees, increase productivity, and accomplish organizational goals by creating upbeat and dignified relationships in the workplace. It covers the use of PM in a variety of situations, including difficult and negative ones, to achieve higher employee commitment and motivation, to lower communication inefficiencies, and to reduce absenteeism and turnover. Any manager, business owner, or student of management will want to have this book on hand when positive management is the next step and the right step.

Achieving Excellence in Management: Identifying and Learning from Bad Practices

Achieving Excellence in Management: Identifying and Learning from Bad Practices

$21.99

This book adopts a fresh approach identifying reasons for bad management which are backed up by case studies from real life business situations. The sound management principles so developed can subsequently be applied to a broad range of settings for personal careers in traditional firms or in entrepreneurial or global ventures. Also, to establish role models and mentor topics for individuals and companies, and for handling many problems in the current uncertain international business environment.