Budgeting: Planning and Control in Organizations
What Is a Budget and Budgetary Control?
A budget is a quantitative plan for acquiring and using resources over a specified time period. Once the budget is established, actual spending is compared to the budget to ensure adherence to the plan. Budgetary control involves the steps taken by management to increase the likelihood that all parts of the organization are working together to achieve the goals set during the planning stage. An effective budgeting system must provide for both planning and
Read MoreCase Study: Patent Rights Dispute Between Mr. X and Mr. Y
Case Overview
Mr. X, an industrialist manufacturing educational materials like pens, chalks, and dusters, faced customer complaints about dusty chalks. His R&D division developed an innovative chalk, and he obtained a patent. However, production stopped after five years due to low demand and high costs. Mr. Y, a college lecturer, independently researched and developed similar chalks at a much lower cost.
Introduction to Patents
A patent grants exclusive rights for an invention (product or process)
Read MoreUnderstanding and Managing Technical Debt in Software Development
Technical Debt
Ward Cunningham first drew the comparison between technical complexity and debt in 1992. Shipping first-time code is like going into debt. A little debt speeds development so long as it is paid back promptly with a rewrite. The danger occurs when the debt is not repaid. Every minute spent on not-quite-right code counts as interest on that debt.
Extending the Metaphor
Steve McConnell: Technical debt includes both intentional and unintentional violations of good architectural and coding
Read MoreCompany Management, Objectives, and Social Responsibility
Company Management and Direction
External Changes and Company Values
Given the following external changes impacting the company’s direction: new technologies, globalization, market maturity, and diverse needs, the company values innovation in products, market expansion, and the use of new technologies.
Changes in Direction
- Increased flexibility and responsiveness to consumers and environmental changes
- Strategies based on superior knowledge
- Enhanced communication and teamwork
- Flatter organizational structures
Company as a System: Structure, Subsystems, and Theories
The Company as a System
A system is a set of interrelated elements working towards a common goal, forming a whole or subsystem within a larger system.
System Characteristics
- Common goal
- Homeostasis (balance)
- Equifinality (different paths to goals)
- Synergy (whole exceeds parts)
- Feedback (contributions and results)
Company as a System
The company is a human and dynamic artificial system (Kast and Rosenzweig, 1987), composed of several subsystems:
- Goals and values
- Technical
- Psychosocial
- Structural
- Administrative
Company
Read MoreLimits to Public Intervention in the Economy
Limits of Public Intervention in the Economy
Economic Limits
Despite the success of programs that provide content to the economy, public sector intervention does not follow a process of unlimited expansion due to economic limitations. The maintenance of public sector intervention is linked to the justification of its role in the economy, which is subject to criticism. Just as market failures have supported the case for greater public presence in economic life, the failures of the state or public sector
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