Global Economic Recession

If Management brings it to your notice that due to the current "Global Economic Recession/Oil Price Down", There will be no appraisal for the year of 2015-16.

The following are the perceived reactions of some departments.

Branch Offices

Call Centers

Finance










Customer Care                                                                 

Sales

HR

IT

Marketing

Top Executives

Fun Definitions

It seems that a lot of our old definitions for things are just that: Old. So a group of scientists (and comedians) have decided to create a new list of definitions for the New Year! Here are some of the new definitions we loved the most:

School: An institute where the child goes to play while the parent goes to pay.

Life Insurance: A contract that leaves you poor while you live so you can die rich.

Nurse: A woman that wakes you up in the middle of the night to give you sleeping pills.

Tears: The hydrolic force that women use to defeat men.

Conference: One man's confusion multiplied by the number of people there.

Father: The banker nature gave children.

Politician: Whoever shakes your hand before elections and your wallet after elections.

Doctor: A person who kills your disease with pills and you with bills.

Compromise: The art of dividing the cake in a way that makes everyone believe they got the largest piece.

Mosquito: The only insect that makes you prefer flies.

Etc: The word that makes people think you are smarter than you really are.

Atom Bomb: The invention to end all other inventions.

Yawn: The only time married men are allowed to open their mouth.

Philosopher: A masochistic fool who will be considered a genius once dead.

An adult: A person who has stopped growing from either end and now just grows in the middle.

Diplomat: A person who tells you to go to hell in such a way that you actually look forward to the trip.

Chicken: The only animal we eat before it's born as well as after it's dead.

Fancy restaurant: The only restaurant that serves you cold soup on purpose.

Puddle: A small body of water that attracts other small bodies wearing dry shoes.  

Terms of the Week-Business Dictionary (Part II)

Cost control
The process or activity on controlling costs associated with an activity, process, or company. Cost control typically includes

(1) Investigative procedures to detect variance of actual costs from budgeted costs

(2) Diagnostic procedures to ascertain the cause(s) of variance

&
(3) Corrective procedures to effect realignment between actual and budgeted costs.

Marginal cost

The increase or decrease in the total cost of a production run for making one additional unit of an item. It is computed in situations where the breakeven point has been reached: the fixed costs have already been absorbed by the already produced items and only the direct (variable) costs have to be accounted for. Marginal costs are variable costs consisting of labor and material costs, plus an estimated portion of fixed costs (such as administration overheads and selling expenses). In companies where average costs are fairly constant, marginal cost is usually equal to average cost. However, in industries that require heavy capital investment (automobile plants, airlines, mines) and have high average costs, it is comparatively very low. The concept of marginal cost is critically important in resource allocation because, for optimum results, management must concentrate its resources where the excess of marginal revenue over the marginal cost is maximum. Also called choice cost, differential cost or incremental cost.

Net price

A final price after deducting all discounts and rebates.

Vision statement

An aspirational description of what an organization would like to achieve or accomplish in the mid-term or long-term future. It is intended to serves as a clear guide for choosing current and future courses of action.

Opportunity cost

A benefit, profit, or value of something that must be given up to acquire or achieve something else. Since every resource (land, money, time, etc.) can be put to alternative uses, every action, choice, or decision has an associated opportunity cost. Opportunity costs are fundamental costs in economics, and are used in computing cost benefit analysis of a project. Such costs, however, are not recorded in the account books but are recognized in decision making by computing the cash outlays and their resulting profit or loss.

Austerity budget

A budget that is imposed on a country by its government with the purpose of reducing the national deficit by way of cutting down on consumer spending.

Earmark

The act of setting something aside for a specific use or purpose in the future. For example, goods may be earmarked prior to being exported in the future. Most commonly used to refer to funds that have been set aside in order to pay for a specific project.

Masters of Business Administration (MBA)

An advanced college degree, earned by those who successfully graduate from their college or university's MBA program. As with other advanced degrees, traditionally a student will have already received a Bachelors degree in some area of study, before working towards his or her MBA. A typical MBA program deals with multiple aspects of business, including finance and management skills. Also called Masters in Business Administration or Master of Business Administration.

Yankee bond

Dollar denominated bond sold in the US by a foreign bank, corporation, or government utility. It the US equivalent of Eurobond.

Tax holiday

A temporary period, during which time the government removes certain taxes (usually sales tax) on certain items, in order to encourage the consumption or purchase of these items. The most common application of this is a tax-free weekend, which most states hold shortly before school begins in the fall, during which time sales tax is removed on clothing, school supplies, and/or other similar items. Not all areas engage in tax holidays; it is up to the government of that area.

Terms of the Week-Business Dictionary (Part I)

Marketing mix
A planned mix of the controllable elements of a product's marketing plan commonly termed as 4Ps: product, price, place, and promotion. These four elements are adjusted until the right combination is found that serves the needs of the product's customers, while generating optimum income. Sometimes the first P (Product) is substituted by presentation.

Marketing concept
Management philosophy according to which a firm's goals can be best achieved through identification and satisfaction of the customers' stated and unstated needs and wants.

Market segmentation
The process of defining and subdividing a large homogenous market into clearly identifiable segments having similar needs, wants, or demand characteristics. Its objective is to design a marketing mix that precisely matches the expectations of customers in the targeted segment. Few companies are big enough to supply the needs of an entire market; most must breakdown the total demand into segments and choose those that the company is best equipped to handle. Four basic factors that affect market segmentation are (1) clear identification of the segment, (2) measurability of its effective size, (3) its accessibility through promotional efforts, and (4) its appropriateness to the policies and resources of the company. The four basic market segmentation-strategies are based on (a) behavioral (b) demographic, (c) psychographic, and (d) geographical differences.

Globalization
The worldwide movement toward economic, financial, trade, and communications integration. Globalization implies the opening of local and nationalistic perspectives to a broader outlook of an interconnected and interdependent world with free transfer of capital, goods, and services across national frontiers. However, it does not include unhindered movement of labor and, as suggested by some economists, may hurt smaller or fragile economies if applied indiscriminately.

Procurement
The act of obtaining or buying goods and services. The process includes preparation and processing of a demand as well as the end receipt and approval of payment. It often involves (1) purchase planning, (2) standards determination, (3) specifications development, (4) supplier research and selection, (5) value analysis, (6) financing, (7) price negotiation, (8) making the purchase, (9) supply contract administration, (10) inventory control and stores, and (11) disposals and other related functions. The process of procurement is often part of a company's strategy because the ability to purchase certain materials will determine if operations will continue. A business will not be able to survive if it's price of procurement is more than the profit it makes on selling the actual product.

Objective
A specific result that a person or system aims to achieve within a time frame and with available resources. In general, objectives are more specific and easier to measure than goals. Objectives are basic tools that underlie all planning and strategic activities. They serve as the basis for creating policy and evaluating performance. Some examples of business objectives include minimizing expenses, expanding internationally, or making a profit. Neutral (bias free), relating to, or based on verifiable evidence or facts instead of on attitude, belief, or opinion. Opposite of subjective.

Gap analysis
A technique that businesses use to determine what steps need to be taken in order to move from its current state to its desired, future state. Also called need-gap analysis, needs analysis, and needs assessment. Gap analysis consists of (1) listing of characteristic factors (such as attributes, competencies, performance levels) of the present situation ("what is"), (2) listing factors needed to achieve future objectives ("what should be"), and then (3) highlighting the gaps that exist and need to be filled. Gap analysis forces a company to reflect on who it is and ask who they want to be in the future.

Labor market
The nominal market in which workers find paying work, employers find willing workers, and wage rates are determined. Labor markets may be local or national (even international) in their scope and are made up of smaller, interacting labor markets for different qualifications, skills, and geographical locations. They depend on exchange of information between employers and job seekers about wage rates, conditions of employment, level of competition, and job location.

Cycle time
The period required to complete one cycle of an operation; or to complete a function, job, or task from start to finish. Cycle time is used in differentiating total duration of a process from its run time.

Socialization
Process by which individuals acquire the knowledge, language, social skills, and value to conform to the norms and roles required for integration into a group or community. It is a combination of both self-imposed (because the individual wants to conform) and externally-imposed rules, and the expectations of the others. In an organizational setting, socialization refers to the process through which a new employee 'learns the ropes,' by becoming sensitive to the formal and informal power structure and the explicit and implicit rules of behavior. See also organizational culture and orientation.