Real Companies Research Articles

A practical model for managing inventories with unknown costs and a budget constraint

The economic production quantity method is one of the simplest models to control production and inventory. However, the assumptions on which it is based make its application difficult in practical situations. In most companies, set-up and inventory costs are unknown, or may not even exist as such, although other data are known, such as available capacity in machining hours and limits set by the financing subsystem. The present work offers a multi-item inventory model that sets reference values using known values such as inventory investment limits and production capacity. In order to confer the proposed model’s larger practical content, a spreadsheet available to be downloaded has been implemented. Finally, the model dynamics is illustrated as a numerical example obtained from a real company.

Investment Strategies of Housing Developers in Light of Demographic Changes in Polish Society (Selected Problems)

Abstract The main topic assumed in the deliberations of the present article is the phenomenon of dynamic changes in the demographic structure of the Polish society and their influence on the direction of changes in the development of selected aspects of the residential real estate market and its financing. As it turns out, the increasingly evident aging of the Polish society, on the one hand, and high emigration of working-age youth, who set up families abroad, on the other, have their multidirectional determinants and implications also in the context of the residential real estate market. This interesting and relatively new - as far as the Polish economy is concerned - phenomenon requires a more in-depth diagnosis and analysis by various experts Based on the newest available GUS, NBP, ZBP, BIK and KNF reports and statistics, as well as documents of developers, the development strategies of real estate development companies and the functioning of the banking sector engaged in financing the residential real estate market were analyzed in terms of their suitability to the occurring and forecasted demographic changes in society. The aim of the study is to indicate the need to reduce the risk of developers' projects and entities engaged in servicing the real estate market by continuously adapting their offers to changing socioeconomic conditions.

USING COST-VOLUME-PROFIT TO ANALYSE THE VIABILITY OF IMPLEMENTING A NEW DISTRIBUTION CENTER

Firms are constantly improving their activities in order to become more competitive. With the diffusion of international competition and easier access to global markets, effective logistic and inventory management strategies become essential to all players. In this sense, there is a clear tradeoff between inventory costs and service level. A common strategy to address this issue is to locate distribution centers (DC) near key markets. However, the decision to build new DCs must be supported by clear and convincing analysis. In this context, this paper reports the use of cost-volume-profit analysis to assess the viability of establishing a new DC by a real company that manufactures radiopharmaceutical products. The researchers collected and analysed detailed financial information from the company and compared the current scenario with potential future scenarios using the cost-volume-profit technique. Next, expected firm profitability is compared for two scenarios: with and without the new DC.

Critical Factors in the Selection of Start-Up Incubator Residents

Incubators have played an increasing role in nurturing early stage start-ups in recent years. Meanwhile, the competition in the selection of start-ups for entering prestigious incubators is also growing. Previous studies have introduced some screening factors in the selection process, largely based on interviews and surveys of the opinions of incubator managers. Despite diverse findings by far, there have been no effort to identify the key selection criteria and factors using real startup company profiles. This research proposes an assessment method based on the Real-Win-Worth framework. This new method is used to evaluate a data set of 280 application profiles of start-ups submitted to JFDI.Asia, a prestigious incubator based in Singapore. Our results suggest “working website”, “recommendation”, “demand validation”, “market demographics”, “concept maturity”, “sales/distribution channel” and “technology expertise” are crucial for the start-ups to pass initial profile screening. After the screening stage, “competitive advantage”, “prior start-up experience”, “feedback mechanism” and “growth potential and strategy” are critical for the final admission into the incubator. The assessment method and these findings could help entrepreneurs self-evaluate and improve their start-ups for successful selection into competitive incubators, and also support incubator managers in making selection decisions systematically.

Developing student competencies: An integrated approach to a financial statement analysis project

This paper presents an instructional resource for an integrated financial statement analysis project. The project requires a quantitative analysis of a company's financial statements and a written research report. The project is designed to develop students' critical thinking and analytical capabilities through the application of course concepts to a real company, while also providing opportunities to develop professional competencies. Following Anson's Instructional Design Model (2007), the integrated project includes supporting activities, which are designed to aid students in achieving the project's learning goals. The supporting activities include in-class instruction on financial ratios, a computer lab session on Excel, draft papers, peer reviews of writing, and paper revisions. The integrated project also serves as an example of an assignment that is consistent with two recent education frameworks, the Integrated Competency-Based Framework (Lawson et al., 2014) and the AICPA Core Competency Framework (2015), which both advocate for increased integration of professional competencies within the accounting curriculum. Our instructional resource provides project instructions, supporting activities, as well as implementation guidance and a grading rubric. The paper discusses adaptations to tailor the project to various courses and audiences. The resources in this article are useful for instructors implementing a financial statement analysis project into accounting, finance, financial statement analysis and investment courses targeted at either the undergraduate or graduate levels.

THE INTEGRATIVE AND DISINTEGRATIVE PROCESSES INSIDE THE LARGE ORGANIZATIONAL FORMS

The article deals with the actual problem of organizational risks (risks of business forms), which influence the large organizational forms: corporations, concerns and conglomerates. In the process of detailed analysis of the real companies it was determined typical organizational risks of different kinds of big business forms, and, also, it was offered optimal business structures, depending on their strategies on the market. This research could be the base for development of crisis bailout plans for the large Russian and foreign companies under the economic instability conditions.

Декапіталізація фінансового сектора економіки України: причини і наслідки

The article reveals the conceptual basis of of the financial as a phenomenon generated by both objective and subjective factors: the fundamental causes of of the financial may be deteriorating financial condition of borrowers and issuers, capital losses in other sectors resulting in negative values of net savings at macro level; in the case of reduction of the rate of net savings or its negative value (with unavailability of external financing) economic system undergoes local or total decapitalization, which expands to all sectors. The authors indicate that the forms and methods of of the financial are determined by the type of financial institution, and by the special nature of financial relations with other sectors, and the related structure of assets and liabilities. Justified the concept of decapitalization of the financial sector as absolute reduction of the nominal amounts of equity and equity equivalent for the financial institutions of all types less the capital of the central bank; this interpretation requires a balance approach and allows evaluating the extent of nominally, taking no account of money depreciation due to inflation. It is established that of the financial in Ukraine in 2014 - first half 2015 acquired the following main forms: a decrease in equity due to depreciation of debt based financial instruments; decrease in equity due to the depreciation of equity debtfinancial instruments; reduction of capital in connection with the termination of financial institutions. The authors argue that the fundamental reason of of the banking were interrelated trends of depreciation and liquidity shortage associated with the loss, by part of the banks, of their ability to fulfill obligations to depositors and creditors. It is shown that the main reasons of the of the Private Pension Funds were the rapid reduction of pension contributions as a result of the poor financial state of the real companies that fund the programs of supplementary pension probision, as well as losses due to the depreciation of the stocks portfolios and banks' insolvency. It was found that the determining factors of the of the insurance companies were the reduction of their registered authorized capital due to reducing the amount of licensed insurance companies, deteriorating financial performance (due to lower demand for insurance services caused by the overall economic downturn), depreciation of financial assets (shares) and the loss of funds in the insolvent banks, which led to increased number of loss-making insurance companies. It is shown that the main causes of the of the Collective Investment Institutions(CII) operating on market principles were the withdrawal of capital by the participants of open-type CII, which coincided in time with the banking panic (early 2014); depreciation financial assets and loss of funds in insolvent banks; suspention of the circulation of the issuers' securities on the occupied territories (in the Crimea and in the ATO area). The authors define the quantitative (nominal) amount of the of the financial in Ukraine by segments; it is found that the main negative effects of the of the financial of Ukraine during 2014 - first half of 2015 are the following: lack of equity to restore confidence in financial institutions, the decline in the debt financing of the real economy, higher interest rates due to the growing shortage of free financial resources on the domestic market and the failure of the financial to increase theirs propositions. The authors provide an assessment of the consequences of of the financial for Ukraine's economy. It is emphasized that the lack of capital in financial institutions will remain one of the main obstacles to the recovery in equity and debt financing in the real economy, which will complicate the launch of market mechanisms of economic recovery in Ukraine.

Waste Measurement Project of an Aeronautic Assembly Line

Over the last two decades, the Lean philosophy is gaining significant ground in different industrial sectors beyond the automotive one. Besides presenting particular characteristics, large aircraft manufacturers have started using Lean concepts aiming to optimize the manufacture projects of their products. This article aims to discuss the application of the Lean philosophy in the aerospace sector, as well as measure the main waste that occurs in a real company in this sector, using a case study. At the end of this study, some tools used to analyze collected data, as well as some upgrades, will be discussed.

The Effect of Relational Capabilities and Managerial Capabilities on Performance Outcome: A Comparison between Architecture Firms and Real Estate Development Companies

Building projects are complex, unique and involve many stakeholders, such as contractors, architects, engineers, investors and developers. Creating and maintaining networks to partners and clients is of crucial importance for a successful project completion and for the competitive advantage of project-based organizations. The aim of this paper is to investigate the role of coordinative capabilities, specifically relational capabilities (RC) and managerial capabilities (MC) for the strategic performance of real estate development companies and architecture firms. It is hypothesized that RC and MC, which are embedded in the organization itself and developed through projects and individual capabilities, influence the strategic performance of architects and real estate developers, and thus lead to competitive advantage and higher firm performance of these companies. The research framework is empirically evaluated by using data from 97 real estate development companies and 79 architecture firms from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. The hypotheses are tested by applying a stepwise regression analysis. Further on, the findings for these two types of professional service firms are compared and their implication discussed. Our results indicate that under higher environmental uncertainty, relational capabilities are more important for the performance of architecture firms and managerial capabilities are more important for the performance of real estate companies.

Outsourcing in the construction industry

Material is devoted to the phenomenon, rather new to the Russian economy, – to outsourcing in construction branch. Widely applied in foreign economic practice he acts at the same time both a micro, and macroeconomic factor. A conclusion of non basic assets from structure of real estate development company (especially – large) and transfer of function on their management to other organizations, specializing in these services, allows to solve a number of problems. The tasks in construction solved by means of outsourcing, concerning preparation of necessary initial and allowing documents and control of work progress are considered in more detail. The company can concentrate on performance of the main functions, without being distracted by the organization of the accompanying processes. As a result outsourcing not only makes for it additional profit, but also increases its competitiveness. Also other advantages, and also shortcomings are considered. Outsourcing can be presented in different types and take various forms. In article the most widespread of them are considered: full, partial and advanced outsourcing. At external similarity of outsourcing and a subcontract are two various economic events. The main differences proceed from the purposes of their application and a procedure of control, and also consist in division of powers of the parties. There is also some other differences. The carried-out analysis shows advantages of the first before the second. Outsourcing in concrete types of construction activity is considered on the example of outsourcing of personnel. The Russian construction business gradually comes to understanding that outsourcing is a way of minimization of cumulative expenses, improvement of quality and reductions of time of execution of works.

The Case of Beiesdorf, Inc. (2010-2014)

This article summarizes corporate strategy mistakes, and earnings management and asset quality management by Beiersdorf (an exchange-traded German company that also operated in the US and several countries during 2010-2017) which have implications for asset pricing, bankruptcy models and recovery-prediction models. The article summarizes a proposed sale-leaseback transaction with Beiersdorf (wherein two new types of sale-leaseback transactions were introduced) and briefly surveys the literature on sale-leaseback transactions. Sale-leasebacks are a well known operations strategy, but are increasingly treated as a distinct asset-class in fixed income markets (with real estate funds, hedge funds, HNWIs, insurance companies, pension funds, family offices and foundations as investors). The article also briefly reviews the third-party issuance of reverse convertible bonds and Discounts Certificates that were based on Beiersdorf during 2017.

An integrated intuitionistic fuzzy AHP and SWOT method for outsourcing reverse logistics

We consider the problem faced by a company that must outsource reverse logistics (RL) activities to third-party providers. Addressing RL outsourcing problems has become increasingly relevant issue in the management science and decision making literatures. The correct evaluation and ranking of the decision criteria/priorities determining the selection of the best third-party RL providers (3PRLPs) is essential for the competitive performance of the outsourcing company. The method proposed in this study allows to identify and classify these decision criteria. First, the relevant criteria and sub-criteria are identified using a SWOT analysis. Then, Intuitionistic Fuzzy AHP is used to evaluate the relative importance weights among the criteria and the corresponding sub-criteria. These relative weights are implemented in a novel extension of Mikhailov's fuzzy preference programming method to produce local weights for all criteria and sub-criteria. Finally, these local weights are used to assign a global weight to each sub-criterion and create a ranking. We discuss the results obtained by applying the proposed model to a case study of a real company. In particular, these results show that the most important priority for the company when delegating RL activities to 3PRLPs is to focus on the core business, while reducing costs constitutes one of its least important priorities.

Exploring effectiveness of safety information for workplace visitors

Providing safety information to visitors is an important task of each employer, but there is little evidence on what instructions are most effective. This study explores the effectiveness of visitor instructions that are currently in use, by identifying what objectives of visitor instruction are considered most important and assessing whether the actual instructions address these objectives.Data for this study was gathered through a survey that was handed out in a workshop in Cyprus and a workshop in the Netherlands. Focus groups were organised during the workshops, instructions from real companies were handed out and their effectiveness was discussed.The findings from this explorative study show that people expect a visitor instruction to provide information on emergency plans, evacuation routes and on the main risks on the worksite. In this study, the actual visitor instructions only partially matched these expectations. The study showed that in the actual instructions a larger variety of topics was addressed. Strengths and weaknesses of the instructions, according to the participants, mainly relate to the information density and to inclusion of clear, specific information. This finding suggests that the amount of information is very important for the perception of the instruction.

Automated Rating of Financial and Economic Condition of Companies

The ratings-based approach to assessment of financial and economic condition of companies was analyzed from the perspective of multiple-criteria selection. The author specifies basic problems to be solved when making integral ratings: selection of the compromise principle and relevant optimality principle; accounting for priorities of the criteria; criteria normalization. The article analyzes one of the most widespread compromise principles of ratings—the principle of fair compromise, which solves the problem of multiple criteria in a radical way through convolution of relevant set of criteria into a single integral criterion. The procedure, which is based on the hierarchical analysis method and some auxiliary computing procedures, which allow to make point and interval assessments of indicators of companies’ financial and economic condition, is suggested for hierarchical synthesis of the integral rating. The author considers the procedure application chart, which was brought up to the level of implementation. Automated application was made on the MS Excel tabular processor platform using VBA, and such automated application includes three basic functional subsystems: source data import subsystem; subsystem for assessment of the companies’ financial and economic condition; the companies’ ratings generation subsystem. The suggested solution may be used as a prototype of a commercial automated system, which allows the customer to specify requirements in respect of the created system, and which allows the developer to adjust its functionality, with direct involvement of system users for this purpose. The developed prototype was tested on the data of six real single-industry companies. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n5s4p297

SOME ASPECTS OF AGILE APPROACH IN PRAXIS

In modern times, competitiveness in the market depends on having a good information system. The companies developing and supplying information systems are in competition too, and having an effective system of delivery is critical for obtaining lucrative offers. Therefore, the software development companies continuously try to improve their development process to supply the product in a short time and with high quality. The agile approach potentially shortens this time and is very often used. This approach has almost replaced the traditional process. More and more companies implement agile approach in these times to be competitive in the software development market and hasten product delivering.The traditional and agile approaches differ in certain perspectives. Hence, the question arises as to whether the agile approach is the best for the software development company in every case. This article contains a comparison of these two approaches, as well as a case study relating to the agile approach in a real software development company, which had previously used the traditional approach. The article also describes situation where replacing the traditional approach with agile would improve results.

“Understanding a fury in your words”: The effects of posting and viewing electronic negative word-of-mouth on purchase behaviors

Marketing scholars and practitioners have long recognized that the power of electronic negative word-of-mouth (e-NWOM) can influence brand revenues and firm performance, but most previous studies have only examined the effect of viewing. This study is one of the initial attempts to test the effects of e-NWOM on both posters and viewers. We also test the moderating effects of company usefulness and company apology in a separate study. Using an observational dataset that contains NWOM viewing and posting records and customers' purchase transactions from a real company, Study 1 finds that viewing e-NWOM has a negative effect on subsequent purchases, whereas posting e-NWOM has a positive interaction effect with company usefulness. Study 2 shows that a company's public apology has a positive effect on viewers, but not posters. We conclude with the theoretical, methodological, and managerial implications of e-NWOM and webcare research.

Application Of Multiple-Based Methods In Valuation Of Real Estate Development Companies

Abstract The enterprise's market value is one of the main parameters characterizing the condition of the business entity, its development prospects and market position. It is an important criterion considered by managers and investors. Among the wide group of business valuation methods, multiple-based methods of valuation can be distinguished. Their undeniable advantage is the relative simplicity and speed of carrying out the process of valuation. An important condition for their application is a sufficiently developed and mature capital market. The aim of the paper is to present the potential of the application of multiple-based methods in the valuation of real estate development companies. The analysis will be conducted on the basis of the experience of the Polish market.

Real World Projects with Companies Supporting Competence Development in Higher Education

The department of business administration of Munster University of Applied Sciences (MUAS) in Germany has a long tradition in realising practice-oriented research projects in cooperation with industry. The objective of these cooperative projects is to offer students real-life experiences and to make the theoretical know-how of university lectures more tangible by using it in an actual business case setting. Students are given responsibility for project deliveries fitting the expectations of real companies in their real business. Through the projects students are encouraged to develop individual learning and problem solving competencies. In this paper, four good practice examples for university-industry cooperation integrated in the education of students in the field of marketing, specifically market analysis, will be presented. The project descriptions will highlight the different methodological approaches, focusing on their specific innovative features. The paper will evaluate the competencies students gain during their involvement in those kind of projects. To follow a valid scientific approach, the competence matrix of Erpenbeck & Heyse will be presented and used to highlight the specific competences gained by the students working on those projects.

Engaging Students With Social Media

The importance of social media for marketing professionals has grown immensely as consumers turn to it to connect with products, brands, and brand communities. Yet limited research investigates the uses of social media to teach core marketing concepts. This article analyzes coursework in foundational marketing classes, with a specific focus on the effectiveness of social media for teaching core marketing concepts. Through the use of multiple social media platforms, the courses sought to engage students in active learning and provide a medium for the students to apply marketing concepts and market real companies to a public audience. Survey data provide insights into the effectiveness of social media as a tool for teaching core course concepts.

ANALYTICAL VIEW OF THE PERCEPTION OF SELECTED INNOVATIVE APPROACHES IN MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present by means of thorough analysis of the selected market the perception of innovative approaches in marketing communication, both from the perspective of the companies on the supply side and from the perspective of their potential customers on the demand side. As regards the companies, it is in particular about their perception of relative benefits the use of electronic marketing instruments has given the degree of effort and resources spent on the establishment and maintenance of e-marketing infrastructure. As regards the customers, it is, in turn, about their perception of the particular aspects of use of virtual social networks by the companies for branding purposes or directly for promotion. Methodology/Approach: Object of the research were real companies active on the analysed market. The subject of the research were their actual and potential customers represented by the users of one of the local Internet portals long active on the analysed market. Both these groups were presented with questions by means of electronic questionnaires. The data were subsequently processed and interpreted through cluster analyses. Findings: Based on the confirmed aspects we came to the conclusion that perceived benefit of the Internet on business is closely related to on-line activity of the companies and to the number of instruments the company uses to promote its business. Last but not least, we have investigated whether economic status of the users (real or potential customers) has an impact on their perception of the companies' use of social networks for promotional purposes. The similarity of behaviour of particular groups allows for more accurate targeting of on-line activity with respect to selected target markets. Research Limitation/implication: The biggest limitation is the territorial nature of the research. Research was targeted primarily at the Central European market. Originality/Value of paper: Presented partial results of the comprehensive research are based on empirical data collected from important samples of both sides of the analysed market, thus this paper as such may significantly contribute to the clarification of the issue of innovations in promotional mix in order to increase competitiveness or prosperity of SMEs active on the central European market.