Tag: PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

Management Notes

Ethical Leadership, Legal compliance

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Ethical Leadership

Ethical leadership is leadership that is directed by respect for ethical beliefs and values and for the dignity and rights of others. It is thus related to concepts such as trust, honesty, consideration, charisma, and fairness.

Ethics is concerned with the kinds of values and morals an individual or a society finds desirable or appropriate. Furthermore, ethics is concerned with the virtuousness of individuals and their motives. A leader’s choices are also influenced by their moral development.

Theory

Social exchange theory

In social exchange theory the effect of ethical leadership on followers is explained by transactional exchanges between the leader and their followers. The leader’s fairness and caring for followers activates a reciprocatory process, in which the followers act in the same manner towards the leader.

Social learning theory

According to social learning theory ethical leaders acts as role models for their followers. Behavior, such as following ethical practices and taking ethical decisions, are observed, and consequently followed. Rewards and punishments given out by the leader create a second social learning opportunity, that teaches which behavior is acceptably and which is not.

Importance

Leadership that is ethical is important for a variety of reasons, for customers, employees, and the company as a whole. Leadership skills are crucial to help create a positive ethical culture in a company. Leaders can help investors feel that the organization is a good, trustworthy one. Customers are more likely to feel loyal when they see leaders in place in an organization. Good press is likely to come when there are ethical leaders in an organization. Partners and vendors will similarly feel they can trust and work well with an organization when they see leadership that is ethical displayed.

In the short-term, ethical leaders can help boost employee morale and help them feel excited about their management and their work. It can increase positivity and collaboration in your organization and make everyone feel happier to be at work.

In the long-term, ethical leadership can prevent company scandals, ethical dilemmas, and ethical issues. It can also help organizations gain more partnerships and customers, which can lead to more money at the end of the day. Loyal employees are also a crucial element of long-term success for a business.

An effective and ethical leader has the following traits / characteristics:

  • Serving others: He serves others. An ethical leader should place his follower’s interests ahead of his interests. He should be humane. He must act in a manner that is always fruitful for his followers.
  • Dignity and respectfulness: He respects others. An ethical leader should not use his followers as a medium to achieve his personal goals. He should respect their feelings, decision and values. Respecting the followers implies listening effectively to them, being compassionate to them, as well as being liberal in hearing opposing viewpoints. In short, it implies treating the followers in a manner that authenticate their values and beliefs.
  • Justice: He is fair and just. An ethical leader must treat all his followers equally. There should be no personal bias. Wherever some followers are treated differently, the ground for differential treatment should be fair, clear, and built on morality.
  • Honesty: He is loyal and honest. Honesty is essential to be an ethical and effective leader. Honest leaders can be always relied upon and depended upon. They always earn respect of their followers. An honest leader presents the fact and circumstances truly and completely, no matter how critical and harmful the fact may be. He does not misrepresent any fact.
  • Community building: He develops community. An ethical leader considers his own purpose as well as his followers’ purpose, while making efforts to achieve the goals suitable to both of them. He is considerate to the community interests. He does not overlook the followers’ intentions. He works harder for the community goals.

Legal compliance

Legal Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance or “LGRC“, refers to the complex set of processes, rules, tools and systems used by corporate legal departments to adopt, implement and monitor an integrated approach to business problems. While Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance refers to a generalized set of tools for managing a corporation or company, Legal GRC, or LGRC, refers to a specialized but similar set of tools utilized by attorneys, corporate legal departments, general counsel and law firms to govern themselves and their corporations, especially but not exclusively in relation to the law. Other specializations within the realm of governance, risk management and compliance include IT GRC and financial GRC. Within these three realms, there is a great deal of overlap, particularly in large corporations that have legal and IT departments, as well as financial departments.

Legal compliance is the process or procedure to ensure that an organization follows relevant laws, regulations and business rules. The definition of legal compliance, especially in the context of corporate legal departments, has recently been expanded to include understanding and adhering to ethical codes within entire professions, as well. There are two requirements for an enterprise to be compliant with the law, first its policies need to be consistent with the law. Second, its policies need to be complete with respect to the law. The role of legal compliance has also been expanded to include self-monitoring the non-governed behavior with industries and corporations that could lead to workplace indiscretions. Within the LGRC realm, it is important to keep in mind that if a strong legal governance component is in place, risk can be accurately assessed and the monitoring of legal compliance be carried out efficiently. It is also important to realize that within the LGRC framework, legal teams work closely with executive teams and other business departments to align their goals and ensure proper communication.

Legal consistency

Legal consistency is a property that declares enterprise policies to be free of contradictions with the law. Legal consistency has been defined as not having multiple verdicts for the same case. The antonym Legal inconsistency is defined as having two rule that contradict each other. Other common definitions of consistency refer to “treating similar cases alike”. In the enterprise context, legal consistency refers to “obedience to the law”. In the context of legal requirements validation, legal consistency is defined as, ” Enterprise requirements are legally consistent if they adhere to the legal requirements and include no contradictions.”

Legal completeness

Legal completeness is a property that declares enterprise policies to cover all scenarios included or suggested by the law. Completeness suggests that there are no scenarios covered by the law that cannot be implemented in the enterprise. In addition, it implies that all scenarios not allowed by the law are not allowed by the enterprise.

Enterprise policies are said to be legally complete if they contain no gaps in the legal sense. Completeness can be thought of in two ways: Some scholars make use of a concept of ‘obligational’ completeness such as Ayres and Gertner. According to this usage, a system or a contract is ‘obligationally’ complete if it specifies what each party is to do in every situation, even if this is not the optimal action to take under some circumstances. Others discuss ‘enforceability’ completeness in the sense that failing to specify key terms can lead a court to characterize a system as being too uncertain to enforce, and hence a system may be complete with respect to enforceability. This leads to the following definition: enterprise regulations or requirements are legally complete if it specifies what each party is to do in each situation while covering all gaps in the legal sense.

Management Notes

Deductive and inductive approach in theory formulation

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Induction is a reasoning method by which a law or a general principle would be inferred via observing specific cases. The inductive approach emphasizes on observation and deriving conclusions through observation. It generally moves from specific to general, since the researcher generalizes his limited observations of specific circumstances to general conditions. In accounting, the inductive approach begins by observing the financial information of the companies and progresses towards constructing accounting generalizations and principles out of those observations and reoccurring relations.

In deductive approach, in order to achieve a consensus, the structure of logical reasoning needs to be quite formal. However, in inductive approach, the accounting practice can turn into accounting principles. Accounting standard setters, extracted the conceptual framework via the best practices which in turn have been identified based on the assumed objectives of financial reporting. At the same time, attention was paid to the conceptual integrity, because the framework has been developed descriptively, although the objective was to make an imperative framework for providing guidelines to set and interpret accounting standards.

Deductive Approach

This approach involves developing a theory from elementary proposals, premises and assumptions which results in accounting principles that are reasonable conclusions about the subject. The theory is verified by determining whether its results are acceptable in practice. Edwards and Bell are deductive theorists and historical cost accounting was also derived from a deductive approach.

The deductive approach constitutes developing of an assumption based on the existing theories and forming a research plan to test the assumption (Wilson, 2010). The deductive approach can be explained using the assumption driven from theory. In other words, the deductive approach includes deducing the results from the premises. When a deductive method is applied for a research project, the author formulates a set of hypotheses that need to be tested and next, using a relevant methodology, tests the hypothesis. Deductive reasoning has specific characteristics that needs be understood. If the premises of deductive reasoning are accepted, then, the conclusion must necessarily be accepted. In a deductive reasoning, the contents of the result are implicitly stated in the premises, making such argument a non-ampliative one. If new premises are added to the argument, then the conclusion must still follow. A deductive argument is either valid or invalid and there is no degree of validity. There is no choice or decision in applying such argument and no judgment is necessary for getting the result and conclusion.

Inductive Approach

For this approach we start with observed phenomena and move towards generalized conclusions. The approach requires experimental testing, i.e. the theory must be supported by sufficient illustrations/observations that support the derived conclusions. Fairly often the logical and inductive approaches are mixed as researchers use their knowledge of accounting practices. As Riahi-Belkaoui states: General propositions are formulated through an inductive process, but the principles and techniques are derived by a deductive approach. He also observes that when an inductive theorist, collaborates with a deductive theorist, a hybrid results showing compromise between the two approaches.

Inductive approach begins with specific observations and the conclusions are generalized. In inductive approach, after selecting a number of observations correctly, one can generalize the conclusion to all or groups of similar conditions and situations. These generalizations need to be tested, some of which might be verified and some rejected. Accordingly, all of the principles which are derived based on inductive reasoning are theoretically falsifiable. In the induction process, the researcher as an observer, should honestly, without any prejudgments and biases, and with an impartial mind, register what they observe. Then these observations form a basis on which theories and laws are constructed which make up the scientific knowledge. Inductive researchers also believe that one can logically generalize the observations into general and inclusive rules and the scientific assumptions get verified and ratified.

According to the inductive approach, at the end of research and as a result of observations, theories are constructed. The inductive approach includes looking for a pattern based on the observations and developing a theory for those patterns through hypotheses. In inductive research, no theory is applied at the beginning of the research and the researcher enjoys complete freedom in terms of determining the course of research. Particularly, there is no assumption at the early stages of research and the researcher is not sure about the kind and the nature of findings as research is not finished yet. In inductive reasoning the researcher uses the observations in order to construct an abstract or to describe the circumstances being.

The main advantage of the inductive method is that there is no necessity for any pre-fabricated framework or model. Obviously, while principles are generalized they should be verified through a logical method (deductive approach). The inductive approach towards science has been criticized concerning some aspects. The main issue of the inductive method can be the researchers’ being influenced by their limited knowledge of the relations and the data of the research. Some claim that induction as a principle is falsifiable because it is based on human observations.

Management Notes

Internal Control structure and Management philosophy

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An effective internal control structure includes a company’s plan of organization and all the procedures and actions it takes to:

  • Ensure compliance with company policies and federal law.
  • Protect its assets against theft and waste.
  • Ensure accurate and reliable operating data and accounting reports.
  • Evaluate the performance of all personnel to promote efficient operations.

Companies protect their assets by:

Segregation of employee duties Segregation of duties requires that someone other than the employee responsible for safeguarding an asset must maintain the accounting records for that asset. Also, employees share responsibility for related transactions so that one employee’s work serves as a check on the work of other employees.

Assignment of specific duties to each employee When the responsibility for a particular work function is assigned to one employee, that employee is accountable for specific tasks. Should a problem occur, the company can quickly identify the responsible employee.

Rotation of employee job assignments Some companies rotate job assignments to discourage employees from engaging in long-term schemes to steal from them. Employees realize that if they steal from the company, the next employees assigned to their positions may discover the theft.

Use of mechanical devices Companies use several mechanical devices to help protect their assets. Check protectors (machines that perforate the check amount into the check), cash registers, and time clocks make it difficult for employees to alter certain company documents and records.

Record Keeping. Companies should maintain complete and accurate accounting records. One or more business documents support most accounting transactions. These source documents are an integral part of the internal control structure. For optimal control, source documents should be serially numbered.

Employees. Internal control policies are effective only when employees follow them. To ensure that they carry out its internal control policies, a company must hire competent and trustworthy employees. Thus, the execution of effective internal control begins with the time and effort a company expends in hiring employees. Once the company hires the employees, it must train those employees and clearly communicate to them company policies, such as obtaining proper authorization before making a cash disbursement. Frequently, written job descriptions establish the responsibilities and duties of employees. The initial training of employees should include a clear explanation of their duties and how to perform them.

Legal requirements. In publicly held corporations, the company’s internal control structure must satisfy the requirements of govt. law.

The components of internal control are:

Risk assessment. After the entity sets objectives, the risks (such as theft and waste of assets) from external and internal sources must be assessed. Examining the risks associated with each objective allows management to develop the means to control these risks.

Control environment. The control environment is the basis for all other elements of the internal control structure. The control environment includes many factors such as ethical values, management’s philosophy, the integrity of the employees of the corporation, and the guidance provided by management or the board of directors.

Control activities. To address the risks associated with each objective, management establishes control activities. These activities include procedures that employees must follow. Examples include procedures to protect the assets through segregation of employee duties and the other means we discussed earlier.

Monitoring. After the internal control structure is in place, the firm should monitor its effectiveness so that it can make changes before serious problems arise. In testing components of the internal control structure, companies base their thoroughness on the risk assigned to those components.

Information and communication. Information relevant to decision making must be collected and reported in a timely manner. The events that yield these data may come from internal or external sources. Communication throughout the entity is important to achieve management’s goals. Employees must understand what is expected of them and how their responsibilities relate to the work of others. Communication with external parties such as suppliers and shareholders are also important.

The internal control environment includes five factors.

Competence of the entity’s people: Competence is the knowledge and skills necessary for particular functions. So does an organization set up the tone of hiring only competent employees? First, management determines the knowledge and skills required for each position, then establishes the job descriptions for these positions. Furthermore, there is a well-designed hiring process and performance review process to ensure that new hires and employees are competent to perform their assigned tasks and assist the organization in achieving their objectives.

Integrity and ethical value: Many organizations seek a high level of integrity and ethical value. But how do organizations obtain them? Usually, those organizations have a clear Code of Conduct and/or Conflict of Interests policies. They periodically communicate these polices to employees to promote honesty and integrity. In addition, some organizations adopt business best practices and emphasize internal controls, which is also clear evidence that the organizations are striving to integrate the integrity and ethical value into the daily business operations.

Management’s Philosophy and Operating style: Management may not achieve its business objectives if it does not introduce and maintain a philosophy and operating style that supports the business objectives and strategies. Management’s philosophy and operating style include management’s attitudes towards the organization objectives, the approaches to minimize the business risks and attitude toward internal controls over financial reporting. For example, if management sets up an unrealistic financial goal and aggressively persuades employees to achieve the goal, what will happen? The chance of misstatement in financial statements becomes higher.

Direction provided by the board of directors: An effective Board of Directors and Audit Committee provide an important oversight function and, because of management’s ability to override controls, they play an important role in the control environment, helping to set a positive tone at the top. For private companies, often there is no Audit Committee. However, to have the Board of Directors is very important for private companies as well. It oversees the organization’s plans and performance, provides management directions with experiences, and oversees the organization’s internal control function.

Authority and Responsibility: The control environment is greatly influenced by the extent to which individuals recognize that they will be held accountable. Accountability plays a critical role in carrying out internal controls in an organization. Sections 302 and 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) hold management in an organization accountable for financial reporting to ensure financial reporting is accurate and timely. In the organization, management holds employees accountable for all activities and business practices to ensure the organization is in compliance with SOX. To have an accurate, effective and timely financial reporting system, management must ensure that adequate reporting relationships and authorization hierarchies are in place.

Management Notes

Marginal Costing for Decision Making

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Marginal costing system is not a method of costing like job or batch costing or process costing or contract costing or operating costing which are used for the purpose of calculating the cost of products or services.

Marginal costing is very helpful in managerial decision making. Management’s production and cost and sales decisions may be easily affected from marginal costing. That is the reason, it is the part of cost control method of costing accounting. Before explaining the application of marginal costing in managerial decision making, we are providing little introduction to those who are new for understanding this important concept.

Marginal costing is used for managerial decision-making. It can be used in conjunction with any method of costing, such as job costing or process costing. It can also be used with other techniques of costing like standard costing and budgetary control. In this, only variable cost are considered.

Marginal cost is change in total cost due to increase or decrease one unit or output. It is technique to show the effect on net profit if we classified total cost in variable cost and fixed cost. The ascertainment of marginal costs and of the effect on profit of changes in volume or type of output by differentiating between fixed costs and variable costs. In marginal costing, marginal cost is always equal to variable cost or cost of goods sold. We must know following formulae

a) Contribution ( Per unit) = Sale per unit – Variable Cost per unit

b) Total profit or loss = Total Contribution – Total Fixed Costs

or  Contribution = Fixed Cost + Profit

or  Profit = Contribution – Fixed Cost

c) Profit Volume Ratio = Contribution/ Sale X 100 (It means if we sell Rs. 100 product, what will be our contribution margin, more contribution margin means more profit)

d) Break Even Point is a point where Total sale = Total Cost

e) Break Even Point (In unit) = Total Fixed expenses / Contribution

f) Break Even Point (In Sales Value) = Breakeven point (in units) X Selling price per unit

g) Break Even Point at earning of specific net profit margin = Total Contribution / Contribution per unit

or = fixed cost + profit / selling price – variable cost per unit

Profits Planning:

The process of profit planning involves the calculation of expected costs and revenues arising out of operations at different levels of plant capacity for the production of different types of goods during a given period of time. The cost and revenues at different level of operating are different and a concern has to choose one level at which its profits are maximum.

Pricing in Home and Foreign Markets:

Pricing of a product is governed primarily by its cost of production and the nature of competition being faced by the production unit. Once a price is fixed by market forces, it remains stable at least in the short period. During short period when selling period, marginal cost and fixed costs remain the same, an entrepreneur is in a position to establish relationship between them.

On the basis of such a relationship, it is very easy to fix the volume of sales and selling price during normal and abnormal times in the home market. How far the prices can be cut in case of foreign buyer to effect additional sales is a problem which is realistically answered by the marginal costing technique.

Pricing in Foreign Markets:

A foreign market can be kept separate from the domestic market due to many legal and other restrictions imposed on imports and exports and as such a different price can be charged from foreign buyers. Any company which enjoys surplus production capacity can increase its production to sell in the foreign market at lower price if its full fixed cost already stands recovered from the production from home market.

Price under Recession/Depression:

Recession is an economic condition under which demand is declining. During depression the demand is at its lowest ebb, and the firms are confronted with the problem of price reduction and closure of production. Under such conditions, the marginal costing technique suggests that prices can be reduced to a level of marginal cost. In that case, the firm will lose profits and also suffer loss to the extent of fixed costs. This loss will also be borne even if the production is suspended altogether. Selling below marginal cost is advisable only under very special circumstances.

Determining Profitability of Alternative Product-Mix:

Since the objective of an enterprise to maximise profits, the management would prefer that product-mix which is ideal one in the sense that it yields maximum profits. Products-mix means combination of products which is intended for production and sales. A firm producing more than one product has to ascertain the profitability of alternative combinations of units or values of products and select the one which maximises profits.

Production with Limiting Factor:

Sometimes, production has to be carried with certain limiting factor. A limiting factor is the factor the supply of which is not unlimited or freely available to the manufacturing enterprise. In case of labour shortages, the labour becomes limiting factor. Raw material or plant capacity may be a limiting factor during budget period.

The consideration of limiting factors is essential for the success of any production plan because the manufacturing firm cannot increase the production to the level it desire when a limiting factor is combined with other factors of production. The limiting factor is also called by the name of ‘scarce factor’ or ‘key factor,’ ‘principal budget factor’ or ‘governing factor.’

Make or Buy Decision (When Plant is not Fully Utilised):

If the similar product or component is available outside, then a manufacturing firm compares its unit cost of manufacture with the price at which it can be purchased from the market. The marginal cost analysis suggests that it is profitable to the total manufacturing cost. In other words the firm should prefer to buy if the marginal cost is more than the Bought-out price and Make when the marginal cost is lesser than the purchase price. However, the available plant capacity will exert its own influence in such a decision-making.

Equation:

Firm should buy when PP+FC is lesser than total cost of manufacture

Firm should manufacture when PP+FC is greater than total cost of manufacture

Expand or Buy Decision:

In case unused capacity is limited or does not exist, then an alternative to buying is to make by purchasing additional plant and other equipment. The firm should evaluate the capital expenditure proposal resulting out of expansion programme in terms of cash flows and cost of capital. If the installed capacity of the existing plant is partially being used, then it can be utilised by producing more internally. The additional production may necessitate purchase of some specialised equipment and thus involve interest and depreciation cost. It is advisable to expand and produce if the enterprise is able to save some costs by doing so.

Ascertaining Relative Profitability of Products:

A manufacturing concern engaged in the production of various products is interested in the study of the relative profitability of its products so that it may suitably change its production and sales policies in case of those products which it considers less profitable or unproductive. The concept of P/V Ratio provided by the marginal costing technique is much helpful in understanding the relative profit/ability of products. It is always profitable to encourage the production of that product which shows a higher P/V ratio.

Sometimes, the management is confronted with a problem of loss and it has to decide whether to continue or abandon the production of a particular product which has resulted in a net loss. Marginal costing technique properly guides the management in such a situation. If a product or department shows loss, the Absorption Costing method would hastily conclude that it is of no use of produce and run the department and it should be close down.

Sometimes this type of conclusion will mislead the management. The marginal costing technique would suggest that it would be profitable to continue the production of a product if it is able to recover the full marginal cost and a part of the fixed cost.

Management Notes

Approaches to Stress Management

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Individual level planning to manage stress focuses on developing individual behaviour that helps in the elimination of sources of stress. It helps in developing a perspective to view things that enables the person to cope with stress in a more effective manner.

Above all ‘can’ and ‘positive’ attitude matter the most in managing stress. It has been rightly said ‘They can because they think they can’.

Developing a Positive Attitude towards Life:

Adopting a positive attitude towards life goes a long way in dealing with stress. It helps the individual to deal better with the problems of daily life. Positive orientation and attitude towards life bring optimism in responding to the situations and help in overcoming worry and anxiety.

Having a positive attitude helps us in seeing the bright side of life and expecting the best to happen. It is basically a state of mind worth developing as it prepares and enables us to handle, cope with, and manage stress. An individual should learn to enjoy life and recollect happy memories. One should understand that obsession with difficulties or indulging in self-pity does not help.

Physical and Psychological Withdrawal:

Scheduling of activities has another advantage. The worker is able to keep some time away from the workplace to relax and be with oneself. This time may be spent in relaxation, with family and friends, recreational activities, hobbies, travelling, or simply introspecting.

Employees who keep some time aside to physically and psychologically withdraw from work- related responsibilities are able to tackle work with renewed vigour the next day. Annual vacations and weekly offs are ways in which organizations aid the worker in withdrawing from work. Apart from that, many companies organize vacations and picnics exclusively for their staff; not only to reward them for their year round hard work but also to entertain and rejuvenate them.

Developing a Psychological Support System:

It helps in effectively managing stress. Similarly, expanding social support network and finding an emphatic listener to hear and suggest an objective and broader perspective about the problem situation is beneficial. If the issue is work related, then an organizational solution is required to help the individual.

Some of the strategies that the management may consider are scientific and involves improving personnel selection and placement process, training, realistic goal setting, redesigning jobs, increasing employee involvement, improving organizational communication, offering employees vacation allowances, extending sabbaticals, and setting up corporate employee welfare programme departments.

Maintaining Good Physical Health:

Regular physical exercises, such as aerobics, walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, etc., help in dealing with excessive stress. Regular sleep, and timely and healthy eating habits also help the individual to tackle stress better.

Today, yoga is fast gaining popularity not only as a stress reliever, but also as an exercise that can balance the individual’s physical, psychological, and emotional being. These physical exercises help in building heart capacity, lowering the at-rest heart rate, providing mental diversion from work pressure, and offering a means to ‘let off steam’. While exercising, the body releases a hormone known as end morphine that makes one feel good about the self.

Accepting Your Mistakes:

Mistakes are a part of human life and work. In fact an individual’s mistakes are stepping stones to success. An individual can avoid considerable amount of stress by avoiding egoistic behaviour and owning up to errors in actions and decisions, as and when applicable. The world need not be always as the individual expects it to be.

In an organization, employees may clash over technology, skills, methods, and knowledge. Excessive worry or adamant behaviour not only causes stress, but is also viewed by others as immature behaviour. An intelligent employee not only accepts mistakes but is also open and receptive to change.

This attitude is relevant to the top-level management as it is their openness to change that directs the organization towards new avenues. Hopeless cases are rare. One should never lose faith in the possibility of change.

Time Management:

It contributes a great deal in handling stress. The individual should firstly avoid the superhuman urge to do more than what he/she is capable of. They should learn to say ‘no’ to tasks that are beyond their capacities of time and energy.

Scheduling meetings and prioritizing tasks leads to the completion of tasks, both simple and complex, within a given time frame. However, the individual has to be disciplined and needs to stick to the daily, weekly, or monthly agenda so as to achieve the target goals. This not only reduces stress but also ensures that targets are met on time.

Practising Relaxation:

Techniques such as meditation, hypnosis, and bio-feedback reduce tension. As per Forbes and Pekala (1993), the objective of practising relaxation techniques is to feel physically relaxed, somewhat detached from the immediate environment and from body sensation.

Practising transcendental meditation, yoga, ego-void activity an activity without the sense of doership such as voluntary work in an NGO or religious place, having faith in a higher power, reading, and practising spirituality can also reduce stress to considerable levels.

Management Notes

Types of Business Law

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Tax Law

In terms of business law, taxation refers to taxes charged upon companies in the commercial sector. It is the obligation of all companies (except a few tax-exempted small-time companies) to pay their taxes on time, failure to follow through which will be a violation of corporate tax laws.

Securities Law

Securities refer to assets like shares in the stock market and other sources of capital growth and accumulation. Securities law prohibits businesspersons from conducting fraudulent activities from taking place in the securities market. This is the business law section which penalises securities fraud, such as insider trading. It is, thus, also called Capital Markets Law.

Intellectual property Tax

Intellectual property refers to the intangible products of the working of the human mind or intellect, which are under the sole ownership of a single entity, such as an individual or company. The validation of this ownership is provided by intellectual property law, which incorporates trademarks, patents, trade secrets and copyrights.

Contract Law

A contract is any document which creates a sort of legal obligation between the parties that sign it. Contracts refer to those employee contracts, sale of goods contracts, lease contracts, etc.

Companies Act,2013

With an unprecedented change in the domestic and international economic landscape, India’s Government decided to replace the Companies Act, 1956, with the new legislation. The Companies Act, 2013, endeavors to make the corporate regulations in India more contemporary. In this article, we will focus on the meaning and features of a Company.

The Companies Act, 2013, completely revolutionized India’s corporate laws by introducing several new concepts that did not exist previously. One such game-changer was the introduction of the One Person Company concept. This led to the recognition of an entirely new way of starting businesses that accorded flexibility which a company form of entity can offer, while also providing the protection of limited liability that sole proprietorship or partnerships lacked.

Thus, as we can see, commercial contracts are a very essential part of the business world. Any business during its operation needs to follow all these laws, whether willfully or not. Thus, a person with any venture needs very substantial legal assistance so that any clash in legal matters won’t harm your endeavors.

The Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008

LLP stands for a Limited Liability Partnership. Limited liability partnership definition is an alternative corporate business form that offers the benefits of limited liability to the partners at low compliance costs. It also allows the partners to organize their internal structure like a traditional partnership. A limited liability partnership is a legal body liable for the full extent of its assets. The liability of the partners, however, is limited. Hence, LLP is a hybrid between a company and a partnership. It is not the same as a limited liability company LLC.

The Indian Partnership Act,1932

The Indian Partnership Act 1932 defines a partnership as a relation between two or more parties to agree to share a business’s profits, either all or only one or more persons acting for them all. A partnership is contractual in nature. As the definition states, a partnership is an association of two or more persons. So a partnership results from a contract or an agreement between two or more persons. A partnership does not arise from the operation of law. Neither can it be inherited. It has to be a voluntary agreement between partners. A partnership agreement can be written or oral. Sometimes such an arrangement is even implied by the continued actions and mutual understanding of the partners.

The Sale of Goods Act,1930

Contracts and agreements regarding the sale of goods and services are governed under the Sale of Goods ACT, 1930. The sale of commodities constitutes one of the essential types of contracts under the law in India. India is one of the largest economies and a great country where and thus has adequate checks and measures to ensure its business and commerce community’s safety and prosperity. Here we shall explain The Sale of Goods Act, 1930, which defines and states terms related to the sale of goods and exchange of commodities.

The Indian Contract Act, 1872

It is the most prominent business law to exist in our country. It came into effect on 1st September 1872 and applied to the whole of India, with the exception of Jammu and Kashmir. It constitutes 266 sections. The Indian Contracts Act,1872 defines the essentials through various judgments in the Indian judiciary. Specific points for valid contracts are Free consent, consideration, competency, eligibility, etc. A valid contract must include at least two parties, or it will be deemed as null and void.

Management Notes

Employee Coaching Meaning, Definitions, Objectives, Types

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Employee Coaching is a development process that involves guiding and supporting employees to enhance their skills, performance, and potential in their work environment. It is an interactive process where managers, supervisors, or external coaches help employees identify their goals, overcome challenges, and improve their abilities. The aim is to foster a culture of continuous learning, development, and growth within the organization. Coaching is different from traditional training as it focuses more on individual guidance, personal growth, and real-time feedback, rather than simply imparting information.

Definitions of Employee Coaching:

  • International Coach Federation (ICF):

Coaching is defined as “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.”

  • Paul J. Meyer:

Coaching is “the process of helping people discover and develop their potential and empower them to become their best selves.”

  • Harvard Business Review:

Coaching is “an interactive process designed to help individuals or groups improve their performance and reach specific goals.”

  • Sir John Whitmore:

Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them.

  • Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM):

Employee coaching is defined as “a means of developing and guiding employees through close, supportive interaction, and real-time feedback to improve their performance.”

Objectives of Employee Coaching:

  • Enhancing Employee Performance:

One of the primary objectives of coaching is to help employees improve their work performance by identifying areas where they can grow and providing the tools, guidance, and support to achieve better results.

  • Developing Skills and Competencies:

Coaching aims to enhance the skills, competencies, and knowledge of employees. By focusing on both technical and soft skills, coaching helps individuals become more proficient in their roles, enabling them to meet job demands more effectively.

  • Building Confidence and Self-Awareness:

Through coaching, employees gain greater self-awareness and confidence. Coaches help individuals understand their strengths and areas for improvement, which leads to enhanced self-esteem and better decision-making.

  • Facilitating Career Development:

Coaching supports employees in mapping out their career paths, identifying opportunities for advancement, and setting actionable goals. It provides guidance on how to achieve long-term career objectives and develop leadership qualities.

  • Increasing Motivation and Engagement:

Effective coaching helps to increase employee engagement by showing them that the organization values their development. By offering personalized guidance and support, coaching enhances employee motivation and commitment to the organization.

  • Improving Problem-Solving Skills:

Coaching encourages employees to think critically and develop solutions to their own problems. It promotes creative problem-solving, empowering employees to handle complex challenges with confidence and independence.

  • Aligning Employee Goals with Organizational Objectives:

Coaching ensures that individual employee goals align with the broader objectives of the organization. It helps bridge the gap between personal aspirations and organizational expectations, creating a sense of shared purpose and commitment.

Types of Employee Coaching:

  • Performance Coaching:

Performance coaching focuses on improving an employee’s current performance in their specific job role. It helps employees meet performance expectations, enhance productivity, and address any areas of concern. The goal is to identify performance gaps and work collaboratively to close them through constructive feedback and actionable plans.

  • Career Coaching:

Career coaching is centered around an employee’s long-term career aspirations. It helps employees explore opportunities for career advancement, identify their strengths, and develop a roadmap for achieving their career goals. Career coaching often includes mentorship and guidance on skill development, leadership preparation, and navigating career transitions.

  • Executive Coaching:

Executive coaching is designed for leaders, managers, and high-potential employees who are being groomed for leadership roles. It helps individuals develop critical leadership competencies, such as decision-making, emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, and strategic thinking. The focus is on enhancing leadership abilities and aligning personal development with the organization’s strategic goals.

  • Team Coaching:

Team coaching involves working with an entire team to improve communication, collaboration, and effectiveness. The coach helps team members understand their roles within the group, resolve conflicts, and work toward shared objectives. The goal of team coaching is to improve overall team performance and foster a cohesive, high-performing unit.

  • Skills Coaching:

Skills coaching focuses on helping employees develop specific technical or soft skills needed for their roles. This could include training in areas such as communication, negotiation, time management, or project management. Skills coaching is often short-term and targets immediate skill gaps that need to be addressed to improve job performance.

  • Behavioral Coaching:

Behavioral coaching addresses an employee’s behavior in the workplace, helping them to improve their interpersonal relationships, adaptability, and emotional intelligence. This type of coaching is often used to correct behaviors that may be hindering an employee’s success or negatively affecting team dynamics, such as poor communication, resistance to feedback, or lack of collaboration.

  • Onboarding Coaching:

Onboarding coaching is aimed at helping new employees acclimate to the organization and their new roles. It provides guidance on company culture, expectations, and processes. Onboarding coaching helps new hires become productive more quickly by offering personalized support during their transition into the organization.

  • Leadership Coaching:

Leadership coaching is designed to help current or aspiring leaders develop the qualities needed to lead teams effectively. It focuses on building leadership skills such as communication, delegation, team building, and strategic thinking. Leadership coaching is often used to prepare high-potential employees for management roles or to enhance the abilities of existing leaders.

  • Personal Development Coaching:

This type of coaching focuses on helping employees grow on a personal level, which can impact their professional lives. Personal development coaching might involve helping employees build resilience, manage stress, or improve work-life balance. The idea is that by improving personal aspects of life, employees will also see improvements in their professional performance.

Management Notes

Identification of Five Dark Qualities in an Individual Before the Selection and Placement Process

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In the selection and placement process, identifying potential candidates’ dark qualities or negative traits is crucial for ensuring a positive and productive workplace. Dark qualities can adversely impact team dynamics, organizational culture, and overall performance.

  1. Narcissism

Narcissism refers to an excessive focus on oneself, often manifesting as a grandiose sense of self-importance, a need for admiration, and a lack of empathy for others. Individuals with narcissistic tendencies often display characteristics such as arrogance, entitlement, and a tendency to exploit others for personal gain.

Identification Techniques:

To identify narcissistic traits in candidates, organizations can employ various techniques:

  • Behavioral Interviews: Ask situational questions that reveal how candidates handle teamwork, feedback, and conflict. For example, inquire about a time they faced criticism and how they responded.
  • Psychometric Assessments: Utilize personality tests designed to measure narcissism levels, such as the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI). These assessments provide insight into the candidate’s self-perception and interpersonal dynamics.
  • Reference Checks: Gather feedback from former colleagues or supervisors regarding the candidate’s interpersonal relationships, focusing on any signs of entitlement or manipulation.

Impact on Workplace:

Narcissistic individuals can disrupt team cohesion, foster a toxic work environment, and undermine collaboration. Their self-centeredness may lead to conflicts, poor morale, and high turnover rates.

  1. Machiavellianism

Machiavellianism is characterized by manipulative behavior, deceitfulness, and a focus on self-interest. Individuals displaying this quality often prioritize personal gain over ethical considerations and may use cunning tactics to achieve their goals.

Identification Techniques:

To identify Machiavellian traits, organizations can implement the following methods:

  • Situational Judgment Tests (SJTs): Present candidates with hypothetical scenarios involving ethical dilemmas or conflict resolution. Assess their responses to gauge their propensity for manipulation or unethical behavior.
  • Behavioral Assessments: Inquire about past experiences where candidates had to influence others or navigate complex interpersonal dynamics. Look for indications of deceit or a lack of ethical considerations.
  • Reference Evaluations: Seek insights from references regarding the candidate’s integrity, ability to collaborate, and approach to ethical dilemmas in previous roles.

Impact on Workplace:

Machiavellian individuals can create a culture of distrust, where manipulation and deceit thrive. Their behavior can lead to toxic competition, decreased employee morale, and unethical practices within the organization.

  1. Psychopathy

Psychopathy is characterized by a lack of empathy, remorse, and guilt, often accompanied by impulsivity and antisocial behavior. Individuals with psychopathic traits may exhibit charm and charisma while lacking genuine emotional connections with others.

Identification Techniques:

Identifying psychopathic traits requires careful assessment:

  • Clinical Assessments: Utilize standardized psychological tests, such as the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), to evaluate psychopathic tendencies.
  • Behavioral Interviews: Ask candidates about their responses to morally ambiguous situations and how they handle interpersonal relationships. Look for signs of emotional detachment or disregard for others’ feelings.
  • Group Exercises: Observe candidates in group settings to assess their interactions and emotional responses. Psychopathic individuals may exhibit manipulative behaviors or lack genuine concern for team dynamics.

Impact on Workplace:

Psychopathic individuals can severely disrupt workplace dynamics, creating an environment marked by fear and distrust. Their manipulative tendencies may lead to unethical behavior, high turnover, and increased conflict among employees.

  1. Authoritarianism

Authoritarianism is characterized by a strong desire for control, a rigid adherence to rules, and a tendency to dominate others. Authoritarian individuals often display traits such as intolerance for dissent, a lack of flexibility, and a need for submission from others.

Identification Techniques:

To identify authoritarian traits, organizations can use the following approaches:

  • Personality Assessments: Utilize tools like the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) to measure authoritarian tendencies and related characteristics, such as dominance and rigidity.
  • Behavioral Interviews: Ask candidates about their leadership style, decision-making processes, and responses to differing opinions. Look for indications of intolerance for dissent or inflexible attitudes.
  • Role-Playing Exercises: Conduct role-playing scenarios that simulate conflict resolution or team collaboration. Observe candidates’ responses to differing viewpoints and their willingness to compromise.

Impact on Workplace:

Authoritarian individuals can stifle creativity, inhibit open communication, and create a culture of fear. Their rigid approach may lead to low employee engagement, high turnover, and decreased innovation.

  1. Resentment and Cynicism

Resentment and cynicism refer to a pervasive negative outlook on life, characterized by distrust, bitterness, and a belief that others act primarily out of self-interest. Individuals displaying these traits often have a pessimistic view of organizations and their leadership.

Identification Techniques:

To identify resentment and cynicism, organizations can employ these methods:

  • Behavioral Interviews: Ask candidates about their perspectives on workplace culture, leadership, and team dynamics. Look for signs of bitterness, negative generalizations, or dismissive attitudes.
  • Group Discussions: Facilitate group discussions or team exercises where candidates express their views on workplace challenges. Observe their responses for indications of cynicism or negativity.
  • Reference Checks: Inquire with references about the candidate’s attitude towards their previous organizations, focusing on any signs of resentment or bitterness.

Impact on Workplace:

Cynical individuals can negatively influence team morale and foster a toxic work environment. Their bitterness may lead to disengagement, decreased collaboration, and a lack of trust in leadership.

Management Notes

Difference between HRM and IHRM

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Management is the efficient operation of a business or organization towards the achievement of its goals and objectives. It involves the management of its financial, capital, and human resources which comprises its financial value.

It has several branches such as: financial, marketing, strategic, production, operations, service, information technology, human resource management, and in the case of organizations that hire expatriates, international human resource management.

Human Resource Management (HRM) is defined as a management function that deals with the recruitment, management, and development of employees in order to maximize their potential and roles in the company or organization.

Not only is it utilized in personnel management but also in manpower, organizational, and industrial management.

International Human Resource Management (IHRM), on the other hand, is defined as a management function which deals with the management of personnel who are stationed in other countries or who are citizens of other countries that are hired to work in the organization.

Like HRM, its functions also include recruitment, planning, training, performance appraisal, and compensation. Unlike it, however, IHRM functions involve cross-cultural training such as orienting employees with different cultural, ethical, and religious values.

It also involves global skills management. While HRM is affected only by internal factors, IHRM is affected by both internal and external factors because it involves the management of employees that come from several countries.

Human Resource Management (HRM) is defined as a management function that deals with the recruitment, management, and development of employees in order to maximize their potential and roles in the company or organization.

Not only is it utilized in personnel management but also in manpower, organizational, and industrial management. It is previously referred to as personnel management. Its functions include:

  • Job analysis and planning, determining the specific personnel needs of a certain job.
  • Personnel and workforce planning, choosing whether to hire contractors or independent employees.
  • Recruitment and selection, hiring the best candidate for the job.
  • Induction and orientation, making sure that the employees are aware of the organization’s goals and policies.
  • Wage and salary regulation, making sure that employees are properly compensated.
  • Training, development, and performance appraisal in order to enhance employees’ potential and utilize his expertise in the achievement of the organization’s goals.
  • Benefits administration, to make sure that employees get what are due to them.
  • Resolving labor disputes, making sure of good relations between the management and employees.
  • HRM strategies always pursue the achievement of the organization’s goals and objectives. It cooperates with senior management in developing corporate strategies and in the proper management of its personnel.
Management Notes

Differences between personnel Management and Human Resources Development

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Personnel Management is a part of management that deals with the recruitment, hiring, staffing, development, and compensation of the workforce and their relation with the organization to achieve the organizational objectives. The primary functions of the personnel management are divided into two categories:

  • Operative Functions: The activities that are concerned with procurement, development, compensation, job evaluation, employee welfare, utilization, maintenance and collective bargaining.
  • Managerial Function: Planning, Organizing, Directing, Motivation, Control, and Coordination are the basic managerial activities performed by Personnel Management.

Human Resource Development

Human resource development (HRD) is defined as the cultivation of an organization’s employees. It entails providing workers with skills and relevant knowledge that may help them to grow in the workplace. That makes human resource development an integral part of human resource management.

HRD starts with a clear vision for employee development, and most times, it is achieved through organization-wide activities and training. Typically, the HRD team is in charge of developing these initiatives to position employees for career advancement and other related goals.

Roles like instructional coordinators, training specialists, and program developers may involve aspects of human resource development.

HR developers are important members of the HR team as they oversee a variety of areas within the human resources branch of an organization, including training, employee development, executive and leadership development, human performance technology, and organizational learning. On any given day, their responsibilities might involve creating training programs, designing systems to attract and retain talent, and planning organizational development activities, which may be in the form of workshops and more.

A background in human resource development may prepare you for specialized training, instructional design, program development, and general HR positions. For example, training and development specialists are in charge of designing manuals, online learning modules, and course materials for onboarding employee’s External link.

Personnel Management Human Resource Development
Meaning The aspect of management that is concerned with the work force and their relationship with the entity is known as Personnel Management. The branch of management that focuses on the most effective use of the manpower of an entity, to achieve the organizational goals is known as Human Resource Management.
Approach  Traditional Modern
Treatment of manpower Machines or Tools Asset
Type of function  Routine function Strategic function
Basis of Pay Job Evaluation Performance Evaluation
Management Role Transactional Transformational
Communication Indirect Direct 
Labor Management Collective Bargaining Contracts Individual Contracts 
Initiatives Piecemeal Integrated 
Management Actions Procedure Business needs
Decision Making Slow Fast
Job Design Division of Labor Groups/Teams
Focus Primarily on mundane activities like employee hiring, remunerating, training, and harmony. Treat manpower of the organization as valued assets, to be valued, used and preserved.
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