Harry Potter in Indonesia by End of Month: Minister

he final Harry Potter installment, Transformers 3 and Kung Fu Panda 2 will be released in Indonesia before the end of the month, Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik said on Thursday.

It appears, however, that it is not all good news for Indonesian movie lovers, with Jero indicating the dispute with Hollywood had not been completely resolved and that ticket prices were likely to rise.

“The two movies are now being censored at the Film Censorship Board (LSF) and if everything is okay then they should be released before [Ramadan],” he told reporters at the State Palace.The Motion Picture Association of America did not return emails on Thursday seeking comment about Jero's statement.

Jero, in a doorstop interview, said that even though the movies would be screened, it did not mean the tax dispute had been resolved.

Asked about a potential increase in ticket prices, he said the ministry would not impose a limit in any price hike, though he urged movie theaters to avoid extreme increases.

“Because the movies that will be shown are top movies, if there is price rise, then it should only be small.”

Muklis Paimi, the head of Film Censorship Board (LSF), confirmed to the Globe that three Hollywood films were being censored.

“Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2, Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Kung Fu Panda 2 are being censored,” he said.

“Hopefully, we will have finished this by tonight.”

The Potter movies have a devoted following in Indonesia, where thousands of fans play the wizard sport of Quidditch on Twitter.

Last month, a new tax regime for foreign films was agreed in response to protests by the Motion Picture Association (MPA) over an attempt to charge studios more to screen films in Indonesian cinemas.

“We hope that there will be no more boycotts like this,” he added.

Sjafruddin said local cinemas would also screen several Hollywood hits that they had missed during the five--month boycott.

Since the studios began boycotting the country, Indonesian movie lovers have missed out on “Black Swan”, “True Grit” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”.

The MPA represents US studios including Warner Bros, Universal Studios and Twentieth Century Fox.
Read more...

0 Comments  

Analysis: Indonesia Among Countries Tightening Grip on Natural Resources

New Delhi. Countries from Indonesia and India to Russia are tightening their grip on natural resources as they limit exports to build up domestic industry in a trend that will spawn many challenges to World Trade Organization rules.

Export barriers are tightening on commodities ranging from food and coal to iron ore and coveted rare earths that have critical roles in high-tech devices as countries harden positions on what they see as a sovereign right to development. The WTO ruled this month that China broke trade laws when it curbed exports of coveted raw materials, a verdict that seemed to cast a doubt over nations’ right to control and use raw materials on their soil.

Between October last year and April 2011, at least 30 new export curbs were imposed by countries such as China, India and Vietnam, up from 25 slapped on during the previous 12 months, the WTO said in a report in June.

“Every country is trying to conserve its resources,” R.N. Patra, head of India’s state-run rare earths company, IREL, told Reuters. “It is their right how they want to use them.”

Indonesia had raised the floor price of coal, Australia had a levy on a minimum price, and even the United States had restrictions on the export of 10 elements, Patra added.

“This did not exist a few years ago. But in the future there will be greater competition for resources.”

As the world economy recovers from its slowdown, that battle for resources will only intensify, analysts said, although, for now, many producing countries need the income from exports to plug large fiscal deficits.

Export curbs run the gamut from taxes to restrictive quotas and outright bans. For example, India has a 20 percent export tax on iron ore and controls grain exports; Indonesia’s curbs include giving priority to domestic demand for gas and coal and export taxes on cocoa and palm while Mongolia, a potential source of rare earths, is talking about an export tax on ores.

Increased export curbs by developing countries stem from short-term protectionist motives rather than long-term industrial policy, said Razeen Sally, director of the European Center for International Political Economy, a think-tank based in Brussels.

“There is a trend and a copying effect going on -- when China does it, other will do it too -- but I do not think this makes economic sense at all,” Sally said. “We can expect more cases to come to the WTO as we see many more of these restrictions. The case against China is important in the sense that it sends a signal that countries don’t have carte blanche when it comes to export restrictions.”

China has faced pressure over export limits on rare earth minerals, which have key applications in high-tech appliances ranging from fibre optics to mobile phones. The country controls 97 percent of world supplies of the metals and has cited environmental concerns and resource depletion for trimming back exports in the WTO row.

“The WTO dispute opens a larger debate on the changing dynamics of global trade in which developing countries, like China or India, are slowly looking at moving away from the model of exporting raw materials to the developed world to produce value-added products,” said T.S. Vishwanath, an adviser with APJ-SLG Law Offices, a firm specialising in trade issues.

Conserving resources could give downstream producers just the edge they need to stay ahead of the curve in fiercely competitive international markets.

In extreme cases, a country which is a monopoly supplier of a commodity with limited substitution may drive out whole industries in a competing import-dependent country.

That is why China’s curbs on rare earth metals have drawn so much attention, despite involving low trade volumes.

But one analyst said the country was also looking to support its manufacturers and the military.

“The Chinese equate rare earths with their own stability, not just in the manufacturing sector but also the military sector,” said Ben Simpfendorfer, managing director of business consultancy Silk Road Associates, which is based in Hong Kong.

While natural resources are vital for the industrial development of Asia’s fast-developing economies, for now, many Asian nations are primarily concerned with food security at a time of potentially acute, destabilizing inflation and fluctuating supply and demand, Simpendorfer said.

In the developing world, where land has traditionally been the only source of livelihood for hundreds of millions of indigenous people, forest and mountain dwellers and farmers, conserving natural resources is an explosive political issue.

Rising industrial activities fuel the demand for land, feeding conflict between firms and vast populations living in the countryside who form the core support base of governments.

Such protests scatter across the developing world from Brazil to Indonesia, and governments have damped the unrest with the strategy of getting investors to devote some of their income to the development of local communities.

India is framing a law to force private miners to share profits or make royalty payments, so generating funds to aid local communities’ development in a bid to win popular approval for projects and undermine support for a Maoist rebellion.

“There is a trend of a huge outcry in producing countries and the view is people there should benefit from their own resources,” said Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, a political commentator in New Delhi. “Governments cannot ignore the protests anymore.”

As growing environmental concern piles pressure on developing countries to cut carbon emissions, they are likely to hold on to resources key to building clean energy equipment.

In the context of global climate talks, developing economies could use an export tax to counter or preempt border adjustment measures that developed countries set on imports.

“Energy security and concerns over carbon emissions will mean more and more countries will want to conserve their resources to build their alternative energy capacity or energy-saving equipment,” said IREL’s Patra. “For so long the West has been taking the cheap resources of the East. Going forward we will see that will not happen anymore.”
Read more...

0 Comments  

SWOT analysis

SWOT analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture. It involves specifying the objective of the business venture or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are favorable and unfavorable to achieving that objective. The technique is credited to Albert Humphrey, who led a convention at Stanford University in the 1960s and 1970s using data from Fortune 500 companies.

A SWOT analysis must first start with defining a desired end state or objective. A SWOT analysis may be incorporated into the strategic planning model. Strategic Planning, including SWOT and SCAN analysis, has been the subject of much research.

  • Strengths: attributes of the person or company that are helpful to achieving the objective.
  •  Weaknesses: attributes of the person or company that are harmful to achieving the objective.
  • Opportunities: external conditions that are helpful to achieving the objective.
  • Threats: external conditions which could do damage to the objective.

Identification of SWOTs is essential because subsequent steps in the process of planning for achievement of the selected objective may be derived from the SWOTs.

First, the decision makers have to determine whether the objective is attainable, given the SWOTs. If the objective is NOT attainable a different objective must be selected and the process repeated.

The SWOT analysis is often used in academia to highlight and identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It is particularly helpful in identifying areas for development.


Matching and converting
Another way of utilizing SWOT is matching and converting.
Matching is used to find competitive advantages by matching the strengths to opportunities.
Converting is to apply conversion strategies to convert weaknesses or threats into strengths or opportunities.
An example of conversion strategy is to find new markets.
If the threats or weaknesses cannot be converted a company should try to minimize or avoid them.

Evidence on the Use of SWOT
SWOT analysis may limit the strategies considered in the evaluation. J. Scott Armstrong notes that "people who use SWOT might conclude that they have done an adequate job of planning and ignore such sensible things as defining the firm's objectives or calculating ROI for alternate strategies." Findings from Menon et al. (1999) and Hill and Westbrook (1997) have shown that SWOT may harm performance. As an alternative to SWOT, Armstrong describes a 5-step approach alternative that leads to better corporate performance.

These criticisms are addressed to an old version of SWOT analysis that precedes the SWOT analysis described above under the heading "Strategic and Creative Use of SWOT Analysis." This old version did not require that SWOTs be derived from an agreed upon objective. Examples of SWOT analyses that do not state an objective are provided below under "Human Resources" and "Marketing."

Internal and external factors
The aim of any SWOT analysis is to identify the key internal and external factors that are important to achieving the objective. These come from within the company's unique value chain. SWOT analysis groups key pieces of information into two main categories:

  •  Internal factors – The strengths and weaknesses internal to the organization.
  • External factors – The opportunities and threats presented by the external environment to the organization. - Use a PEST or PESTLE analysis to help identify factors
The internal factors may be viewed as strengths or weaknesses depending upon their impact on the organization's objectives. What may represent strengths with respect to one objective may be weaknesses for another objective. The factors may include all of the 4P's; as well as personnel, finance, manufacturing capabilities, and so on. The external factors may include macroeconomic matters, technological change, legislation, and socio-cultural changes, as well as changes in the marketplace or competitive position. The results are often presented in the form of a matrix.

SWOT analysis is just one method of categorization and has its own weaknesses. For example, it may tend to persuade companies to compile lists rather than think about what is actually important in achieving objectives. It also presents the resulting lists uncritically and without clear prioritization so that, for example, weak opportunities may appear to balance strong threats.

It is prudent not to eliminate too quickly any candidate SWOT entry. The importance of individual SWOTs will be revealed by the value of the strategies it generates. A SWOT item that produces valuable strategies is important. A SWOT item that generates no strategies is not important.

Use of SWOT Analysis
The usefulness of SWOT analysis is not limited to profit-seeking organizations. SWOT analysis may be used in any decision-making situation when a desired end-state (objective) has been defined. Examples include: non-profit organizations, governmental units, and individuals. SWOT analysis may also be used in pre-crisis planning and preventive crisis management. SWOT analysis may also be used in creating a recommendation during a viability study.

SWOT - landscape analysis
The SWOT-landscape grabs different managerial situations by visualizing and foreseeing the dynamic performance of comparable objects according to findings by Brendan Kitts, Leif Edvinsson and Tord Beding (2000).

Changes in relative performance are continually identified. Projects (or other units of measurements) that could be potential risk or opportunity objects are highlighted.

SWOT-landscape also indicates which underlying strength/weakness factors that have had or likely will have highest influence in the context of value in use (for ex. capital value fluctuations).

Corporate planning
As part of the development of strategies and plans to enable the organization to achieve its objectives, then that organization will use a systematic/rigorous process known as corporate planning. SWOT alongside PEST/PESTLE can be used as a basis for the analysis of business and environmental factors.

* Set objectives – defining what the organization is going to do
* Environmental scanning
o Internal appraisals of the organization's SWOT, this needs to include an assessment of the present situation as well as a portfolio of products/services and an analysis of the product/service life cycle
* Analysis of existing strategies, this should determine relevance from the results of an internal/external appraisal. This may include gap analysis which will look at environmental factors
* Strategic Issues defined – key factors in the development of a corporate plan which needs to be addressed by the organization
* Develop new/revised strategies – revised analysis of strategic issues may mean the objectives need to change
* Establish critical success factors – the achievement of objectives and strategy implementation
* Preparation of operational, resource, projects plans for strategy implementation
* Monitoring results – mapping against plans, taking corrective action which may mean amending objectives/strategies.

Marketing
Main article: Marketing management

In many competitor analyses, marketers build detailed profiles of each competitor in the market, focusing especially on their relative competitive strengths and weaknesses using SWOT analysis. Marketing managers will examine each competitor's cost structure, sources of profits, resources and competencies, competitive positioning and product differentiation, degree of vertical integration, historical responses to industry developments, and other factors.

Marketing management often finds it necessary to invest in research to collect the data required to perform accurate marketing analysis. Accordingly, management often conducts market research (alternately marketing research) to obtain this information. Marketers employ a variety of techniques to conduct market research, but some of the more common include:

* Qualitative marketing research, such as focus groups
* Quantitative marketing research, such as statistical surveys
* Experimental techniques such as test markets
* Observational techniques such as ethnographic (on-site) observation
* Marketing managers may also design and oversee various environmental scanning and competitive intelligence processes to help identify trends and inform the company's marketing analysis.

Using SWOT to analyse the market position of a small management consultancy with specialism in HRM.

Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats
Reputation in marketplace Shortage of consultants at operating level rather than partner level Well established position with a well defined market niche. Large consultancies operating at a minor level
Expertise at partner level in HRM consultancy Unable to deal with multi-disciplinary assignments because of size
or lack of ability
Identified market for consultancy in areas other than HRM Other small consultancies looking to invade the marketplace
Read more...

0 Comments  

Strategic planning

Strategic planning is an organization's process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy, including its capital and people. Various business analysis techniques can be used in strategic planning, including SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats ), PEST analysis (Political, Economic, Social, and Technological), STEER analysis (Socio-cultural, Technological, Economic, Ecological, and Regulatory factors), and EPISTEL (Environment, Political, Informatic, Social, Technological, Economic and Legal).

Strategic planning is the formal consideration of an organization's future course. All strategic planning deals with at least one of three key questions:

1. "What do we do?"
2. "For whom do we do it?"
3. "How do we excel?"

In business strategic planning, the third question is better phrased "How can we beat or avoid competition?". (Bradford and Duncan, page 1).

In many organizations, this is viewed as a process for determining where an organization is going over the next year or more -typically 3 to 5 years, although some extend their vision to 20 years.

In order to determine where it is going, the organization needs to know exactly where it stands, then determine where it wants to go and how it will get there. The resulting document is called the "strategic plan."

It is also true that strategic planning may be a tool for effectively plotting the direction of a company; however, strategic planning itself cannot foretell exactly how the market will evolve and what issues will surface in the coming days in order to plan your organizational strategy. Therefore, strategic innovation and tinkering with the 'strategic plan' have to be a cornerstone strategy for an organization to survive the turbulent business climate.

Mission, vision and values
Mission: Defines the fundamental purpose of an organization or an enterprise, basically describing why it exists and what it does to achieve its Vision. Mission may be long term as well as for short term for any organisation. A corporate mission can last for many years, or for the life of the organization or may change as per the demand of the organisation mission varies. It is an objective with a timeline, but rather the overall goal that is accomplished over the years as objectives are achieved that are aligned with the corporate mission.
 

What one intends to do or achieve; aim.
 

Vision: Defines the desired or intended future state of an organization or enterprise in terms of its fundamental objective and/or strategic direction. Vision is a long term view, sometimes describing how the organization would like the world in which it operates to be. For example a charity working with the poor might have a vision statement which read "A world without poverty"

It is sometimes called a picture of your company in the future. Your vision statement is your inspiration, the framework for all your strategic planning. "Where do we want to go?"

Values: Beliefs that are shared among the stakeholders of an organization. Values drive an organization's culture and priorities.

Strategy: Strategy narrowly defined, means "the art of the general" (from Greek stratcgos). A combination of the ends (goals) for which the firm is striving and the means (policies)by which it is seeking to get there.
 

Mission statements and vision statements
Organizations sometimes summarize goals and objectives into a mission statement and/or a vision statement Others begin with a vision and mission and use them to formulate goals and objectives.

While the existence of a shared mission is extremely useful, many strategy specialists question the requirement for a written mission statement. However, there are many models of strategic planning that start with mission statements, so it is useful to examine them here.

* A Mission statement tells you the fundamental purpose of the organization. It defines the customer and the critical processes. It informs you of the desired level of performance.

* A Vision statement outlines what the organization wants to be, or how it wants the world in which it operates to be. It concentrates on the future. It is a source of inspiration. It provides clear decision-making criteria.

An advantage of having a statement is that it creates value for those who get exposed to the statement, and those prospects are managers, employees and sometimes even customers. Statements create a sense of direction and opportunity. They both are an essential part of the strategy-making process.

Many people mistake vision statement for mission statement, and sometimes one is simply used as a longer term version of the other. The Vision should describe why it is important to achieve the Mission. A Vision statement defines the purpose or broader goal for being in existence or in the business and can remain the same for decades if crafted well. A Mission statement is more specific to what the enterprise can achieve itself. Vision should describe what will be achieved in the wider sphere if the organization and others are successful in achieving their individual missions.

A mission statement can resemble a vision statement in a few companies, but that can be a grave mistake. It can confuse people. The mission statement can galvanize the people to achieve defined objectives, even if they are stretch objectives, provided it can be elucidated in SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) terms. A mission statement provides a path to realize the vision in line with its values. These statements have a direct bearing on the bottom line and success of the organization.

Which comes first? The mission statement or the vision statement? That depends. If you have a new start up business, new program or plan to re engineer your current services, then the vision will guide the mission statement and the rest of the strategic plan. If you have an established business where the mission is established, then many times, the mission guides the vision statement and the rest of the strategic plan. Either way, you need to know your fundamental purpose - the mission, your current situation in terms of internal resources and capabilities (strengths and/or weaknesses) and external conditions (opportunities and/or threats), and where you want to go - the vision for the future. It's important that you keep the end or desired result in sight from the start.[citation needed] .

Features of an effective vision statement include:

* Clarity and lack of ambiguity
* Vivid and clear picture
* Description of a bright future
* Memorable and engaging wording
* Realistic aspirations
* Alignment with organizational values and culture

To become really effective, an organizational vision statement must (the theory states) become assimilated into the organization's culture. Leaders have the responsibility of communicating the vision regularly, creating narratives that illustrate the vision, acting as role-models by embodying the vision, creating short-term objectives compatible with the vision, and encouraging others to craft their own personal vision compatible with the organization's overall vision. In addition, mission statements need to be subjected to an internal assessment and an external assessment. The internal assessment should focus on how members inside the organization interpret their mission statement. The external assessment — which includes all of the businesses stakeholders — is valuable since it offers a different perspective. These discrepancies between these two assessments can give insight on the organization's mission statement effectiveness.

Another approach to defining Vision and Mission is to pose two questions. Firstly, "What aspirations does the organization have for the world in which it operates and has some influence over?", and following on from this, "What can (and /or does) the organization do or contribute to fulfill those aspirations?". The succinct answer to the first question provides the basis of the Vision Statement. The answer to the second question determines the Mission Statement.


Methodologies
There are many approaches to strategic planning but typically a three-step process may be used:

* Situation - evaluate the current situation and how it came about.
* Target - define goals and/or objectives (sometimes called ideal state)
* Path - map a possible route to the goals/objectives

One alternative approach is called Draw-See-Think

* Draw - what is the ideal image or the desired end state?
* See - what is today's situation? What is the gap from ideal and why?
* Think - what specific actions must be taken to close the gap between today's situation and the ideal state?
* Plan - what resources are required to execute the activities?

An alternative to the Draw-See-Think approach is called See-Think-Draw

* See - what is today's situation?
* Think - define goals/objectives
* Draw - map a route to achieving the goals/objectives

In other terms strategic planning can be as follows:

* Vision - Define the vision and set a mission statement with hierarchy of goals and objectives
* SWOT - Analysis conducted according to the desired goals
* Formulate - Formulate actions and processes to be taken to attain these goals
* Implement - Implementation of the agreed upon processes
* Control - Monitor and get feedback from implemented processes to fully control the operation

Situational analysis
When developing strategies, analysis of the organization and its environment as it is at the moment and how it may develop in the future, is important. The analysis has to be executed at an internal level as well as an external level to identify all opportunities and threats of the external environment as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the organizations.

There are several factors to assess in the external situation analysis:

1. Markets (customers)
2. Competition
3. Technology
4. Supplier markets
5. Labor markets
6. The economy
7. The regulatory environment

It is rare to find all seven of these factors having critical importance. It is also uncommon to find that the first two - markets and competition - are not of critical importance. (Bradford "External Situation - What to Consider")

Analysis of the external environment normally focuses on the customer. Management should be visionary in formulating customer strategy, and should do so by thinking about market environment shifts, how these could impact customer sets, and whether those customer sets are the ones the company wishes to serve.

Analysis of the competitive environment is also performed, many times based on the framework suggested by Michael Porter.


Goals, objectives and targets
Strategic planning is a very important business activity. It is also important in the public sector areas such as education. It is practiced widely informally and formally. Strategic planning and decision processes should end with objectives and a roadmap of ways to achieve those objectives.

The following terms have been used in strategic planning: desired end states, plans, policies, goals, objectives, strategies, tactics and actions. Definitions vary, overlap and fail to achieve clarity. The most common of these concepts are specific, time bound statements of intended future results and general and continuing statements of intended future results, which most models refer to as either goals or objectives (sometimes interchangeably).

One model of organizing objectives uses hierarchies. The items listed above may be organized in a hierarchy of means and ends and numbered as follows: Top Rank Objective (TRO), Second Rank Objective, Third Rank Objective, etc. From any rank, the objective in a lower rank answers to the question "How?" and the objective in a higher rank answers to the question "Why?" The exception is the Top Rank Objective (TRO): there is no answer to the "Why?" question. That is how the TRO is defined.

People typically have several goals at the same time. "Goal congruency" refers to how well the goals combine with each other. Does goal A appear compatible with goal B? Do they fit together to form a unified strategy? "Goal hierarchy" consists of the nesting of one or more goals within other goal(s).

One approach recommends having short-term goals, medium-term goals, and long-term goals. In this model, one can expect to attain short-term goals fairly easily: they stand just slightly above one's reach. At the other extreme, long-term goals appear very difficult, almost impossible to attain. Strategic management jargon sometimes refers to "Big Hairy Audacious Goals" (BHAGs) in this context. Using one goal as a stepping-stone to the next involves goal sequencing. A person or group starts by attaining the easy short-term goals, then steps up to the medium-term, then to the long-term goals. Goal sequencing can create a "goal stairway". In an organizational setting, the organization may co-ordinate goals so that they do not conflict with each other. The goals of one part of the organization should mesh compatibly with those of other parts of the organization.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_planning

Read more...

0 Comments  

Marketplace Responsibility Principles

The Marketplace Responsibility Principles are a guide for implementing responsible business in medium-sized to large companies, and have been developed by the Marketplace Taskforce, a group of 10 global and UK companies chaired by Mike Clasper, former CEO of BAA plc.

The Principles, which provide a proactive framework for managing a range of marketplace issues, comprise guidance on key marketplace relationships, and behaviours that help companies to manage these relationships.

The Marketplace Responsibility Principles:

* Respect your customers
* Support vulnerable customers
* Seek potential customers within excluded groups
* Manage the impact of product or service
* Actively discourage product misuse
* Actively manage responsibility in your supply chain
* Treat suppliers as partners
* Work with the rule makers
* Have consistent standards

Best practice for responsible behaviour in the marketplace:

* Be consistent
* Anticipate trends
* Aim to deliver quality results
* Put at the heart of business strategy
* Part of the culture
* Encourage and motivate responsible behaviour
* Mainstream not niche
* Share best practice within the business

The Principles have undergone a rigorous period of consultation with CEOs, marketing directors, CR practitioners, and the SRI and NGO community, and will be officially launched at Business in the Community’s AGM in December 2006.

Business in the Community is asking companies to sign up to the Principles and commit to reflect the marketplace issues within their CR reporting. A series of in-depth case studies have also been produced to show how companies are beginning to tackle some of their marketplace issues.

Source: http://www.bitc.org.uk

Read more...

0 Comments  

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a concept that organizations, especially (but not only) the company is to have a responsibility towards customers, employees, shareholders, communities and the environment in all operational aspects of the company.

CSR is closely related with sustainable development “, which argued that there is a company in implementing activities should base decisions not only based on financial factors, such as profit or dividend but also should be based on social and environmental consequences for today and for the long term.

Today is the biggest concern of a company’s role in society has improved with the increased sensitivity and awareness of environmental and ethical issues. Problems such as environmental destruction, the treatment is not feasible for employees, and production defects that cause the nyamanan or danger for consumers is to become the main newspaper. Government regulations in some countries about the environmental and social problems the firm, as well as standards and laws are often made to countries beyond the authority of regulations (for example, regulations made by the European Union. Perusahaam Some investors and investment management policies have started considering a company’s CSR in making their investment decisions, a practice known as “socially responsible investment” (Socially responsible investing).

Many supporters of CSR CSR separate from social donations and “good deeds” (such as generosity or made by Habitat for Humanity or Ronald McDonald House), but indeed is a social contribution only a small part of CSR. Companies in the past often spent the money for community projects, the provision of scholarships and the establishment of social foundations. They also often recommend and encourage employees to volunteer (volunteer) in taking part in the project so that the community create a good faith community is the eyes that will directly improve the reputation of the company and strengthen the company’s brand. With the acceptance of the concept of CSR, especially the triple bottom line, the company get a new framework in place various social activities in the top.

Concern about the community / community relations can be defined very broadly, but short can be understood as the increased participation and position in the organization in a community through various efforts kemaslahatan together for the organization and community. CSR is not just a charity event, in which CSR requires a company in the decision that seriously consider the consequences of all stakeholders (stakeholders) company, including the environment. This requires the company to create a balance between the interests of various stakeholders with the interests of external shareholders, which is one of the internal stakeholders. “the business world, during the last half century, has become into the most powerful institutions on the planet. the dominant institution in any community must take responsibility for the interest, every decision you make, every action taken must be seen in the framework of responsibilities.

A broad definition by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) is a global association of which consists of about 200 companies that are specifically engaged in “sustainable development” (sustainable development), which states that:

“CSR is a continuing commitment by business to act in an ethical and contribute to the economic development of local communities or the wider community, together with the improvement of living standards of workers and their family.”

When a company operates, the inherent demands and responsibilities for the company concerned will be the local communities in the surrounding areas (stake holders). However, the company’s performance depends a lot of support from the party. In addition to the community, such as internal shareholders, employees, families, employees, the public’s attention was also brought about a positive impact for the company

Corporate social responsibility started out ten years ago as a new buzz word for the business world, but is now developing in a field with substantial and diverse career opportunities. The term “corporate social responsibility” or CSR has been coined to define how companies behave in social, environmental and ethical contexts. Corporate social responsibility is about integrating the issues of the workplace, the community and the marketplace into core business strategies. Driving this emerging field are customers who choose products with a good reputation, investors who put money into a company with an exemplary record and firms which invest in the future or training of their employees and gain loyalty and commitment in return.

Corporate Social Responsibility of Unilever

The views of the company’s corporate social responsibility covers all the company’s business activities. companies that are responsible need to provide a meaningful contribution to the welfare of the community, national economy, as well as basic education and social environment.

company to formulate corporate social responsibility as a result of the interaction or in the community, into three parts, namely:

Reaching the Open with Nurani (Impact Events Company)

The impact of major events created the company’s operating company. Approach in managing the company’s social responsibility based on thinking that social responsibility is part of the business activities, and includes the desire to always learn from the action, and the experience of others. the company continues to refine our performance, through the implementation of the business activities of national and international scale, including the Standard Performance Rank Environment Program (PROPER) the operation and international standards (ISO). Business activities of creating more employment, but also develop human resources in the interest of the company and the community.

Building on the success of Sinergi Society (Impact Value Chain)

The impact of the broader value created through the chain, from suppliers, customers, and consumers. company to introduce a standard of behavior for suppliers, who called the Business Partner Code, and apply the “Supplier Quality Management Program” (SQMP) to encourage suppliers to improve their performance and ability. company partnered with a variety of independent distributors to increase the spirit of entrepreneurship, create employment, and to provide benefits for local businesses.

Speed Meets Society (Voluntary Contribution)

Voluntary contributions to the community widely, which is done through partnership with NGOs, government agencies, universities and society, seen as “top of the iceberg”, which is a larger impact on the activities of the company indeed. Contributions include the programs sustainable, which is done professionally under the Yayasan Unilever Indonesia Peduli.

companies encourage employees to participate in sharing hearts, thoughts and experiences through volunteer activities to devote to the social needs, such as orphans, street children, the population (poor) rural areas, and other refugees.

Source: http:www.wikipedia.org, http://www.unilever.co.id

Read more...

0 Comments  

Strategies to improve the performance of the company

In this era of increasingly tight competition, every time a company must evaluate its performance, and conducted a series of improvements, so that can still grow and compete. Repairs will be carried out continuously, so that the better performance of the company and can continue to excel in the competition, or at least can still survive. One of the strategies to improve and maximize the performance of the company is restructuring the way. If we hear a word or term restructuring, which we have think, apparently to discuss the company is in decline. This is by definition the restructuring itself, which, among others, as follows:

Restructuring, often referred to as downsizing or delayering, involving a reduction in the company in the field of labor, work units or divisions, or a reduction in the level positions in the structure of organizes company. Reduction of this scale required the company to improve efficiency and effectiveness (David, F, 1997:226) Restructuring strategy used to find a solution for companies that do not grow, or the threat of pain for the organization, or industry door significant changes. The owners generally make changes in the management team, strategy changes, or the insertion of new technology in the company. Often followed by further acquisitions to build a critical part, the part that is not necessary, to reduce the acquisition cost effectively. The result is a strong company, or the transformation of industry. The strategy requires restructuring the management team who have insight to look to the future, when the company is undervalued at the point position in the industry or who cooked for the transformation. The same insight required to turn around the business units, even in a business that is not familiar (Mintzberg & Quinn, 1996:732). Restructuring the company aims to improve company performance and Maximization (Djohanputro, Bramantyo, 2004:2).

But every time a company doing repairs, either on a small scale or large scale, the aim is to improve performance. Of course, companies need not wait for a decline made new improvement, as can be delayed, so that improvements need to be carried out continuously. In general, the term used when a company restructuring would like to make overall improvements, and the aim is to improve and maximize the performance of the company.

At this time, if you read in the newspapers, many companies are doing corporate action, the aim is to strengthen, improve and maximize the performance of the company. To understand what and how is the restructuring that can maximize the value of the company, below the line I try to make a big snippets problems, which I take, among others, from the book-length pack Bram (former lecturer I) as follows:

a. Corporate Restructuring goal.

Restructuring the company aims to improve company performance and Maximization. For companies that go public have been, Maximization value the company characterized by high stock prices the company, and the price can sit on the top level. stock prices is not playing the market or the fried fry stocks, but really is a mirror expectations investors will be the future of the company. In line with the companies that already go public, the selling price also reflects investors' expectations on the future performance of the company. While not go for the public, the company Maximization value reflected in the selling price of the company.

b. Mapping portfolio and Strategic Business Unit (SBU) Company

First is the mapping of the portfolio, the ability to know how each asset in providing added value for the company. Is there idle assets, or assets that are less productive, and not because it did not need to be in line with company strategy? Assets that are not productive and not in line with the company's strategy should be for sale.

Then do the mapping SBU, each SBU votes based on some characters, such as: a) life cycle, b) the market, c) growth and cash flow. Then each SBU evaluated, is still in line with company strategy. SBU is appropriate, can be associated with increased value, or give Economic Value Added (EVA) to the company as a whole.

c. Rating SBU

There are several ways SBU assessment. One way that is commonly used measure of current cash flow is expected to be generated by the SBU. Value Net Present Value (NPV) of the cash flow is a value from the SBU. (Catt: I have 10 SBU assessment phase, there will be segregated on the article).

d. Correction portfolio and SBU.

After the assessment, the SBU assets and the only remaining fully in line with company strategy. However, the quality of assets and SBU should be evaluated, in order to operate optimally. After knowing the various potential problems of assets, management needs to develop a variety of alternative actions against these assets, with the goal of improving the productivity of the assets concerned.

e. Maximization SBU value.

SBU a value based on cash flow to its health, especially the pattern predicted cash flow. Maximization value means that the SBU management efforts so that the projected cash flow SBU since the restructuring will be healthier and improved from time to time.

Things that need to be in the value Maximization SBU:

1. Make sure there is no potential assets stored. Assets that often do not realize is intangible assets, such as: a) Name of the company, which can be lost if you do not used.b) research and development capability, which is a potential for the company. c) The impact of marketing, eg the incentive campaign, which can be positioned in the product SBU marrow consumers.

2. Make sure that the funding company's health. Financial structure that gave both participate in the share of value Maximization SBU.

3. Make sure the organization supports all the strategies in the Maximization SBU.

f. The Leadership

The factor of leadership is one key to the success of the process of restructuring the company. Without a good leader, the restructuring will stop in the middle of the road. Terms of the first primary and a leader in the process of restructuring is a visionary. The leaders also need to be a restructuring agent of change. The process of restructuring, never a good idea will always get resistance from some employees.

Leaders also need to have the ability to used (Empowerment) employees. Identification of assets and SBU with both the starting point is the restructuring of the good. Identification result in fatal error, because the subordinate is able to make the tasks that can not ignore the weight of the board.

Source reading:

David, Fred R. Strategic Management. Prentice-Hall International, Inc. New Jersey, 1997.

Porter, Michael E. How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy. In any posts Mintzberg, H. & Quinn, James, B.1996: The Strategy Process: Concepts, Contexts, Cases. Prentice-Hall International, Inc. New Jerswy, 1997.

Djohanpuro, Bramantyo, MBA, PhD. Value-Based Corporate Restructuring. Towards Excellence strategy Compete. Jakarta: PPM Publisher, 2004

Many of the participants as the author of the restructuring process of the company.

Source : http://edratna.wordpress.com


Read more...

0 Comments