Competitive and internal information Essay

Write an essay on the typical main sources of business information generated both internally and externally for public companies. How is such information used to establish a company’s place in the market? Illustrate your answer with examples from one or more business sectors of your choice. INTRODUCTION Information consists of data that have been retrieved, processed, or used for informative purposes, argument or as a basis for forecasting or decision making. Without information, a business cannot survive. A recipe for a good decision is 90 percent information and 10 percent inspiration. Information is the catalyst of management and the ingredient that coalesces the managerial functions of planning, operating controlling. Managers depend on information for making decisions. Any organization is held together by the possession of means for the acquisition, use, retention and transmission of information. The purpose of management system is to develop plans for achieving objectives, to organize for implementing plan and to control performance so that plans and actions occur on schedule. The place of information in performing these three basis processes is shown in the following. MANAGEMENT PROCESS AND INFORMATION NEED 1) Performance against plan 2) Environmental, Competitive and internal information concurring problem and opportunities. Evaluation of 1 and 2 in order to Make a prediction of estimate of Alternative courses of action Alternative source. Prediction of results for alternative Courses of action. Communicate details of plan and Control standards. Performance against PK In the above figure for information needs 1) In the the first step, recognition of problem or an opportunity is prompted by information from the control process concerning a deviation from standard or by search and evaluation of those system (environmental, competitive, Internal) 2) Definition of problem, determination and evaluation of alternative course of action. 3) Once a decision is made, it is necessary to implement and control a solution. Among the above steps, planning information needs of an organization can be classified into three broad types. 1) Environmental 2) Competitive 3) Internal 1) Environmental information It can be classified as (A) Political and Government consideration Some information on political stability is important for forecasting plans. (B) Demographic and Social trends Some information is necessary to forecast the Social Trends and consumer buying behavior for both the long and short run. (C) Economic Trends. Employment, Productivity and numerals other economic indicators provide valuable planning information for the firms whose output is a function of these important variables (D) Technological environment Some information is necessary to forecast the technological changes in their industry and probable effect on the firm. (2) Competitive information. Information concerning factors that affects the operation of the firm within an industry includes data concerning industry and firm demand as well as the data on the competitors. The information can be classified into three types. They are (a) Industry Demand. Information is needed for forecasting the demand for the Sale and the corresponding level of operation of a single firm. (b) Firm Demand The demand for products of an individual firm is a function of the Industry demand and the capabilities and activities of the individual firm relative to the capabilities and action of competing firms. (c) Competition Data on competing firms are very important for forecasting the individual demand and making decisions and plans to achieve the forecast. (3) Internal information They are vital for subsidiary planning at all levels in the organization. Internal data are aimed at an identification of the organization’s strength and weakness.. The types of internal information are (A) Sales forecast: Some information is necessary for forecasting the Sales. (B) The financial plan It is the system that links all activities of the company together. (C) Policies Some information is necessary to frame the basis policies for long run purpose. Data and information come from many sources – both internal (inside the business) and external. This revision note summarizes the main sources: Business data and information comes from multiple sources. The challenge for a business is to capture and use information that is relevant and reliable. The main sources are: INTERNAL INFORMATION Accounting records are a prime source of internal information. They detail the transactions of the business in the past – which may be used as the basis for planning for the future (e. g. preparing a financial budget or forecast). The accounting records are primarily used to record what happens to the financial resources of a business. For example, how cash is obtained and spent; what assets are acquired; what profits or losses are made on the activities of the business. However, accounting records can provide much more than financial information. For example, details of the products manufactured and delivered from a factory can provide useful information about whether quality standards are being met. Data analyzed from customer sales invoices provides a profile of what and to whom products are being sold. A lot of internal information is connected to accounting systems – but is not directly part of them. For example: – Records of the people employed by the business (personal details; what they get paid; skills and experience; training records) – Data on the costs associated with business processes (e. g. costings for contracts entered into by the business) – Data from the production department (e. g. number of machines; capacity; repair record) – Data from activities in direct contact with the customer (e. g. analysis of calls received and missed in a call centre) A lot of internal information is also provided informally. For example, regular meetings of staff and management will result in the communication of relevant information. SAMPLE SOURCES OF INTERNAL INFORMATION: Balance Sheet of ICICI PERIOD ENDING 31-Mar-00 Assets Current Assets Cash And Cash Equivalents 1,479,000 Short Term Investments – Net Receivables 194,000 Inventory – Other Current Assets – Total Current Assets – Long Term Investments 1,185,000 Property Plant and Equipment 48,000 Goodwill – Intangible Assets – Accumulated Amortization – Other Assets 81,000 Deferred Long Term Asset Charges – Total Assets 2,987,000 Liabilities Current Liabilities Accounts Payable – Short/Current Long Term Debt – Other Current Liabilities 2,454,000 Total Current Liabilities – Long Term Debt 57,000 Other Liabilities 215,000 Deferred Long Term Liability Charges – Minority Interest – Negative Goodwill – Total Liabilities 2,726,000 Stockholders’ Equity Misc Stocks Options Warrants – Redeemable Preferred Stock – Preferred Stock – Common Stock 45,000 Retained Earnings 44,000 Treasury Stock – Capital Surplus 171,000 Other Stockholder Equity 1,000 Total Stockholder Equity 261,000 Net Tangible Assets $261,000 Source: Yahoo Finance Stock movement of I-Flex solutions Series Date Prev Close Open Price High Price Low Price Last Price Close Price Total Traded Quantity Turnover in Lacs EQ 03-Mar-2008 1,078. 95 1,037. 00 1,080. 00 1,020. 00 1,029. 90 1,042. 55 17954 190. 31 EQ 04-Mar-2008 1,042. 55 1,020. 00 1,075. 00 1,017. 00 1,047. 65 1,048. 25 36723 382. 44 EQ 05-Mar-2008 1,048. 25 1,070. 00 1,070. 00 1,030. 15 1,045. 00 1,039. 20 22219 231. 63 EQ 07-Mar-2008 1,039. 20 1,021. 00 1,032. 00 983. 00 1,004. 95 1,001. 50 22103 220. 45 EQ 10-Mar-2008 1,001. 50 955. 00 1,040. 00 946. 40 1,005. 00 1,015. 50 19099 192. 55 EQ 11-Mar-2008 1,015. 50 992. 50 1,065. 00 992. 50 1,045. 00 1,054. 65 21805 226. 22 EQ 12-Mar-2008 1,054. 65 1,100. 00 1,100. 00 1,000. 00 1,004. 00 1,007. 45 13398 139. 14 EQ 13-Mar-2008 1,007. 45 987. 05 1,010. 00 952. 00 954. 00 959. 10 15931 155. 65 EQ 14-Mar-2008 959. 10 962. 00 992. 00 920. 00 990. 00 983. 15 21685 210. 01 EQ 17-Mar-2008 983. 15 925. 00 970. 00 925. 00 965. 00 942. 95 12307 116. 99 EQ 18-Mar-2008 942. 95 931. 00 958. 50 925. 10 927. 00 936. 50 21230 200. 13 EQ 19-Mar-2008 936. 50 970. 00 978. 00 922. 00 925. 00 925. 55 21245 199. 40 EQ 24-Mar-2008 925. 55 948. 00 950. 00 895. 00 905. 00 908. 25 21626 197. 55 EQ 25-Mar-2008 908. 25 913. 50 1,008. 00 913. 50 990. 10 992. 55 58576 571. 10 EQ 26-Mar-2008 992. 55 988. 90 1,027. 00 974. 00 974. 00 986. 85 33402 335. 28 EQ 27-Mar-2008 986. 85 975. 00 1,003. 00 935. 00 951. 05 947. 10 118566 1,140. 60 EQ 28-Mar-2008 947. 10 970. 00 994. 00 956. 00 976. 00 984. 40 21658 210. 89 EQ 31-Mar-2008 984. 40 970. 25 985. 00 935. 00 948. 20 941. 10 39622 376. 60 Source: NSEINDIA EXTERNAL INFORMATION As the term implies, this is information that is obtained from outside the business. There are several categories of external information: – Information relating to way a business should undertake its activities E. g. businesses need to keep records so that they can collect taxes on behalf of the government. So a business needs to obtain regular information about the taxation system (e. g. PAYE, VAT, Corporation Tax) and what actions it needs to take. Increasingly this kind of information (and the return forms a business needs to send) is provided in digital format. Similarly, a business needs to be aware of key legal areas (e. g. environmental legislation; health & safety regulation; employment law). There is a whole publishing industry devoted to selling this kind of information to businesses. – Information about the markets in which a business operates This kind of external information is critically important to a business. It is often referred to as â€Å"market† or â€Å"competitive intelligence†. Most of the external information that a business needs can be obtained from marketing research. Marketing research can help a business do one or more of the following: 1. Gain a more detailed understanding of consumers’ needs – marketing research can help firms to discover consumers’ opinions on a huge range of issues, e. g. , views on products’ prices, packaging, recent advertising campaigns 2. Reduce the risk of product/business failure – there is no guarantee that any new idea will be a commercial success, but accurate and up-to-date information on the market can help a business make informed decisions, hopefully leading to products that consumers want in sufficient numbers to achieve commercial success. 3. Forecast future trends – marketing research can not only provide information regarding the current state of the market but it can also be used to anticipate customer needs future customer needs. Firms can then make the necessary adjustments to their product portfolios and levels of output in order to remain successful. The information for marketing research tends to come from three main sources: Internal Company Information – e. g. sales, orders, customer profiles, stocks, customer service reports Marketing intelligence – this is a catch-all term to include all the everyday information about developments in the market that helps a business prepare and adjust its marketing plans. It can be obtained from many sources, including suppliers, customers and distributors. It is also possible to buy intelligence information from outside suppliers (e. g. Mintel, Dun and Bradstreet) who will produce commercial intelligence reports that can be sold profitably to any interested organization. Market Research – existing data from internal sources may not provide sufficient detail. Similarly, published reports from market intelligence organizations cannot always be relied upon to provide the up-to-date, relevant information required. In these circumstances, a business may need to commission specific studies in order to acquire the data required to support their marketing strategy. – http://tutor2u. net/business/ict/intro_information_sources. htm SOURCES OF BUSINESS INFORMATION Details of following types of organizations are required to be maintained by NCTI for guiding entrepreneurs/exporters to approach to the right organization for getting the desired information, assistance and help. †¢ Foreign Embassies/High Commissions/Consulate in India †¢ Indian Missions/Consulate abroad †¢ Chambers of Commerce & Industry †¢ Trade Promotion /Import Promotion Organizations †¢ Export Inspection Agencies †¢ Export Processing Zones in India and Abroad Details of these organizations are readily available with NCTI. – http://archives. nic. in/ncti/ncti8. htm SAMPLE SOURCES OF EXTERNAL INFORMATION: AMR Research Releases ERP Market Report Showing Overall Market Growth of 14% in 2004, Tuesday, June 14, 2005, Kevin Reilly As Market Consolidation Continues, Top 5 ERP Vendors Account for 72% of Revenue Today, AMR Research released its annual report on the state of the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) market. The Market Analytix Report: Enterprise Resource Planning, 2004-2009 revealed that ERP market revenues increased 14% in 2004. The report indicates that approximately one-third of the growth in the overall market was due to fluctuations in currency exchange rates. While the ERP market has grown in revenue, consolidation continues to change the industry. In 1999, the top five vendors (J. D. Edwards, Baan, Oracle, PeopleSoft, and SAP) in the ERP market accounted for 59% of the industry’s revenue. AMR Research expects the top five vendors in 2005 (SAP, Oracle, Sage Group, Microsoft, and SSA Global) to account for 72% of ERP vendors’ total revenue. â€Å"The ERP market showed solid organic growth in 2004 as IT spending improved,† says Jim Shepherd, vice president of research at AMR Research. â€Å"The market was also affected by consolidation within the segment, as well as ERP vendors acquiring best-of-breed players to broaden their portfolios. † While many ERP vendors struggled in 2004, SAP AG increased overall revenues by 17% and license revenues by 20% – without any acquisitions. SAP’s ERP market share increased to more than 40%. Oracle nearly doubled the size of its application business through the acquisition of PeopleSoft, but AMR Research expects SAP to finish 2005 with more than twice the revenue and market share of the combined Oracle-PeopleSoft. Report Findings and Analysis The report delivers revenue and growth rates for the top ERP players as well as growth forecasts through 2009. ERP vendors ranked by 2004 ERP license revenue can be seen in the chart below. The top ten ERP vendors by revenue include the following companies: The report revealed several trends that affected the ERP market in 2004, including: The ERP market is entering another major technology transition phase. Service Oriented Architectures (SOA) may have the same disruptive effect that other technologies have had on the market, such as the emergence of client-server systems had in the 1990’s. The pace of acquisitions shows no sign of slowing down. Oracle’s purchase of Retek and vendors like Sage Group, SSA Global, Infor Global Solutions, and Epicor have all been very active in the M&A space and have grown more rapidly than the overall ERP market. The midrange ($50M – $1B in annual revenue) and SMB (less than $50M in annual revenue) markets continue to be a major focus area for many of the ERP vendors. Midrange solutions and channels are critically important for penetrating China, India, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. ERP buyers have moved away from large, upfront purchases. Now most tend to license user seats and functional ERP modules incrementally as they deploy a product. Along with widespread discounting, this has led to smaller average deal sizes. BANK’S REPORT BY FDIC Dollar Amounts in Billions Fourth Quarter 2007 All Insured Institutions Commercial Banks Savings Institutions Credit Card Lenders Mortgage Lenders Number of FDIC-Insured 8,533 7,282 1,251 27 786 Number of FDIC-Supervised 5,197 4,772 425 10 317 Total Assets $ 13,039 11,176 1,863 479 1,334 Total Loans $ 7,906 6,626 1,280 369 944 Domestic Deposits $ 6,912 5,807 1,105 142 737 Net Income (QTR) $ 5. 816 10. 540 -4. 724 3. 027 -3. 230 Percent Profitable (QTR) % 82. 3 83. 2 77. 0 88. 9 79. 1 Average Return on Assets (QTR) % 0. 18 0. 38 -1. 00 2. 61 -0. 94 Average Return on Equity (QTR) % 1. 74 3. 76 -8. 70 11. 96 -10. 51 Net Interest Margin (QTR) % 3. 30 3. 38 2. 86 8. 97 2. 52 Equity to Assets % 10. 37 10. 24 11. 17 21. 26 8. 61 Noncurrent Loan Rate – Total Loans * % 1. 39 1. 30 1. 86 2. 00 1. 87 Real Estate Loans % 1. 71 1. 62 2. 01 1. 81 1. 94 C&I Loans % 0. 66 0. 64 0. 92 2. 21 0. 88 Consumer Loans % 1. 43 1. 48 0. 98 2. 10 0. 96 Coverage Ratio ** % 92. 54 102. 84 55. 35 207. 47 45. 74 Net Charge-Off Rate – All Loans (QTR) % 0. 83 0. 86 0. 68 4. 23 0. 66 Real Estate Loans (QTR) % 0. 44 0. 43 0. 49 2. 61 0. 54 C&I Loans (QTR) % 0. 87 0. 85 1. 24 5. 13 1. 35 Consumer Loans (QTR) % 2. 75 2. 77 2. 54 4. 39 3. 16 Source: http://www. fdic. gov/bank/statistical/stats/2007dec/industry. html REFERENCES ? James O’ Brien, Management Information system, Tata Mcgraw Hill, 2007, Pg. 245-267. ? AMR Research Releases ERP Market Report Showing Overall Market Growth of 14% in 2004, Tuesday, June 14, 2005 Kevin Reilly ? Yahoo Finance ? www. nseindia. com ? http://archives. nic. in/ncti/ncti8. htm ? http://tutor2u. net/business/ict/intro_information_sources. htm http://www. fdic. gov/bank/statistical/stats/2007dec/industry. html