How a typical Business Continuity Program Works ?
February 12, 2025
Supply chain operations and network extend beyond domestic boundaries and global boundaries of all countries. A logistical exercise originates at the buyers end and involves multiple agencies including buyer, seller, 3PL freight forwarder, transporters at various juncture, shipping lines, airlines, various governmental agencies, customs departments at various locations and financial institutions like banks to complete […]
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is often in the news. Every now and then some countries approach the IMF when they need funding to save their failing economies. Almost every educated person on earth has heard about the IMF. Also, everybody thinks that the IMF is a global institution with almost unlimited access to money. […]
Introduction Information systems have revolutionized the way businesses get conducted. It facilitates automation across departments. Information systems are getting actively used by human-resource team. Most of Human-Resource activities are done through online or web-based portals. This web based portal help employee or HR team member access data from anywhere in the world or from remote […]
After the control charts have been created and deployed, the control phase of the DMAIC methodology comes to a close as far as the project is concerned. The solution that the team had set out to reach has now been reached. It is therefore time to transition the process from being a project to being […]
In any company inventory management is one area that the managements always focus on when it comes to improving business efficiencies and cutting costs. An inventory reduction drive always yields results, which are visible and releases cash back into business. Does this mean that inventory management is inefficient? The answer can be a yes and […]
Of late, many publicly listed companies have been living “quarter to quarter” or the practice of setting targets, tracking them for progress, and closing out sales and revenue generating items based on the next quarter which is a short term imperative rather than planning for the longer term.
This has led to both good and bad consequences as we would discuss subsequently and before that, it would be in the fitness of things to explain what is meant by living quarter to quarter. To start with, it has almost become the norm in the corporate world around the globe to release results for each quarter which is a standard practice except that the CEOs are also providing revenue and growth guidance for the next quarter rather than the full year.
Of course, in the annual results, they do so for the entire year that is coming up. However, the fact remains that investors, analysts, and even the hitherto serious private equity firms and assorted stakeholders have been focusing on quarterly performance rather than the full year performance.
This has led to a situation where stock prices swing wildly with each quarterly declaration of results which can go either way. While this is a good way to keep the “companies on their toes” as they would be nimble and agile enough to perform, it is also the case that “longer term value” considerations are being lost in the process.
Indeed, given the fact that equity prices make up just one component of value that corporates build over a longer term, it is our view that while it is good to be the “darlings of the stock markets” for a brief period, it is also the case that corporates must and should not lose sight of the “bigger picture” in the quest for “instant gratification”.
The reason for such quarterly focus has been due to the fact that worldwide the business landscape has become so “fast paced” that investors and analysts likewise are caught up in the “imperatives of the moment” and hence, reward or punish the corporates based on purely shorter term considerations.
Moreover, with so many technology driven start-ups such as Uber and AirBnB upending traditional taxi and hotel companies mainly due to their agility and nimbleness using technology, it has become necessary for even traditional manufacturing and including service sector corporates to “jump on the shorter term bandwagon” where “survival or success” is purely determined on a quarterly basis.
Moreover, given the imperatives of the “24/7 Breaking News Cycle” media environment, it is often the case that corporates grab the headlines for their profits or losses measured in the shorter term rather than over a longer term.
This creates a “ripple effect” wherein the “electronic herd” takes over and influences investors and shareholders in a “frenzied” bout of selling and buying.
As mentioned earlier, this can be good from a “creative destruction” perspective since capitalism and the stock markets are always on the lookout for newer avenues of profits or the “next big thing”.
However, this can also lead to “myopic” outlook from the corporates and their CEOs who obsess over the quarterly results rather than focusing on creating longer term value.
Having said that, it is also not the case that all CEOs or corporates are “taken in” by this frenzy and there remain many “Blue Chip” stocks that perform consistently over the longer term.
For instance, corporates such as Unilever and Proctor and Gamble continue to be respected and much sought after mainly because they can balance the shorter term and the longer term imperatives and drivers of growth.
On the other hand, the worst affected are the technology companies because of the very nature of the industry they operate in. While Unilever and P&G can release new brands every now and then without affecting their revenue streams and profitability, companies such as Apple, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft have to be “hard at the game” to retain market share in much shorter timelines.
As technology accelerates the pace of change and the “Algorithmic” trading systems ensure that the equity markets are run on microsecond and millisecond basis, it is our view that this type of “quarterly impulses” would increase rather than decrease.
Therefore, any corporate that wishes to “stay in the hunt” for a longer term should wisely allocate resources such as capital and human resources in the pursuit of both shorter term targets as well as longer term value creation.
After all, “Rome was not built in a day” and hence, despite all the systems driven changes, old fashioned value creation would continue to be the bedrock by which corporates and their longevity are determined.
Having said that, it is also the case that the rapid turnover of hitherto winners that have now become losers such as Blackberry, Nokia, and Yahoo means that corporates and their CEOs are sometimes left with little choice but to obsess over the shorter term.
Given these imperatives, it is indeed the case that the more astute CEOs would ensure that they keep their jobs with impressive shorter term results and retain the respect of investors by handsomely rewarding them over the longer term.
Moreover, this can also ensure that employees are sufficiently motivated to work harder for the corporates with shorter term “carrots” in the form of stock options being balanced with the “longer term stability” of working for an organization that rewards them for their hard work.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *