Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

An Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is an integrated computer-based application used to manage internal and external resources by official and employees worked within the organization, including tangible assets, resources, materials, and human resources. Its purpose is to facilitate the flow of information between all business functions inside the boundaries of the organization and manage the connections to outside stakeholders. The users may access to their own field and department as well. ERP systems consolidate all business operations into a uniform and enterprise-wide system environment.

An ERP system can either reside on a centralized server or be distributed across modular hardware and software units that provide "services" and communicate on a local area network. The distributed design allows a business to assemble modules from different vendors without the need for the placement of multiple copies of complex and expensive computer systems in areas which will not use their full capacity.

Components

• Transactional Backbone
  • Financial
    
  • Distribution
  • Human Resources
  • Product lifecycle management

• Advanced Applications
  • Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
  • Supply chain management software
    • Purchasing
    • Manufacturing
    • Distribution
  • Warehouse Management System.

• Management Portal/Dashboard
  • Decision Support System

These modules can exist in a system or can be utilized in an ad-hoc fashion.

Commercial applications

Manufacturing

Engineering, bills of material, work orders, scheduling, capacity, workflow management, quality control, cost management, manufacturing process, manufacturing projects, manufacturing flow

Supply chain management

Order to cash inventory, order entry, purchasing, product configurator, supply chain

planning, supplier scheduling, inspection of goods, claim processing, commission calculation

Financials

General ledger, cash management, accounts payable, accounts receivable, fixed assets

Project management

Costing, billing, time and expense, performance units, activity management

Human resources

Human resources, payroll, training, time and attendance, rostering, benefits

Customer relationship management

Sales and marketing, commissions, service, customer contact, call-center support

Data services

Various "self-service" interfaces for customers, suppliers and/or employees

Access control

Management of user privileges for various processes

Which MBA?

(References from the http://www.economist.com/whichmba)

This is the ninth year that The Economist has published a ranking of full-time MBA programmes. Our latest ranking is probably the most turbulent in that short history. Usually, schools move up or down just a few places year on year. This time around, however, swings have been wilder.

The main reason for this is the difficult job market. A school’s ability to open new career opportunities for its graduates and the salaries those graduates can expect to be paid have a combined weight of 55% in our ranking.

Rank	Institute	Country

1	University of Chicago - Booth School of Business	America
2	Dartmouth College - Tuck School of Business	America
3	University of California at Berkeley - Haas School of Business	America
4	Harvard Business School	America
5	IESE Business School - University of Navarra	Spain
6	IMD - International Institute for Management Development	Switzerland
7	Stanford Graduate School of Business	America
8	University of Pennsylvania - Wharton School	America
9	HEC School of Management, Paris	France
10	York University - Schulich School of Business	Canada
11	University of Virginia - Darden Graduate School of Business...	America
12	Columbia Business School	America
13	Massachusetts Institute of Technology - MIT Sloan School of Management	America
14	New York University - Leonard N Stern School of Business	America
15	Cranfield School of Management	Britain
16	Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management	America
17	Henley Business School	Britain
18	University of Southern California - Marshall School of Business	America
19	London Business School	Britain
20	ESADE Business School	Spain
21	Carnegie Mellon University - The Tepper School of Business	America
22	IE Business School	Spain
23	INSEAD	France
24	Yale School of Management	America
25	University of Michigan - Stephen M Ross School of Business	America
26	Mannheim Business School	Germany
27	Hult International Business School	America
28	Duke University - Fuqua School of Business	America
29	University of Bath School of Management	Britain
30	University of Cambridge - Judge Business School	Britain
31	University College Dublin - Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business	Ireland
32	University of Washington - Foster School of Business	America
33	Cornell University - Johnson Graduate School of Management	America
34	Warwick Business School	Britain
35	Indiana University - Kelley School of Business	America
36	Emory University - Goizueta Business School	America
37	UCLA Anderson School of Management	America
38	EMLYON	France
39	University of Notre Dame - Mendoza College of Business	America
40	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - Kenan-Flagler Business School	America
41	Rice University - Jesse H Jones Graduate School of Business	America
42	Boston University School of Management	America
43	University of Texas at Austin - McCombs School of Business	America
44	Melbourne Business School - University of Melbourne	Australia
45	Washington University in St Louis - Olin Business School	America
46	Vanderbilt University - Owen Graduate School of Management	America
47	Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School	Belgium
48	University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Business and Economics	Hong Kong
49	EDHEC Business School	France
50	Georgetown University - Robert Emmett McDonough School of Business	America
51	International University of Monaco	Monaco
52	Hong Kong University of Science and Technology - School of B...	Hong Kong
53	City University - Cass Business School	Britain
54	Wisconsin School of Business	America
55	Durham Business School	Britain
56	Pennsylvania State University - Smeal College of Business	America
57	Erasmus University - Rotterdam School of Management,	Netherlands
58	Monash University	Australia
59	Wake Forest University Schools of Business	America
60	University of California at Davis - Graduate School of Management	America
61	Manchester Business School	Britain
62	Grenoble Graduate School of Business	France
63	University of Minnesota - Carlson School of Management	America
64	Macquarie Graduate School of Management	Australia
65	SDA Bocconi School of Management	Italy
66	University of Iowa - Henry B Tippie School of Management	America
67	Ashridge	Britain
68	University of Birmingham - Birmingham Business School	Britain
69	Nanyang Business School - Nanyang Technological University	Singapore
70	Chinese University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
71	University of Oxford - Sa�d Business School	Britain
72	Audencia Nantes School of Management	France
73	George Washington University - School of Business	America
74	Aston Business School	Britain
75	University of Edinburgh Business School	Britain
76	Curtin Graduate School of Business	Australia
77	University of Strathclyde Business School	Britain
78	Southern Methodist University - Cox School of Business	America
79	University of British Columbia - Sauder School of Business	Canada
80	Thunderbird School of Global Management	America
81	University of Queensland Business School	Australia
82	University of Calgary - Haskayne School of Business	Canada
83	International University of Japan - Graduate School of International Management	Japan
84	National University of Singapore - The NUS Business School	Singapore
85	Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad	India
86	Tilburg University - TiasNimbas Business School	Netherlands
87	University of Georgia - Terry College of Business	America
88	EGADE-Tecnologico de Monterrey	Mexico
89	Lancaster University Management School	Britain
90	Purdue University - Krannert Graduate School of Management	America
91	Brandeis International Business School	America
92	University of South Carolina - Moore School of Business	America
93	University of Rochester - William E Simon Graduate School of Business	America
94	University of Pittsburgh - Katz Graduate School of Business	America
95	EADA	Spain
96	Concordia University - John Molson School of Business	Canada
97	Leeds University Business School	Britain
98	Copenhagen Business School	Denmark
99	University of Florida - Hough Graduate School of Business	America
100	China Europe International Business School (CEIBS)	China

The world in figures: Pakistan

GDP growth: 3.2%
GDP: $188bn (PPP: $487bn)
Inflation: 9.9%
Population: 189.6m
GDP per head: $992 (PPP: $2,570)

President Asif Ali Zardari is in danger of being washed away by discontent over his response to Pakistan’s worst-ever floods. Already weakened by reforms that draw power from the presidency, his decision to fly abroad rather than lead operations to relieve flood damage has left him deeply unpopular. The army’s energetic response to the crisis, in contrast, has enhanced its national standing—and may encourage it to have another crack at running the government. Flood damage to farmland will drive up food prices. Economic growth will fall to 3.2% from 4.4% in 2010.

Powering the tiger

GRABBING hot coals is usually a stupid thing to do. But investors who scrambled to buy shares in Coal India, a big state-run firm, thought their fingers safe enough. India’s biggest-ever initial public offering (IPO) was oversubscribed on its second day, October 19th. By selling 10% of its shares, the government raised about 150 billion rupees ($3.5 billion). The world’s largest coal producer, which extracted more than 430m tonnes last year, is one of India’s ten biggest firms by market value. Local newspapers crowed that India was now in the “IPO big league”.

Nearly everyone seems happy. The government has a trainload of cash. Neither unions nor demagogues made much fuss. Reform-minded officials may take this as a green light to carry on quietly privatising other state-run enterprises, albeit slowly. And a few more Indians are now retail investors, encouraged by a small discount on the share price.

Coal India’s prospects should also be bright. India’s accelerating economy is ravenously short of energy. With renewable fuels barely a flicker, the country will rely for decades on burning mountains of carbon. Coal India accounts for more than 80% of domestic production and controls 18 billion tonnes of reserves, most of India’s total. To expand, it plans to buy foreign mines and import more coal: it has set aside $1.2 billion for an overseas shopping trip, which may include pits in America, Australia and Indonesia.

However, the partially privatised Coal India could be much more productive. The firm used to be a sponge to soak up surplus east Indian labour. Its workforce has been cut by roughly a quarter in the past decade, but still numbers 400,000.

The firm relies heavily on vast open-cast mines but is running short of appropriate places to dig (at least without antagonising gun-toting Naxalite rebels, who plague much of rural India). It is also failing to extract coal from deeper seams. The coal it produces is mostly poor in quality and rich in ash; it should be washed before shipping to make it more efficient, but is not. India’s overloaded railways struggle to deliver enough coal to power stations. Government planners, rather than a market, allocate supplies and set prices and wages. As a result, coal that is nearly the world’s cheapest when dug up is nearly the priciest when it reaches a furnace.

This creaky system struggles to deliver the half-a-billion tonnes of coal that Indians demand each year. If that demand eventually triples, as some predict, Coal India may not cope. Reformers hope that private investment will bring sharper scrutiny and better management. A better idea would have been to break Coal India’s quasi-monopoly and let rival firms vie to deliver coal cheaply. That was politically impossible, however. Greens may cheer, but many of the 400m Indians who lack electricity today will be left in the dark for longer than necessary.

China's Clean Energy Strategy

Changsha, Hunan: New World Capital of Clean Energy ???

30 September 2010. By David Caploe PhD, Chief Political Economist, EconomyWatch.com. For a long time, Western, esp US, media’s main “story” re Chinese economy was its “undervalued” trade-un-balancing currency – a view we have consistently rejected as naïve & irrelevant. Now it is finally understanding the REAL story re the Chinese econ: its systematic, concerted drive – at all levels of govt – to become THE global leader in clean / green / high-technology. This effort has many aspects, some seeming “unfair” to Americans, but were in fact either pioneered, or used extensively, by US during its equivalent stage of econ growth in 19th century. Lost in the complaints are two key facts: a) both the immediate & end results of this process are going to be a healthier world environment, which will benefit the US – world’s largest per capita polluter, btw – as much as anyone; & b) several companies benefiting from Chinese govt action are AMERICAN, there because they were UNABLE to get similar forward-looking help from either banks or govt at home. What follows is an extensive look at how China is attempting to pull off an amazing feat that, while it will certainly benefit itself, will be of great value to the rest of the world as well.

Indian Economy: Engineering Weakness Serious Problem

5 October 2010. Despite India's rise as high-tech titan, w some of world’s best engineering minds, its full econ potential is stifled by potholed roadways, collapsing bridges, rickety railroads, & most of all, power grid so unreliable many modern office buildings run their own diesel generators to make sure lights & computers stay on. Problem is dearth of engineers — or at least civil engineers, w skill & expertise to make sure ambitious projects done on time & up to specifications. Civil engineering once elite occupation in India, during British colonial era of carving roads & laying train tracks, & long after independence as part of civil service. Today, tho, India’s best & brightest know there's more money & prestige writing software for foreign customers than building roadways for their nation. Preference 4 software over steel & concrete poses econ conundrum. Much-envied IT industry generates tens of 1000s of relatively well-paying jobs every year. But that lure heightens exodus of ppl qualified to build desperately-needed infrastructure 2 improve living conditions & bolster industries that require good highways & railroads > high-speed Internet links 2 West. One major obstacle to attracting more civil engineers is paltry entry-level pay.

US Gone Bad: Ugly Battle - TBTF Banks v Insurance Cos re NEITHER'S Due Diligence

Battle on Wall Street

Sad Symbol of Structural US Crisis

6 October 2010. By David Caploe PhD, Chief Political Economist, EconomyWatch.com. For long time, we have argued US enmeshed since 2000 in simultaneous crises in 6 major areas of public life: financial / economic / ideological / political / academic-intellectual / media. Thoroughgoing deterioration made clear by ugly fight between two TBTF groups: banks & insurance companies, arguing other shd pay for bad housing loans on which BOTH freely admit they consciously failed to do ANY due diligence. Even worse, each has found judges willing to buy their stories - even WITH admission of no due diligence. Story is pathetic, enraging, disgusting - & totally true. Sad indication of how once-great country has become an un-funny parody of its worst elements.