An Analysis of Working Capital Management Results Across Industries
Greg Filbeck. Schweser Study Program
Thomas M. Krueger. University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Abstract
Firms are able to reduce financing costs and/or increase the funds available for expansion by minimizing the amount of funds tied up in current assets. We provide insights into the performance of surveyed firms across key components of working capital management by using the CFO magazine’s annual Working Capital Management Survey. We discover that significant differences exist between industries in working capital measures across time. In addition. we discover that these measures for working capital change significantly within industries across time.
Introduction
The importance of efficient working capital management is indisputable. Working capital is the difference between resources in cash or readily convertible into cash (Current Assets) and organizational commitments for which cash will soon be required (Current Liabilities). The objective of working capital management is to maintain the optimum balance of each of the working capital components. Business viability relies on the ability to effectively manage receivables. inventory. and payables. Firms are able to reduce financing costs and/or increase the funds available for expansion by minimizing the amount of funds tied up in current assets. Much managerial effort is expended in bringing non-optimal levels of current assets and liabilities back toward optimal levels. An optimal level would be one in which a balance is achieved between risk and efficiency.
A recent example of business attempting to maximize working capital management is the recurrent attention being given to the application of Six Sigma? methodology. Six Sigma? methodologies help companies measure and ensure quality in all areas of the enterprise. When used to identify and rectify discrepancies. inefficiencies and erroneous transactions in the financial supply chain. Six Sigma? reduces Days Sales Outstanding (DSO). accelerates the payment cycle. improves customer satisfaction and reduces the necessary amount and cost of working capital needs. There appear to be many success stories. including Jennifer Towne’s (2002) r eport of a 15 percent decrease in days that sales are outstanding. resulting in an increased cash flow of approximately $2 million at Thibodaux Regional Medical Center. Furthermore. bad debts declined from $3.4 million to $600.000. However. Waxer’s (2003) study of multiple firms employing Six Sigma? finds that it is really a “get rich slow” technique with a rate of return hovering in the 1.2 – 4.5 percent range.
Even in a business using Six Sigma? methodology. an “optimal” level of working capital management needs to be identified.
Even in a business using Six Sigma? methodology. an “optimal” level of working capital management needs to be identified. Industry factors may impact firm credit policy. inventory management. and bill-paying activities. Some firms may be better suited to minimize receivables and inventory. while others maximize payables. Another aspect of “optimal” is the extent to which poor financial results can be tied to sub-optimal performance. Fortunately. these issues are testable with data published by CFO magazine. which claims to be the source of “tools and information for the financial executive.” and are the subject of this research.
In addition to providing mean and variance values for the working capital measures and the overall metric. two issues will be addressed in this research. One research question is. “are firms within a particular industry clustered together at consistent levels of working capital measures?” For instance. are firms in one industry able to quickly transfer sales into cash. while firms from another industry tend to have high sales levels for the particular level of inventory . The other research question is. “does working capital management performance for firms within a given industry change from year-to-year?”
The following section presents a brief literature review. Next. the research method is described. including some information about the annual Working Capital Management Survey published by CFO magazine. Findings are then presented and conclusions are drawn.
Related Literature
The importance of working capital management is not new to the finance literature. Over twenty years ago. Largay and Stickney (1980) reported that the then-recent bankruptcy of W.T. Grant. a nationwide chain of department stores. should have been anticipated because the corporation had been running a deficit cash flow from operations for eight of the last ten years of its corporate life. As part of a study of the Fortune 500’s financial management practices. Gilbert and Reichert (1995) find that accounts receivable management models are used in 59 percent of these firms to improve working capital projects. while inventory management models were used in 60 percent of the companies. More recently. Farragher. Kleiman and Sahu (1999) find that 55 percent of firms in the S&P Industrial index complete some form of a cash flow assessment. but did not present insights regarding accounts receivable and inventory management. or the variations of any current asset accounts or liability accounts across industries. Thus. mixed evidence exists concerning the use of working capital management techniques.
Theoretical determination of optimal trade credit limits are the subject of many articles over the years (e.g.. Schwartz 1974; Scherr 1996). with scant attention paid to actual accounts receivable management. Across a limited
sample. Weinraub and Visscher (1998) observe a tendency of firms with low levels of current ratios to also have low levels of current liabilities. Simultaneously investigating accounts receivable and payable issues. Hill. Sartoris. and Ferguson (1984) find differences in the way payment dates are defined. Payees define the date of payment as the date payment is received. while payors view payment as the postmark date. Additional WCM insight across firms. industries. and time can add to this body of research.
Maness and Zietlow (2002. 51. 496) presents two models of value creation that incorporate effective short-term financial management activities. However. these models are generic models and do not consider unique firm or industry influences. Maness and Zietlow discuss industry influences in a short paragraph that includes the observation that. “An industry a company is located in may have more influence on that company’s fortun es than overall GNP” (2002. 507). In fact. a careful review of this 627-page textbook finds only sporadic information on actual firm levels of WCM dimensions. virtually nothing on industry factors except for some boxed items with titles such as. “Should a Retailer Offer an In-House Credit Card” (128) and nothing on WCM stability over time. This research will attempt to fill this void by investigating patterns related to working capital measures within industries and illustrate differences between industries across time.
An extensive survey of library and Internet resources provided very few recent reports about working capital management. The most relevant set of articles was Weisel and Bradley’s (2003) article on cash flow management and one of inventory control as a result of effective supply chain management by Hadley (2004).
Research Method
The CFO Rankings
The first annual CFO Working Capital Survey. a joint project with REL Consultancy Group. was published in the June 1997 issue of CFO (Mintz and Lezere 1997). REL is a London. England-based management consulting firm specializing in working capital issues for its global list of clients. The original survey reports several working capital benchmarks for public companies using data for 1996. Each company is ranked against its peers and also against the entire field of 1.000 companies. REL continues to update the original information on an annual basis.
REL uses the “cash flow from operations” value located on firm cash flow statements to estimate cash conversion efficiency (CCE). This value indicates how well a company transforms revenues into cash flow. A “days of working capital” (DWC) value is based on the dollar amount in each of the aggregate. equally-weighted receivables. inventory. and payables ac counts. The “days of working capital” (DNC) represents the time period between purchase of inventory on acccount from vendor until the sale to the customer. the collection of the receivables. and payment receipt. Thus. it reflects the company’s ability to finance its core operations with vendor credit. A detailed
investigation of WCM is possible because CFO also provides firm and industry values for days sales outstanding (A/R). inventory turnover. and days payables outstanding (A/P).
Research Findings
Average and Annual Working Capital Management Performance Working capital management component definitions and average values for the entire 1996 – 2000 period . Across the nearly 1.000 firms in the survey. cash flow from operations. defined as cash flow from operations divided by sales and referred to as “cash conversion efficiency” (CCE). averages 9.0 percent. Incorporating a 95 percent confidence interval. CCE ranges from 5.6 percent to 12.4 percent. The days working capital (DWC). defined as the sum of receivables and inventories less payables divided by daily sales. averages 51.8 days and is very similar to the days that sales are outstanding (50.6). because the inventory turnover rate (once every 32.0 days) is similar to the number of days that payables are outstanding (32.4 days). In all instances. the standard deviation is relatively small. suggesting that these working capital management variables are consistent across CFO reports.
Industry Rankings on Overall Working Capital Management Performance
CFO magazine provides an overall working capital ranking for firms in its survey. using the following equation:Industry-based differences in overall working capital management are presented for the twenty-six industries that had at least eight companies included in the rankings each year. In the typical year. CFO magazine ranks 970 companies during this period. Industries are listed in order of the mean overall CFO ranking of working capital performance. Since the best average ranking possible for an eight-company industry is 4.5 (this assumes that the eight companies are ranked one through eight for the entire survey). it is quite obvious that all firms in the petroleum industry must have been receiving very high overall working capital management rankings. In fact. the petroleum industry is ranked first in CCE and third in DWC (as illustrated in Table 5 and discussed later in this paper). Furthermore. the petroleum industry had the lowest standard deviation of working capital rankings and range of working capital rankings. The only other industry with a mean overall ranking less than 100 was the Electric & Gas Utility industry. which ranked second in CCE and fourth in DWC. The two industries with the worst working capital rankings were Textiles and Apparel. Textiles rank twenty-second in CCE and twenty-sixth in DWC. The apparel industry ranks twenty-third and twenty-fourth in the two working capital measures
Conclusions
The research presented here is based on the annual ratings of working capital management published in CFO magazine. Our findings indicate a consistency in how industries “stack up” against each other over time with respect to the working capital measures. However. the working capital
measures themselves are not static (i.e.. averages of working capital measures across all firms change annually); our results indicate significant movements across our entire sample over time. Our findings are important because they provide insight to working capital performance across time. and on working capital management across industries. These changes may be in explained in part by macroeconomic factors. Changes in interest rates. rate of innovation. and competition are likely to impact working capital management. As interest rates rise. there would be less desire to make payments early. which would stretch accounts payable. accounts receivable. and cash accounts.
The ramifications of this study include the finding of distinct levels of WCM measures for different industries. which tend to be stable over time. Many factors help to explain this discovery. The improving economy during the period of the study may have resulted in improved turnover in some industries. while slowing turnover may have been a signal of troubles ahead. Our results should be interpreted cautiously. Our study takes places over a short time frame during a generally improving market. In addition. the survey suffers from survivorship bias – only the top firms within each industry are ranked each year and the composition of those firms within the industry can change annually.
Further research may take one of two lines. First. there could be a study of whether stock prices respond to CFO magazine’s publication of working capital management ratings. Second. there could be a study of which. if any. of the working capital management components relate to share price performance. Given our results. these studies need to take industry membership into consideration when estimating stock price reaction to working capital management performance.
外文翻译:
对整个行业中营运资金管理的研究
格雷格Filbeck.Schweser学习计划
托马斯M克鲁格.威斯康星大学拉克罗斯摘要:
企业能够降低融资成本或者尽量减少绑定在流动资产上的成立基金数额来用于扩大现有的资金。我们提供了在调查公司时出具报告中的关键组成部分，调查公司营运资金管理的报告是运用首席财务官杂志的年度资金管理的调查报告。我们发现，行业间的明显差异存在于跨时资金的工作措施上。此外，这些措施在企业营运资金管理中实施后有了显著改变。
导言
高效率的营运资金管理的重要性是不容置疑的。营运资金是资源或随时兑换成现金（流动资产）和即将的现金需要（流动负债）之间的差额。营运资金管理的目标是维持周转的流动资产和流动负债都达到最佳平衡。商业可行性的能力依赖于有效的应收账款、库存和应付帐款的管理。企业能够降低融资成本或增加通过最小化绑定在流动资产上的成立基金数额的资金用于扩大现有。太多的管理工作是消耗在带动流动资产和负债水平回到最佳水平。最理想的水平是达到在风险和效率之间的平衡。
一个最近企业的例子是其试图最大限度地运用营运资金管理。这就是经常受到重视的六西格玛方法的应用。六西格玛方法适用于企业涉及所有范围，能帮助公司测量和保证质量。当前这个方法用来识别和纠正错误的交易效率差异及财务供应链。六西格玛方法减少每天天销售最杰出，以达到加速支付周期、提高顾客满意度、降低成本的数量和流动资金的需求。似乎有许多成功的事例，包括珍妮汤的（2002）的关于销售天数减少了百分之十五的优秀的销售报告。造成的结果是在蒂博多万区域医疗中心产生的现金流量增加了大约200万美元。此外，坏帐从340万美元下降到60万美元。然而，外克瑟的(2003)研究多个公司雇用六西格玛发现它确实是一个“缓慢致富”技术与回报率悬停在1.2%-4.5%的范围。
即使在一个业务中使用.六西格玛方法论的“最佳”的营运资金管理需要被确认
即使在一个业务中使用，六西格玛方法论的“最佳”的营运资金管理需要被确认。行业因素可能会影响企业的信贷政策、库存管理和账单支付活动。一些公司可能会更适合尽量减少应收账款和存货，而其他则适应应付款最大化。“最优”
的另一个方面是槽糕的财务成果却是使用了最优性能。幸运的是，这些问题是可
测试的并被首席财务官杂志所发表。这声称是“工具的来源和财务主管信息”即是本研究的主题。
除了提供均值和营运资金的措施和整体度量。这两个问题将在本研究处其理差异值。一个研究问题是：“在特殊产业内的企业一起采用同样的的营运资金管理措施就能使其的水平一致吗？”例如，在同一行业的企业能够迅速转化为现金销售（即有占应收水平低）。而来自其他行业的企业往往有较高的销售水平。特别是库存水平（即存货周转率高）。另一个研究问题是，“企业营运资金管理能否对企业绩效在行业内逐年改变起做作用？”
以下部分提供了一个简短的文献回顾。对下一步研究方法进行了介绍，包括一些有关这个一年一度的营运资金管理及财务官杂志公布的调查。调查是再提出和结论。
相关文献
营运资金管理的重要性在于它并不是新的金融文学。20多年前，斯蒂克尼（1980）报告说。当时的小波格兰特的全国连锁百货公司相继破产，应该是因为公司经营了最后10年里经营里有8年的经营赤字，这早就作为一个世界500强的财务管理实践研究的一部分。吉尔伯特和锐彻(1995)发现应收账款的管理模式在使用后，有百分之五十九的公司提高营运资金项目，而库存管理模型应用于百分之六十的公司。最近，法瑞芬.克莱曼和萨胡（1999年）发现百分之五十五的公司中，标准普尔工业指数完成是某种形式的现金流量的评估，但并未提出关于应收账款和存货管理的见解，或任何流动资产的变化帐户或各行业现有资产负债账户的变化。因此，混合证据表明有关营运资金管理技术的使用。
优化贸易信贷限额理论是多年来自许多文章的主题（例如，施瓦茨1974年，谢尔1996年）注重实际的应收账款的管理。通过有限的样本，温劳布和菲斯海尔(1998)观察到的趋势是目前比率低的公司也有低水平的流动负债。同时调查应收账款和应付账款的问题。希尔·萨尔托里斯和弗格森（1984年）发现方式付款日期的不同的定义。收款人定义付款日期为收到货款的日期，而付款人查看付款日期的邮戳，额外的协作平台了解各企业、行业和时间能够增加这方面的研究机构。
玛尼思和泽特罗（2002年）提供了两个价值创造的模式。纳入有效的短期的财务管理活动。但是，这些模型都是通用的模型并没有考虑独特的企业或行业的影响。玛尼思和泽特罗谈论一小段产业影响包括那些“一个工业公司可能有更多的财富”公司可能影响整体国民生产总值。事实上，发现只有在实际的层面的营运资金管理的公司有各级零星资料。几乎任何事物除了一些游戏项目，如盒装行业因素。“如果商家提供了一个内部的信用卡”。随着时间的推移，没有什么能影响营运资金管理稳定性。这项研究将试图完善调查有关工作措施以填补行业内资金模式这一空白，并说明说明行业间的跨时差异。
一个对图书馆和网络资源进行广泛的调查得到了很少的最新报告是关于营
运资金管理。最相关的文章是卫瑟和布拉德利的(2003)现金流量管理和库存管理作为一种有效的供应链管理的途径(2004)。
研究方法
第一次年度首席财务官营运资金管理的调查。与REL顾问组的联合项目，发表在1997年6月首席财务官杂志上。REL是英国伦敦为基础的管理咨询公司，专门从事于流动资金问题的服务，面向全球的客户。原来的调查报告的营运资金运用数据的上市公司的标准为1996年。每家公司对其同行的排名是针对整个领域的1000家公司.REL继续更新以前年度基础上的原始资料。
REL使用的业务“现金流”的价值是对企业现金流量表作用于估计现金转换效率（CCE）的。此值表示公司如何转化现金流收入，一个“天的营运资金”价值是基于金额之和，即每个应收账款、库存、应付帐款帐户之和。“日营运资金”
代表一个时期购买存货从供应商到销售给客户之间收集的应收账款、付款收据。因此，它反映了公司的核心融资业务能力与供应商信用。一份详细的调查营运资金管理是可能的反应出来的。因为公司首席财务官也提供产业价值、工业销售优秀(天/ R)、存货周转、应付款优秀(天/ P)。
研究发现
年平均周转和管理绩效
营运资金管理部分的定义和整个96年至00年期间的平均值。在整个调查中近1000家的经营活动产生现金流。现金除以销售的作业流程被称为“现金转换效率”（CCE）的。平均九个百分点到百分之九十五的信心区间中，从5.6%至12.4%消费支出超出范围。日营运资金（DWC）作为应收款和库存较少除以每日销售的应付款项，平均51.8天或非常相似的日子则为销售的优秀（50.6）。在所有情况下，标准差相对较小，这表明这些营运资金的管理工作的变量都是和首席财务官的报告是一致的。
行业排名整体工作性能影响资金管理
首席财务官杂志提供了一个其调查公司间的整体营运资金的排名。使用下列公式：在进行整体营运资金管理的差异比较行业中前26名。至少有八家公司在每年的排名中出现。在典型的年份中，首席财务官杂志在此期间970公司的排名。列出的平均周转性能整体的工业企业中在首席财务官杂志中的排名顺序。由于最佳的平均排名中8个最可能的公司在行业中是4.5（这个假设的8家公司的排名是通过八个整体调查之一）。但很显然，在石油行业的所有企业必须有非常高的整体营运资金管理的排名。事实上，石油行业是排名第一的现金转换效率和第三名的日营运资金。另外，石油工业的最低标准偏差范围的排名和营运资金流动资金的排名。其他行业唯一的平均总体排名低于100是电和煤气公用行业。他们现金转换效率排名第二，日营运资金排名第四。这两个行业最大的资金排行
是纺织品和服装，纺织品排名第二十二的消费支出和第二十六位营运资金。服装行业排名第二十三和第二十四在两个采取的流动资金的措施。
结论
这里的研究是根据营运资金管理公司的首席财务官杂志公布年度评级为基础。我们的研究结果表明：在产业“较量”中随着时间的推移，越来越受重视的营运资金管理的措施。然而，周转措施本身不是静态的（即平均流动资金措施在所有的企业每年的变化）；我们的结果表明，随着时间的推移我们整个样本有着重要的运动。我们的研究结果非常重要，因为它们提供洞察力。工作时间在资金上的表现，针对各个行业营运资金的管理。这些变化可能是解释部分的宏观经济因素、利率的变化、创新的速度和竞争有可能影响营运资金管理。由于利率上升，将有较少的愿望早日付款。这将延伸到应付帐款、应收帐款、现金帐户，这项研究的影响，包括对不同层次的营运资金管理措施。不同的行业往往会随着时间的推移而得出稳定的结论。许多因素有助于解释这一发现，提高经济时期的研究可能导致在一些行业的营业额提高销售额，也可能是一个困难的信号。我们的结果应该小心谨慎的解释。本研究以在普遍地方在短时间框架内的市场改善。此外，调查遭受生存威胁的顶级公司偏移在每个行业排名和组成。每年的那些公司在行业排位可以改变。
进一步研究可以采取方法两种之一。首先，可能会有一个研究是关于是否股票价格对首席财务官杂志的出版关于流动资金管理等级的排名有影响。第二，有可能是一个研究关于如果任何营运资金管理的措施，涉及到股票的价格时的表现。由于我们的研究结果，这些研究需要考虑到行业的成员在预测股票价格的反应及营运资金管理的性能。
来自:An Analysis of Working Capital Management Results Across Industries[J].Thomas M. Krueger.2005：10-18.
An Analysis of Working Capital Management Results Across Industries Greg Filbeck. Schweser Study Program Thomas M. Krueger. University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Abstract Firms are able to reduce financing costs and/or increase the funds available for expansion by minimizing the amount of funds tied up in current assets. We provide insights into the performance of surveyed firms across key components of working capital management by using the CFO magazine’s annual Working Capital Management Survey. We discover that significant differences exist between industries in working capital measures across time. In addition. we discover that these measures for working capital change significantly within industries across time. Introduction The importance of efficient working capital management is indisputable. Working capital is the difference between resources in cash or readily convertible into cash (Current Assets) and organizational commitments for which cash will soon be required (Current Liabilities). The objective of working capital management is to maintain the optimum balance of each of the working capital components. Business viability relies on the ability to effectively manage receivables. inventory. and payables. Firms are able to reduce financing costs and/or increase the funds available for expansion by minimizing the amount of funds tied up in current assets. Much managerial effort is expended in bringing non-optimal levels of current assets and liabilities back toward optimal levels. An optimal level would be one in which a balance is achieved between risk and efficiency. A recent example of business attempting to maximize working capital management is the recurrent attention being given to the application of Six Sigma? methodology. Six Sigma? methodologies help companies measure and ensure quality in all areas of the enterprise. When used to identify and rectify discrepancies. inefficiencies and erroneous transactions in the financial supply chain. Six Sigma? reduces Days Sales Outstanding (DSO). accelerates the payment cycle. improves customer satisfaction and reduces the necessary amount and cost of working capital needs. There appear to be many success stories. including Jennifer Towne’s (2002) report of a 15 percent decrease in days that sales are outstanding. resulting in an increased cash flow of approximately $2 million at Thibodaux Regional Medical Center. Furthermore. bad debts declined from $3.4 million to $600.000. However. Waxer’s (2003) study of multiple firms employing Six Sigma? finds that it is really a “get rich slow” technique with a rate of return hovering in the 1.2 – 4.5 percent range. Even in a business using Six Sigma? methodology. an “optimal” level of working capital management needs to be identified. Even in a business using Six Sigma? methodology. an “optimal” level of working capital management needs to be identified. Industry factors may impact firm
企业物流外包外文翻译文献 (文档含英文原文和中文翻译) 物流外包——确保一个组织竞争优势的一种手段 摘要 物流方式表明将交付供应链中的独立单位整合成一个统一的系统的目标，完成结果所需的时间和资源的损失降到最小的材料和信息流动的直接管理。 一个最新方法的实施为公司的物流管理提供更多的成效，这个方法就是外包。物流外包带来诸多好处，如：减少库存、减少订单的交货时间、提高运输质
量、扩大生产的灵活性、降低生产成本和加速资金周转等。这保证了较低的生产成本和更好的质量交付，这是一个决定性的竞争优势。物流外包的应用有利于资源的合理配置，这是公司拥有的独特的竞争优势。 因此，物流外包将作为一种手段应用于公司的物流运输中，以确保一个组织的竞争优势。 关键词：外包，物流，供应商 1.简介 竞争优势，与不断增长的全球化和创新，开始逐渐失去其创意和新的竞争优势，在前端的灵活性，订单到交货时间减少，可靠的高质量的交付，和选择的机会。在竞争领域，厂家的能力加入其生产过程和系统的规划与个人消费者的喜好，将是一个的决定性的因素。只有通过建立灵活的生产管理系统，与个别客户订单问题的解决方案才是可能的。企业为什么要搞物流外包?它的紧迫性在哪里?物流外包与传统意义上的外委、外协有何本质区别?我们的企业离物流外包还远吗?这不仅是理论界要回答的问题，更是企业界应认真思考的问题。谈到物流外包必定涉及供应链和第三方的发展，涉及到现代物流的发展方向，更涉及企业的核心竞争力。理论界对这一点的认识显得有些浮躁，而企业对此的认识比较滞后。目前大多数企业守候在自营物流那片天地，真正搞物流外包的不到20%，并且不规范、不系统。尽管现在物流炒得很热，但企业对物流外包重要性的认识依然很浅。调查表明，湖南有82%的企业对现代物流的认识模糊，大多把货物运输或货代等同于现代物流;有54%的企业至今未有发展物流的计划或设想，更没有把重构内部供应链和发展物流外包提上议事日程，看来还需要更多的示范、引导，更多的宣传、培训和更多的市场培育。 首先，它需要的新的或最新的概念，如CFM（以客户为中心的制造），SCM（供应链管理），基于相同的概念作为企业资源规划（ERP），客户关系管理技术，生产管理的实施（客户关系管理）等，也将要求供应处理，物流中介机构的互动为基础的生产和有效的分配同步。 其次，它在微观和宏观层面上是一个必要的优化运输系统。复杂的运输基础设施的发展是基于标准化的商品，货物，运输方式，装卸货物，交货速度，拓宽道路和铁路网络，完善的售后服务维修。 第三，信息交流起着越来越重要的作用。工业企业在信息领域的互动，使信息可以以正确的形式被查阅，在合适的时间，通过正确的当局和真实类型，防止
企业创新战略外文翻译文献(文档含中英文对照即英文原文和中文翻译) 翻译之一： Choosing an innovation strategy: theory and practice Author：Joseph T. Gilbert Nationality：America Derivation：Business Horizons, Nov-Dec, 1994 Innovations come as both inventions and adoptions. They come in many types and vary greatly in complexity and scope. Companies attempting to
make a profit cannot continue for long periods without innovating. If they try, their customers will leave them for firms with more up-to-date products or services. It is an observed fact that different companies take different approaches to the use of innovation in attempting to improve their performance. Both academic and practitioner publications in recent years have contained a great deal of writing about innovation, the subjects of which have ranged from comparisons of national patterns of innovation to studies of individual innovations. However, little has been published regarding one issue of both theoretical and practical importance: the innovation policy or strategy of individual firms. Business strategy as a field of study is concerned with how a company competes in its chosen business. It deals with the analysis of a firm's strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities and threats presented by the firm's environment. Strategy looks toward consistent execution of broad plans to achieve certain levels of performance. Innovation strategy determines to what degree and in what way a firm attempts to use innovation to execute its business strategy and improve its performance. To choose an innovation strategy, managers might logically start by thinking about various kinds of innovations and their requirements. We shall discuss three major features of innovation, and analyze each in terms of distinct opposites, even though innovations found in the real world more often appear at various points between these opposites. Innovation is sometimes used in a limited sense to refer only to inventions (products, services, or administrative procedures that no other firm has introduced). More often, however, it applies in a more general sense that includes both invention as described above and imitation (adoption by a firm of a product, service, or administrative procedure that is not an invention but is new to that firm). We use the term in this second sense. Innovations can be characterized in a variety of ways. In the following
期末论文 院系 专业班级 学号 学生姓名 成绩评定
管理原则 也许在那些关于管理者这门学科的书中有许多关于管理的定义。许多定义是相对扼要和简单化的。一位早期的学者将它定义为“清楚地知道你想让人们去做什么，然后看着他们以最好最廉价的方式去完成它”。管理实际上是一个非常复杂的过程——远远比那些定义让我们知道的要复杂得多。因此，我们要建立一种管理的定义，从而能更好地了解这过程的实质。 管理是在一定的环境条件下通过对人员技术和资金等资源的利用和协调去设立和完成某一个组织目标的过程。这个过程有若干个核心包括计划和决策，组织，人员，领导，管理和控制。所有从事于这些工作的负责人在更大或更小的程度上都依赖于他们所承担的特殊的责任。当谈论管理的定义时，我们不应该忽略管理的原则。 管理的最基本原则在文明诞生时就存在了。当人们第一次开始群居生活和首次提高他们的生活质量时它就存在了。2500年前，巴比伦国王尼布甲尼撒二世决定把他的沙漠王国变成绿洲去取悦他的妻子。在公元前6世纪，尼布甲尼撒二世耗尽了国家财政部的金钱，雇佣劳动者和技术人员利用有限的资源建造一个宫殿，建造了完善的管网系统，把当地河流的水输送到皇宫里。当工程完成后，他在平台上种植漂亮稀有的花草树木。巴比伦的空中花园改变了这座城市。 尼布甲尼撒二世制定了一个目标。他要把沙漠中的主要城市变成绿洲。他利用和协调人员，技术和金钱去完成这一目标。他从王室金库中获得的资金去雇佣民工和技师并从附近地区购买材料。他在这种只能提供原始水管装置，建筑技术以及只能从茫茫沙漠中取得有限的材料的环境下完成了目标。最终，每个人在这个工程商所付出的努力创造了世界七大奇观之一。 2500年前，人们完成某项巨大的任务所运用的管理过程与如今运用的基本原理相似，管理者在执行这个过程是将它分成了5个部分。 这篇文章的主旨在于表达有关管理过程的一些观点和如何将它运用到我们所面临的不同的情况中去。你们所要学习的管理原则是指指导管理者的宗旨，原则或者是组织规范。他们会提供一个行动框架，为了有效的使用他们，一个人必须培养和使用技能的决策。理智决策是识别某个问题或机会，找到可行的方法去处理它并选择最好的方法的过程。因此，决策是最重要的管理活动。管理者必须决定去实施管理的每个功能以及每种情况所需要采取的相应的原则。 在这一点上，我们对于管理必须有两点最基本的理解。首先，在特定的环境下运用各种资源设立完成目标。第二，为了确保组织的成功，组织者必须满足他的技术要求，行政要求和责任制度。尽管这听起来很简单，但这两个原则却经过了几个世纪的发展才形成的。之后将要提到的所有原则都是随着时间的推移从各种来源中汲取的。一些原则来源于各人的直觉，然而其他的则反映了组织中那些成功企业家，著名商业巨子或者是富有创新精神的工作者的经验。直到十九世纪，直觉和经验仍是管理原则的基本来源 尽管本能和直觉曾经是商业管理的基础，但现在创业者创立新的企业经常以他们的直觉进行管理。在十九世纪70年代至80年代的电脑产业中，对技术很精通，但对管理知之甚少的企业家成立了数以百计的硬件和软件公司，一些存活下来，更多的则不是。许多公司开始发展得好是得益于创
物流规划中英文对照外文翻译文献(文档含英文原文和中文翻译)
设施规划 引言 设施规划在过去的十年间已经被赋予了全新的意义。在过去，设施规划一般被认为是一门科学。而在当今竞争激烈的全球市场，设施规划成为了一种策略。政府、教育机构和企业已经不再单独相互竞争，现在这些实体或企业将彼此联合为合作企业、组织协会，并最终合成为供应链，将客户纳入到整个供应链过程以保持竞争力。 这些年来设施规划问题一直是一个热门话题。尽管它已拥有很悠久的历史，但在目前的出版物、会议以及研究中，设施规划仍是最受欢迎的科目之一。设施规划的处理已经从清单式或者菜单式的方法发展到了高度复杂的数学建模。在本文中，我们使用了一个实用的设施规划方法，其利用了实证以及同时包含传统和现代概念的分析方法。值得提及的是，在本文中拥有很广泛的设施规划应用示例。例如，这本书的内容可以适用于一个新医院,一个装配部门,一个已有的仓库,或者一个机场的行李部的规划。无论问题是发生在医院、生产工厂、配送中心、机场、零售商店、学校、银行、还是办公室或者这些设施的任何部分；无论是在一个发达国家的现代化设施还是在一个发展中国家的过时设施中，本文给出的材料在进行规划时都非常有用。重要的是要认识到现代设施规划中将设施当作是一个动态的实体，一个成功的设施规划方案的关键因素是其适应性以及适合全新应用的能力。 设施规划的定义 当今的设施规划必须能够帮助组织实现供应链的优越性。实现供应链的优越性是一个有六个步骤、或者说六个等级的过程。一如既往，这些步骤与优越性、可见性、协同性、综合性、敏捷性等联系在一起。 当一家公司最大化供应链的各个功能（采购-制造-运输-储存-销售），个体部门（如金融、市场营销、销售、采购、信息技术、研发、生产、分配和人力资源等部门）的目标就是要成为公司最好的部门。组织的有效性不是重点，每个组
【多选题】(3分) 哪些活动属于资金运用的经济活动？AC A. 投资活动 B. 筹资活动 C. 经营活动 D. 理财活动 正确 查看答案解析 本题总得分：3分 2 【多选题】(3分) 在广义的营业观下，哪些属于营业活动的收益？( AD ) A. 公允价值变动损失 B. 营业外收入 C. 非流动资产处置损失 D. 投资收益 正确 查看答案解析 本题总得分：3分
【多选题】(3分) 哪些资金是通过筹资活动筹集来的资金？BC A. 应付职工薪酬 B. 长期借款 C. 股东增加投资 D. 应付账款 正确 查看答案解析 本题总得分：3分 4 【单选题】(3分) 应付账款属于企业通过筹资活动获得的资金错 A. 对 B. 错 正确 查看答案解析 本题总得分：3分 5 【单选题】(3分) 复星医药2012年利润较2006年利润有大幅增长，主要得益于投资活动创造了更多利润对
A. 对 B. 错 正确 1 【多选题】(3分) 在计算企业营业活动所运用的总资金时，以下哪些项目应该从总资产中扣除？AC A. 应付职工薪酬 B. 长期借款 C. 应付账款 D. 短期借款 正确 查看答案解析 本题总得分：3分 2 【单选题】(3分) 以下哪些指标属于反映企业财务风险的动态指标？C A. 流动比率 B. 速动比率
C. 财务杠杆系数 D. 资产负债率 正确 查看答案解析 本题总得分：3分 3 【单选题】(3分) 按照资金运用的投向分类，资金可以划分为经营活动资金和投资活动资金。对 A. 对 B. 错 正确 查看答案解析 本题总得分：3分 4 【单选题】(3分) 在财务数据相同的两个企业中，如果其中一个企业为满足业务活动所需的资金有更强的筹资保障能力，则这个企业财务风险水平更高。错 A. 对 B. 错 正确 查看答案解析 本题总得分：3分 5
营销策略外文翻译文献 (文档含中英文对照即英文原文和中文翻译)
译文: 营销策略 内容提要：为了组织的销售能是成功的，它需要根据一个营销策略计划来帮助保证其努力的目标和宗旨与市场的需要想吻合。营销策略审查市场以确定潜在顾客的需要，竞争者的战略和市场地位，并且尝试制定出一套能使组织在市场上获取或维护竞争优势的相关战略。有一些因素会对营销策略计划的发展造成冲击性的影响，它包括内部因素例如组织的财产、技能和组织文化，外在因素例如各种各样的市场驱动者、市场或产业运作方式、战略窗口和竞争的本质。一个优选的营销策略计划也需具备一套意外情况防备策略以应对市场治理及组织生产能力的不确定性。 关键词：竞争优势竞争策略市场地位市场份额营销销售计划组织文化营销策略 营销策略简述 无论组织的产品或服务多么好，除非它们的价值能被传达给潜在的顾客，否则组织依然无法实现它的使命。这种传达和交流是组织内市场营销功能的职责。根据美国市场协会，营销是“一个组织效能和一套创造过程、交流和传达产品价值给顾客、处理与顾客关系的有益于组织和它的利益共享者的方式”。营销作用包括相辅相成的两方面。营销策略在市场上审查市场来确定潜在顾客和竞争者本质的需要，并且试图开发
出在市场上将使组织获取或维护竞争优势的战略。操作的营销被建立在营销策略作用和贯彻各种各样的计划和策略(包括适当的混合营销的发展)吸引顾客和促进顾客忠实的基础之上的。 产品和服务营销的方法 有很多的方式能用来销售你的产品或服务包括做广告，直接响应、推销活动和宣传。然而，除非你能了解顾客、市场和产业的需要并且竞争的优势和劣势，否则这些方法是不太可能成功的。营销策略帮助一个组织尖化它的焦点和在市场顺利地竞争。营销策略与二个组分有关：目标市场和用最佳的方式传达你的产品价值或服务到那个市场。一个可实行的销售方针的发展取决于几个关键维度。首先，与组织之内的所有全球性战略一样，一个成功的销售方针需要由在组织之内的最高管理层签名。销售方针本质上也具有政治性的色彩：在组织之内的强有力的单位在最佳的销售方针也许不同意，并且协议也许需要谈判达成。销售方针也许受组织文化的也影响，并且那得假定这发生。例如，如果组织总是销售它的装饰物给商业主管，它也许就看不到组织之内的低层人员甚至是成人或少年的个人消费潜力。 实施战略销售计划发展的因素 存在一些能冲击战略销售计划发展的因素，这些因素首先包括组织已经拥有或它可能欣然获取的财产和技能。例如，如果组织拥有一个重大编程的部门，就为它能做和销售应用软件提供了可行性的条件。然而，如果这些人员已经在其他工作介入并且不能自由研究一个新的软件项目，并且组织没能力聘用另外的程序员，起始一条新的软件线是不妥当
中英文对照外文翻译文献 (文档含英文原文和中文翻译) 原文： Effects Of Working Capital Management On Sme Profitability The corporate finance literature has traditionally focused on the study of long-term financial decisions. Researchers have particularly offered studies analyzing investments, capital structure, dividends or company valuation, among other topics. But the investment that firms make in short-term assets, and the resources used with maturities of under one year, represent the main share of items on a firm’s balance sheet. In fact, in our sample the current assets of small and medium-sized Spanish firms represent 69.48 percent of their assets, and at the same time their current liabilities represent more than 52.82 percent of their liabilities. Working capital management is important because of its effects on the firm’s profitability and risk, and consequently its value (Smith, 1980). On the one hand, maintaining high inventory levels reduces the cost of possible interruptions in the production process, or of loss of business due to the scarcity of products, reduces
A FIELD STUDY:SMALL MANUFACTURING COMPANIES In this section, the implementation of the proposed Integrated ABC-EVA System at two small manufacturing companies is presented. The managers of the companies wished for their company names to remain anonymous. T herefore, they will be referred to as “Company X” and “Company Y” from here on. Prior to the field study, both companies were using traditional costing systems. The overhead was allocated to product lines based on direct labor hours. In both companies, managers felt that their traditional costing systems were not able to provide reliable cost information. 1 Company X Company X, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was a small manufacturing company with approximately 30 employees. Company X’s main products l ines were Overlays、Membranes、Laser、Roll Labels and N’Caps. In the mid 1990’s, a group of investors purchased the company from the previous owner-manager who had retired. At the time of the study, the company was managed by its former vice-president, who was supported by a three-person management group. Investors were primarily concerned with financial performance rather than daily decision-making. The management group was very eager to participate in the field study for two reasons. First, the management was under pressure from their new investors who were not satisfied with the current return from existing product lines; Second, management was trying to identify the most lucrative product line in order to initiate a marketing campaign with the biggest impact on overall profits. 2 Company Y Company Y, also located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was owned and managed by three owner-managers who bought the company from a large corporation in the mid 1990’s, Company Y employed approximately 40 people. The majority of this compa ny’s business was in the area of manufacturing electrical devices and their main product lines were Motors and Motor Parts、Breakers、and Control Parts. Company Y sold its products in the domestic market as well as abroad. A portion of the company’s output was sold directly to end-users, while the remainder was sold with the help of independent distributors. The management of Company Y was
第三方物流问题战略外文翻译文献 (文档含英文原文和中文翻译) 我国第三方物流中存在的问题、原因及战略选择 【摘要】我国物流业发展刚刚起步，第三方物流的理论和实践等方面都比较薄弱。本文指出我国第三方物流存在的问题在于国内外第三方物流企业差距、物流效率不高、缺乏系统性管理、物流平台构筑滞后、物流管理观念落后等。分析了产生上述问题的原因，并提出了精益物流、中小型第三方物流企业价值链联盟、大型第三方物流企业虚拟化战等三种可供选择的第三方物流企业发展战略。【关键词】第三方物流；精益物流战略；价值链联盟；虚拟化战略 1引言 长期以来，我国国内企业对采购、运输、仓储、代理、包装、加工、配送等
环节控制能力不强，在“采购黑洞”、“物流陷井”中造成的损失浪费难以计算。因此，对第三方物流的研究，对于促进我国经济整体效益的提高有着非常重要的理论和实践意义。本文试图对我国策三方物流存在的问题及原因进行分析探讨，并提出第三方物流几种可行的战略选择。 2 我国第三方物流业存在的主要问题 (一)我国策三方物流企业与国外第三方物流企业的差距较大，具体表现在以下几个方面： 1、规模经济及资本差距明显。由于国外的大型第三方物流企业从全球经营的战略出发，其规模和资本优势是毫无疑问的，尤其初创时期的我国策三方物流业，本身的规模就很小，国外巨头雄厚的资本令国内企业相形见绌。 2、我国策三方物流业企业提供的物流服务水准及质量控制远不如国外同行。当国内一些企业还在把物流理解成“卡车加仓库“的时候，国外的物流企业早已完成了一系列标准化的改造。同时，国外的物流组织能力非常强大，例如德国一家第三方物流公司，公司各方面的物流专家遍布欧洲各地。如果有客户的货物需要经达不同的国家，那么欧洲各地的这些专家就在网上设计出一个最佳的物流解决方案。这种提供解决方案的能力就是这第三方物流公司的核心能力，而不像国内公司号称拥有多少条船，多少辆车。 3、我国加入 WTO 后物流产业的门槛降低。在物流服务业方面：我国承诺所有的服务行业，在经过合理过渡期后，取消大部分外国股权限制，不限制外国服务供应商进入目前的市场，不限制所有服务行业的现有市场准入和活动。同时在辅助分销的服务方面也作出了类似的承诺。这些方面的限制将在以后 3—4 年内逐步取消，在此期间，国外的服务供应商可以建立百分之百的全资拥有的分支机构或经营机构，国内物流服务业将直面国际竞争。 (二)资源浪费严重，第三方物流效率不高。 从微观上看，由于受计划经济体制的影响，长期以来许多企业，尤其是国有企业走的是“大而全”、“小而全”的路子，它们拥有自己的仓库、车队、甚至远洋船队，造成物流过程的大量浪费，具体表现为仓库的闲置，物流业经营分散，组织化程度低，横向联合薄弱。而能够提供一体化、现代化、专业化、准时化、高效服务的第三方物流企业则很少。从宏观上看第三方物流未能跟上经
1 【多选题】(3分) 哪些活动属于资金运用的经济活动？AC A. 投资活动 B. 筹资活动 C. 经营活动 D. 理财活动 正确 查看答案解析 本题总得分：3分 2 【多选题】(3分) 在广义的营业观下，哪些属于营业活动的收益？( AD )
A. 公允价值变动损失 B. 营业外收入 C. 非流动资产处置损失 D. 投资收益 正确 查看答案解析 本题总得分：3分 3 【多选题】(3分) 哪些资金是通过筹资活动筹集来的资金？BC A. 应付职工薪酬 B. 长期借款 C. 股东增加投资 D. 应付账款
正确 查看答案解析 本题总得分：3分 4 【单选题】(3分) 应付账款属于企业通过筹资活动获得的资金错 A. 对 B. 错 正确 查看答案解析 本题总得分：3分 5 【单选题】(3分) 复星医药2012年利润较2006年利润有大幅增长，主要得益于投资活动创造了更多利润对
A. 对 B. 错 正确 1 【多选题】(3分) 在计算企业营业活动所运用的总资金时，以下哪些项目应该从总资产中扣除？AC A. 应付职工薪酬 B. 长期借款 C. 应付账款 D. 短期借款 正确 查看答案解析 本题总得分：3分
2 【单选题】(3分) 以下哪些指标属于反映企业财务风险的动态指标？C A. 流动比率 B. 速动比率 C. 财务杠杆系数 D. 资产负债率 正确 查看答案解析 本题总得分：3分 3 【单选题】(3分) 按照资金运用的投向分类，资金可以划分为经营活动资金和投资活动资金。对
A. 对 B. 错 正确 查看答案解析 本题总得分：3分 4 【单选题】(3分) 在财务数据相同的两个企业中，如果其中一个企业为满足业务活动所需的资金有更强的筹资保障能力，则这个企业财务风险水平更高。错 A. 对 B. 错 正确 查看答案解析 本题总得分：3分 5
战略管理研究参考文献 （总目录） 项保华2003-5-31 重要说明：本目录经过多届博士生的共同努力，于2003年5月整理完成，主要提供本人指导的战略管理研究方向的博士生学习参考之用。可以认为，只要通读了本目录的大部分文献，必将能够对战略管理领域的当前及经典理论、方法有比较系统的把握。若能在此基础上潜心感悟，加强与同行的交流探索，定可具备解决具体战略理论与实践问题的创新思路与实用技能，从而顺利完成博士学位论文的选题与撰写。作为战略管理研究方向博士生培养的业务目标定位为，通过对战略理论与实践的系统学习，达到胜任国内重点高等院校战略领域的教学、研究、咨询工作之要求。所以，对于硕士生以及非战略管理研究方向的博士生而言，不作全面通读本目录文献之要求，各位可以根据自己的兴趣，从本目录中选取部分文献阅读，以作为参与战略课程学习之补充。 学习建议：以具体老师为师的范围终有限，而以文献为师则可延请古今中外名家赐教，广泛借鉴吸收多方面的见解。多读、多思、多写，书山无路勤为径，以学为乐恒则成！谨以此与各位共勉！ 1、中文部分 为人经世 ?孔子, 论语（网上下载） ?老子, 道德经（网上下载） ?孙子, 孙子兵法（网上下载） ?马基雅维里（1469-1527）, 君主论, 中国社会出版社, 1999 ?葛拉西安（1601-1658）, 智慧书——永恒的处世经典（网上下载） ?何兆武, 西方哲学精神, 清华大学出版社, 2002 ?墨顿·亨特, 心理学的故事, 海南人民出版社, 1999 ?维克托·E.弗兰克尔, 人生的真谛, 中国对外翻译出版公司, 1994
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文献出处:Enqvist, Julius, Michael Graham, and Jussi Nikkinen. "The impact of working capital management on firm profitability in different business cycles: evidence from Finland." Research in International Business and Finance 32 (2014): 36-49. 原文 The impact of working capital management on firm profitability in different business cycles: Evidence from Finland 1. Introduction This paper investigates the effect of the business cycle on the link between working capital, the difference between current assets and current liabilities, and corporate performance. Efficient working capital management is recognized as an important aspect of financial management practices in all organizational forms. In acknowledgement of this importance, the CFO Magazine publishes an annual study of corporate working capital management performance in many countries. The extensive literature indicates that it impacts directly on corporate liquidity ( Kim et al., 1998 and Opler et al., 1999), profitability (e.g., Shin and Soenen, 1998, Deloof, 2003, Lazaridis and Tryfonidis, 2006 and Ukaegbu, 2014), and solvency (e.g.,Berryman, 1983 and Peel and Wilson, 1994). It is reasonable to assume that economy-wide fluctuations exogenous to the operations of the firm play an important role in the demand for firms’ products and any financing decision. Korajczyk and Levy (2003), for instance, suggest that firms time debt issuance based on economic conditions. Also, given that retained earnings are a significant component of working capital, business cycles can be said to affect all enterprises financing source through its effect on economic growth and sales. For example, when company sales weaken it engenders earning declines, thereby, affecting an important source of working capital. The recent global economic downturn with crimping consumer demand is an excellent example of this. The crisis,