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Category Archives: Strategic Planning

Structuring Australian Indigenous Business Groups

stucturing Australian Indigenous enterprises can be categorised into three main categories:-
  1. Those owned and operated by Indigenous individuals or “nuclear” families where profits may be distributed to individuals;
  2. Those owned and operated by Indigenous “communities” or larger Indigenous cultural family groups that are operated for the benefit of the whole group and do not result in distributions of profit to individuals; and
  3. Those owned and operated by Indigenous corporate and service entities and Native Title Prescribed Bodies Corporate where profits may be distributed back to that particular corporation or service entity or its constituent corporate members such as the previously mentioned “communities”.
The second and third categories may be described as “social enterprises” or “social ventures” whether there is an intention to make a profit as a business, or whether the enterprise is a not-for-profit community service-delivery organisation. This discussion deals with the structuring of the second and third categories. The first category is clearly a private individual business model and structuring for that category will depend on normal commercial considerations as normally applying to small business, including the application of tax. The second and third categories are more like a combination of community organisations (that happen to run...
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Choosing, Implementing and Cascading Performance Measures

sign Implementing Performance Measures Determining what to measure can take considerable effort, but it will probably be less than one-third of the total effort required to implement an efficient and effective measurement system. Data collection and processing systems will have to be implemented to produce the measures; everyone will have to be trained in using the systems and measures; and as the measures are used, some problems are sure to be identified that will require changes to the system. Perhaps the greatest challenge faced when implementing performance measurement systems is changing an organisation’s culture. Using performance measures requires managers and employees to change the way they think and act. For most people, this is relatively easy, but for some, changing old beliefs and habits is very difficult. Overcoming such problems requires strong leadership to provide appropriate direction and support. The best measurement system in the world will yield few benefits if the right knowledge, skills, abilities, and values are not developed in a company. An organisation doesn’t just interface with a measurement system; it is part of the system. Developing and implementing effective measurement systems requires leadership, commitment, and hard work. Some investment is...
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The challenge of merging two corporate cultures

teik oh oldTeik Oh The most challenging change management initiative is the proper management of a successful merger between two organisations. While the actual steps and processes in themselves are not uniquely different or any more complex than any other business reorganisation, the cultural environment in which a merger takes place creates a very different situation. Unlike any other change management engagement where disparate groups at least work under one singularly identifiable organisation, a merger brings together two totally unique groups with different core values and working environments that need to go through the same change and emerge united. In a merger, while there are usually areas of “fit”, it is unlikely that the deeper indicators of corporate culture such as corporate history and corporate experience will have any but the most remote of matches. Mergers and acquisition transactions are usually entered into to gain advantages yet the vast majority of these transactions are done with scant thought on how best to maintain the strengths of both parties and indeed to use them to synthesise greater strengths. Accounting models are not the best indicators for merger success; in a merger 2 plus 2 rarely equals 4. The prime...
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Recession Proof Your Business

sorry closedIs this possible – to recession-proof your business?  Well no, probably not despite the wealth of articles about how to do so appearing on the internet (about 614,000 hits on Google). However, what is possible is to secure your business as much as is possible by following a series of simple and common sense business strategies.  These strategies are no different from strategies you should employ under normal circumstances, but which application is much more acute in today’s economic climate, and with a different emphasis required.  Sadly when times are good, businesses allow themselves to get “fat” and some of these every-day disciplines are allowed to slacken. The strategies can be grouped into defensive and offensive strategies.  As you look at your business performance it is likely that you will find profit performance heading south, and with the economy looking the way it is, it is difficult not to panic and begin to tighten all the hatches.  However you can tighten too much, to the extent that your business finds it difficult to operate normally.  Hence, while it is natural to concentrate on the defensive strategies such as cutting costs,...
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OTS Management