Management is termed as the process which starts from planning and moves to organizing, leading and controlling (Robbins (2008).). The management is a vast concept and can be viewed from many prospectives; the management is generally referred with Marketing Management, Financial Management, Human Resource Management and Operations Management etc.One of the traits of leaders is vision that is having a dream for future scenario; the vision statement is present at the profile of every company. It is so important for individuals, groups and corporations that the success and growth is not possible without a vision.It is important to have a vision but it is more critical to manage it. Vision management means managing the vision to achieve the desired outcome. Vision management includes all the activities of planning, organizing, leading and controlling.It is said, “Leaders do the right things and managers do the things right.” Leaders have a vision for future scenario to bring a change to improve a situation. But how a change will come? How a situation will be improved? The answers to these questions come from the concept of vision management. With vision management activities, actions are taken to move the things into favorable situations in order to achieve the vision.Let’s look at the each step in detail.VisionIt is generally said that management starts with planning (Robbins, 2008), but in real situation management starts with a vision, if there is no vision, for which the management activities will take place? It is first thing after which all other actions take place. Like in the organizations, whenever the change occurs, it comes from the top management. Through the vision of the top management and determination to manage the vision, market position of the organizations can be changed. There are lot of examples in Pakistan, like “niralla sweets”, it was started as a very small business now through the vision; it is now a million dollars business. Vision is given by leaders who want to bring change or improve the situation or change the attitude of the people. When people rather mangers have vision, they start other activities to achieve it.The vision is not always realistic; it is made realistic through vision management. ( Maaz Syed)PlanningAfter the vision, planning is done about how to achieve it, what is required to make the situation in favor, what resources are required to achieve the vision and what should be eliminated.Planning for resources is very important but it is also critical to eliminate or minimize unfavorable circumstances, because if these are not minimized, even the abundant resource will not help in achieving the favorable results. Planning includes planning of physical resources, financial resources and human resources (Robbins,2008). Planning is very important after having a vision, because if planning is dumb than all is not well; even best vision and affluent resources will not be useful if there is poor or dumb planning.Planning is very important activity and we all are involved in planning in our daily life, the planning can be short-term or long-term. In Pakistan the planning is generally not given the importance it deserves; especially in public sector because there is no vision so there is no planning.Planning is always made by keeping vision in mind, during planning there should be minimum deviation from the vision; vision should be always in mind to make the planning.OrganizingOrganizing comes next to planning. Organizing refers to organizing the physical, financial and human resources. It is very critical to make the right use of resources.Organizing is linked with vision, in vision management, organizing not just mean organizing resources it also means organizing the series of events that will direct the situation in the favor of vision.Organizing is also very important for vision management; unless resources and scenarios are not organized the vision cannot be achieved, it is the task of managers to organize and make the aisle clear without any obstruction.The vision is well-managed when every thing is organized and there is no hurdle or obstruction in the way, it does not mean that there should be no problem; it means that when there comes any problem, the managers solve the problem immediately and turn the situation in favor to carry out the vision. The independence of Pakistan in 1947 is a bright example of vision management. Quaid-i-Azam had vision and the party members (managers) helped in achieving it, the struggle for independence is a bright example of vision management. We can take this example and implement the lessons in businesses, to achieve a certain position in market, hard work, efforts, competencies, determined people and above all a vision is required.LeadingLeading comes next to organizing in vision management. Leading means leading the people i.e. make people behave and work according to the plan in order to achieve it. The concept of behavior modification is important in leading the vision.Leading the people includes changing behavior of people and make use of their knowledge, skills and abilities in order to achieve the desired outcome. The people use their knowledge and skills and work for the vision which is provided by leaders thus are very critical to vision management. It should be kept in mind that the leaders have vision, they communicate it to the people, but it is achieved by people. The people work according to plan and thus help in achieving the vision. Vision management is not possible without people and thus vision cannot be achieved without people.Leader gives directions and vision and people follow the vision to achieve the leader’s vision and goal. Even competent and most intelligent people cannot work at full capacity unless they have clear direction and a vision to follow. The example of ©Microsoft is an example, the company is losing its market position because of low innovation, the people are same, there working has affected the reason is that the company’s vision in obsolete now and the workforce do not have any vision to follow which has caused company to lose its market position. This shows that vision is very important for the success of the companies.ControllingControlling is considered as final activity in management (Robbins (2008.).) and thus it is final activity in vision management.In vision management just like a project, the controlling is a continuous activity and it remains throughout the process of vision management.In vision management, controlling refers to the controlling of every single step that nothing should deviate from the vision. Controlling also refers to controlling the physical resources, finance and behaviors of people so that not a single thing should deviate from the vision.Controlling is the job of leaders and the managers to whom the authority is dedicated by the leader.ConclusionVision management is thus the combination of various management activities which leads to the achievement of vision provided by leaders. Vision management is very important and present every where but it has not been given due consideration. Awareness to vision management will helps the organizations to improve their operations and working environment to better achieve the company’s vision.
The Footprints of Fabric Wholesale: Azam Cloth Market
The shopkeepers of Azam Cloth market pride themselves on, and they like to stress this vehemently, being a part of ‘the biggest cloth market in Asia.” While snaking your way through the many winding alleys lined with shops of various sizes you do tend to lose track of both time and space. The market is a collage of many small interlinked bazaars where the daylight doesn’t always seep in and the damp musty odor of history prevails.Situated in the walled city of Lahore, the Azam cloth market is the hub that has been handling wholesale distribution of cloth and ready-to-wear for the last six decades. From khaddar to silk, ready- to-wear to clothing fabrics, casual wear to bridal wear, the market has something for every apparel retailer.According to Mohd Amjad Sheikh, who has been in the wholesale apparel business since 1974, the Azam cloth market caters to a wide customer based both in Pakistan and abroad. “Retailers from all over Pakistan, Dubai, and UK visit us for their stock purchases. However, the recent security issues have had their impact on the business. Our customer base from India and Afghanistan has dwindled to almost zero. We hope once the situation improves retailers from all neighboring countries will find it comfortable to visit us.”The merchants of the market are well versed in the history of the place, and every shopkeeper can recount how when the market was created and named. There was a small market near Wazir Khan Mosque; in 1953 when a road had to be widened the market was shifted to its current location by General Azam who gave his own name to the market. Over the decades, the small market extended and now has numerous interlinked blocks or bazaars all dealing in wholesaling of various types of clothing fabrics and lines.How many interlinked bazaars are there in the market? There is no consensus as such but gathering from the comments of various shop owners the number must be somewhere between 15 and 20′It’s an Institution.’All the bazaars of Azam market are linked and managed by a board of directors. “You won’t find a more well managed institution in Lahore. We have our own constitution with a specific set of rules. Every bazaar has its own president who in turn is answerable to the president of the board. Elections of the board are held every three years to elect resident of the board. Security and administrative decisions made by the board are binding upon the market community,” the business community of the market proudly spells out details of the ‘institution.’ Fire extinguishers, security guards and clean lanes show an active involvement of the board that runs on self-help basis. Every shop owner pays monthly charges of about 200-300 rupees to form a combined pool that helps meet the maintenance expenses.Nawab Bazaar: The oldest block of Azam Cloth MarketWhile it is difficult to explore every bazaar in a single visit, every first time visitor should stroll in the Nawab bazaar to get a feel of the place. Nawab bazaar is the first and the oldest block of Azam cloth market. Its open cool spaces invite the customers to linger and shop at their own pace. The shop owners are friendly and there is an overall ambiance of good cheer.’What’s in the name?’Two different versions prevail in the market about the history of block’s name. One interesting story traces origins of the name to the first generation of business men who started their businesses in this market.According to this version, this first generation of wholesalers liked to arrive late in the markets and opened their shops around noon. So people started calling them nawabs (nawab connotes a laid-back almost royal attitude) and the market came to be known as Nawab bazaar.Javed sahib, the president of Nawab bazaar, however, strongly disagrees: “My, father, Haji Nawab Deen, was the first generation of wholesalers who established businesses in this block, and the bazaar is name after my father,” he states.Whatever the real history of the name, the different versions add to the aura of antiquity surrounding the market.It’s a Man’s WorldThe wholesale business is dominated by men. Not only there are no female shop owners but you encounter female customers. Occasionally you can run into a lone female retailer traversing the narrow alleys of the market. Razia is one such brave woman I met while combing through the glittering, colorful shops of women’s apparel.”I have nine children and my husband is a ‘home-tailor’ who works at his clients’ places. To make ends meet, I have started this business. I purchase ready-to-wear female kurtis from this market and my husband takes them to his clients’ houses and sells them. We get to save 100 to 200 rupees on every kurta. It isn’t much but it helps,” Razia explains her ‘business model.’First Time visitorsWhether you are a retailer, a casual visitor, or a customer who wants to get good bargains, try to heading for the market between 9:30 am to 10:30 am. This is the time when the traffic is not too heavy and it is still quiet in the throbbing, congested lanes of the market. Visiting the market early will save you half of the hassle of long traffic jams. The other half, while going back, you will have to bear. Another advantage of visiting the market early is that once you are there you can shop at leisure and will even have time to haggle with the shopkeepers. As the day advances the business activity picks up pace, the market gets too crowded.Parking your vehicle is now easy as there is a huge parking plaza near the market. However, the plaza doesn’t have a lift and once you park the car you will have to walk all the way down and then walk all the way up to get the car. It is bit of an exertion and would help if you are in the mood for some exercise.Azam Cloth Market is surrounded by many other wholesale and retail markets, and while you are there you can have quick round of the other markets and schedule your next visit to one you like.
Six Options For Financing Acquisitions
When it is time to arrange the financing for an acquisition, it is important to be creative. When seeking money to buy a company, you will notice that a number of community banks, typically big funders of certain acquisitions, are encountering difficulty due to their degraded residential (builders) loan portfolio. Creativity can make the difference between accessing capital or canceling the acquisition, especially now when credit markets are tighter.Here are some options for financing acquisitions:1. Owner financing / seller financing – Go to the seller first. Who is better prepared to finance the business than the person or company who owned it? They know the business better than anyone and are most familiar with its risks. In the current environment, you should be able to get 40-70% of the business financing via owner financing. You must convince the seller you are a good risk, just as you would have to convince a bank.2. Supplier or vendor financing – The target company’s suppliers and vendors are a good source of financing. Their business is likely to increase under your new ownership. (i.e., If you do not intend to grow the business, why would you buy it?) Leverage that growth in their business to negotiate for financing from them. If the target company has been a good customer, the supplier is knowledgeable about the business and will understand the inherent risks better than a typical bank. Note that if you are an existing business acquiring another business, you can pursue financing from your suppliers and vendors. The same reasons apply.3. Mezzanine financing or private equity funding – Mezzanine and private equity funds that serve the small and medium markets raised large sums of money before the market meltdown. They therefore have money to spend and are looking for great opportunities. With fewer people and companies making acquisitions right now even though multiples are very low, now is a great time to obtain mezzanine financing. The target company typically will need revenue of $10 – $20 million and higher and EBITDA of $2 – 3 million and more to be interesting to a mezzanine or private equity fund. Why? These funds have to spend large amounts in a relatively short period of time (5-7 years) so they need larger deals.4. Bank debt – If the target company has a lot of medium to long-term assets in addition to good cash flow and a strong profit margin, you should have relatively few problems finding bank financing. However, if you want to buy a service company which has a lot of receivables and other short term assets, you may encounter difficulty. Find a bank that has a history of financing the type of company you are buying. Also, talk to the seller’s banker. If the seller has a strong banking relationship, the banker will know the business well, increasing the likelihood that that bank will provide financing in order to retain the relationship and the itinerant deposit accounts.5. Receivables financing – If you find it difficult to obtain bank financing, pursue account receivables financing firms. They can provide term loans and lines of credits against the receivables. Although the interest rate will be higher, these firms are more familiar with receivables financing and thus often more comfortable with lending against receivables.6. Pre-paid sales – Approach the target’s customers and ask them to make a bulk purchase or pre-pay for several months’ or a year’s worth of products or services in exchange for a strong discount.These are some acquisition funding options to stimulate your own creative thinking and approach. There are other alternatives, some of which may be unique to your particular business.