The Portable MBA, 3rd Edition (Hardcover)

by Robert F. Bruner (Author), Mark R. Eaker (Author), R. Edward Freeman (Author)

Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.; 3 edition (Oct 10 1997)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0471180939
ISBN-13: 978-0471180937
Product Dimensions: 25.6 x 19.4 x 3 cm
Shipping Weight: 880 g

Contents:

Part I: What Is Business About?
Chapter 1. What Is Business?
The New Competition
The Intelligent Enterprise
Understanding Business Ecosystem
Implications
For Further Reading
Chapter 2. The Future
The Millennium Problem
Elements of Developing Scenario
Macrotrends
For Further Reading
Chapter 3. Managing People
Introduction
A Brief Tour through Business History
The Role of Individuals and Relationships
Groups and Teams
The Organizational Level
Some Practical Principles
For Further Reading
Chapter 4. Business Ethics
Introduction
What Constitutes an Ethical issues?
The Tools of Moral Reasoning
A Method for Understanding Capitalism in Ethical Terms
Ethical Challenges to Business
For Further Reading
Chapter 5. Making Decisions Rigorously: The Use of Quantitative Methods
Influence Diagrams
Decision Trees
Probability and Statistics
Time Value of Money
The pros and Cons of Decision Analysis
Case Study: Takeover Strategy toward Conrail Corporation
For Further Reading
Chapter 6. Understanding Economics
Microeconomics
Supply and Demand
Macroeconomics
National Income Accounting
Fiscal Policy
Monetary Policy
Interest Rates
Balance of Payments
For Further Reading
Part II: The Functions of Business
Chapter 7. Marketing Management: Leveraging Customer Value
The Marketing Concept
Marketing Strategy's Role in Corporate Strategy
The Importance of Customer Selection
Marketing Activity Must Pervade the Organization
Customer Value Creation and the Role of the Employee
Value Creation through Alliances and Partnerships
For Further Reading
Chapter 8. Operations Management: Implementation and Enabling Strategy
Operations Management Is the Implementation of Business Strategy
Operational Excellence Is Necessary for Sustained Profitability
Measures of Process Performance: What Is Improvement?
Achieving Process Improvement: Principles of Operations Management
Operations Strategy Is the Selection and Building of Capabilities
For Further Reading
Chapter 9. Innovation and Technology Management
Developing a Technology Strategy
Managing the Innovation process
Organizing for Innovation
How the Winners Hit Home Runs
For Further Reading
Chapter 10. Accounting
Double-Entry Bookkeeping Captures the Systemic Nature of the Firm
The Truth about Accounting: It Precisely Gives and "Approximate" View
How to Read an Annual Report
Assessing the Financial Health of a Firm
Assessing Performance against a Plan: Managerial Accounting
Conclusion
For Further Reading
Chapter 11. Finance
Principle 1: Think Like an Investor
Principle 2: Invest When the Intrinsic Value of an Asset Equals or Exceeds the Outlay
Principle 3: Sell Securities (Raise Funds) When the Cash Received Equals or Exceeds the Value of the Securities Sold
Principle 4: Ignore Options at Your Peril: They Are Pervasive, Tricky to Value, and Can Strongly Influence a Decision
Principle 5: If You get Confused, Return to Principle 1
For Further Reading
Chapter 12. Human Resource Management
Introduction
HRM: From Administration to Strategy
The Basic Tasks of Human Resource Management
HRM in the New Competitive Reality
Evaluating HRM Effectiveness
For Further Reading
Chapter 13. Strategy: defining and Developing Competitive Advantage
The Strategy Development Process
Step 1: Industry Analysis - Industry Profitability Today and Tomorrow
Step 2: Positioning - Sources of Competitive Advantage
Step 3: Competitor Analysis - Past and Predicted
Step 4: Audit of Position - Assessment of Relative Position and Sustainability
Step 5: Option Generation - A Creative Look at New Customers and Positions
Step 6: Assessment of Capabilities - Positioning for the Future Opportunities
Step 7: Choose a Strategy - Position, Trade-Offs, Fit Strategy: Commitment or Flexibility?
For Further Reading
Part III: New Horizons
Chapter 14. Leading from the Middle: A New Leadership Paradigm
Introduction
Fundamental Shifts
Partial Solutions
Reinventing the Practice of Management
Leading from the Middle: Some Conclusions
For Further Reading
Chapter 15. Strategic Alliances
What Is a Strategic Alliance?
The Rationale for Alliances
Core Dimensions of Alliances
A Life-Cycle Approach to Strategic Alliances
The Alliance Manager
Intrimistic Alliances
Summary
For Further Reading
Chapter 16. International Business
Motives for International Investment
Sources of Divergence
Political and Operating Risk
Foreign Exchange Rates
Organizing the Multinational Firm
For Further Reading