The Portable MBA -- Contents -- List of Downloadable Materials -- Preface -- About the Authors -- Introduction: The MBA Degree Experience -- The Classroom -- The Community -- The Career Search -- Life Balance -- Notes -- 1 Accounting Principles -- The Framework of Accounting: The Balance Sheet Equation -- Accrual Accounting -- Accounting Discretion and Financial Statement Quality -- A Step-by-Step Guide to Reading Annual Reports -- Step 1: Pay Attention to the Themes in the Opening Letter to Shareholders -- Step 2: Check the Auditor's Letter -- Step 3: Review the Income Statement -- Step 4: Review the Balance Sheet -- Step 5: Review the Statement of Cash Flows -- Step 6: Read the Footnotes to the Financial Statements -- Step 7: Read Management's Discussion of the Year's Performance -- Assessing the Financial Health of the Firm -- Managerial Accounting: Assessing Performance Against a Plan -- Backyard Production, Inc.: DVD Release -- Accounting in MBA Curricula -- Concluding Remarks -- Notes -- Downloadable Resources for this chapter available at www.wiley.com/go/portablemba5e -- 2 The Principles of Economics -- Microeconomics -- Supply and Demand -- Macroeconomics -- National Income Accounting -- Fiscal Policy -- Monetary Policy -- Interest Rates -- Balance of Payments -- Savings, Exports, and the Crisis of 2008-2009 -- Appendix: Courses in Economics at Top Business Schools -- Downloadable Resources for this chapter available at www.wiley.com/go/portablemba5e -- 3 Introduction to Business Ethics -- What Constitutes an Ethical Issue? -- Tools of Moral Reasoning -- Values -- Rights, Duties, and Responsibilities -- Consequences -- Principles and Rules -- Parallel Cases -- A Method for Understanding Capitalism in Ethical Terms -- Ethical Challenges to Business -- Business Ethics in MBA Curricula -- Notes -- For Further Reading.

4 Marketing Management -- Understanding Customers and the Market -- Understanding Customers, Competition, and the Company -- Marketing Research -- Developing a Specific Market Offering -- Market Segmentation -- Targeting and Positioning -- Delivering Customer Value -- Product -- Price -- Place (i.e., Distribution) -- Promotion -- Marketing in MBA Curricula -- MBA Careers in Marketing -- Notes -- For Further Reading -- Downloadable Resources for this chapter available at www.wiley.com/go/portablemba5e -- 5 Financial Management -- Principle #1: Think Like an Investor -- Corporations as Issuers of Securities -- Intermediaries -- Investors -- How Do Investors Think? -- Principle #2: Invest When the Intrinsic Value of an Asset Equals or Exceeds its Cost -- Time Value of Money -- Future Values -- Present Values -- Free Cash Flows -- Weighted Average Cost of Capital -- An Example -- Drivers of Value Creation -- Principle #3: Sell Securities (Raise Funds) When the Cash Received Equals or Exceeds the Value of Securities Sold -- An Example: Valuing an Issue of Debt -- Finding the Optimal Mix of Debt and Equity -- Principle #4: Ignore Options at Your Peril: They Are Pervasive and Can Strongly Influence a Decision -- Conclusion: Principle #5 Says If You Get Confused, See Principle #1 -- MBA Concepts in Action -- Target Corporation -- Financial Management in MBA Curricula -- MBA Careers in Finance -- Notes -- For Further Reading -- Downloadable Resources for this chapter available at www.wiley.com/go/portablemba5e -- 6 Operations Management -- Defining Operations Effectiveness -- Measuring Productivity -- Capacity Utilization -- Quality Measurement -- Service Time -- Principles of Operations Effectiveness -- Operations Strategy versus Effectiveness -- From Manufacturing Strategy to Operations Strategy -- Structural Decisions -- Operations Capabilities.

From Theory to Practice -- Operations Management in MBA Curricula -- Note -- For Further Reading -- Downloadable Resources for this chapter available at www.wiley.com/go/portablemba5e -- 7 Managing People -- Introduction -- Understanding Ourselves and Others -- Theories about Individual Preferences and Thinking Styles -- Why People Behave as They Do -- The Problem of Motivation -- Engaging with Others One-on-One -- Building Relationships and Trust -- Issues of Advocacy versus Inquiry -- Managing the Boss -- Collaborating with Others -- Stages of Group Development -- Group Norms -- Group Roles -- The Organizational Level -- Impact of Organizational Culture -- Impact of Organizational Alignment -- Challenges of Managing Talent -- Putting the Pieces Together -- Some Practical Principles -- One Final Word -- MBA Concepts in Action -- Cisco Switches in China: The Year of the Manager -- Managing People in MBA Curricula -- MBA Careers in General Management -- Notes -- Downloadable Resources for this chapter available at www.wiley.com/go/portablemba5e -- 8 Supply Chain Management -- Inventory: Root Causes -- Inventory: More versus Less -- Forecasts -- Bullwhip Effect -- Competitive Positioning -- Making Tactical Trade-Offs -- Balancing Cooperative Relationships with Competitive Pricing -- Global Outsourcing -- Managing a Global Supply Chain -- Supply Chain Management in MBA Curricula -- For Further Reading -- Downloadable Resources for this chapter available at www.wiley.com/go/portablemba5e -- 9 Strategy-Defining and Developing Competitive Advantage -- What Is Strategy? -- 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: Current Strategy Assessment-Relative Position and Sustainability.

Step 5: Option Generation-A Creative Look at New Customers and Positions -- Step 6: Development of Capabilities-Positioning for Future Opportunities -- Step 7: Choosing or Improving Strategy-Uniqueness, Trade-Offs, Fit -- Strategy in MBA Curricula -- MBA Careers in Strategy -- Notes -- For Further Reading -- 10 Financial Analysis and Firm Valuation -- Part I: Historical Ratio Analysis -- Common-Size and Percentage Change Analysis -- Other Key Financial Ratios -- Part II: Forecasting Financial Statements -- Part III: Firm Valuation -- Review of DCF Basics -- Application of DCF to Home Depot -- Using Multiples -- Part IV: Other Critical Considerations in Financial Analysis -- Management Discussion and Analysis -- Financial Statement Footnotes -- Management and Corporate Governance Considerations -- Other Financial Metrics -- MBA Concepts in Action -- Delphi Corporation -- Financial Analysis and Firm Valuation in MBA Curricula -- Appendix A: Home Depot Financial Statements -- Appendix B: Ratio Formulas -- Notes -- Downloadable Resources for this chapter available at www.wiley.com/go/portablemba5e -- 11Consumer Behavior -- Culture -- Social Groups -- The Decision-Making Process -- Consumer Behavior in MBA Curricula -- Notes -- For Further Reading -- Downloadable Resources for this chapter available at www.wiley.com/go/portablemba5e -- 12 New Product Creation -- Maintaining the Lifeblood -- New Product Creation in MBA Curricula -- For Further Reading -- 13 Entrepreneurship -- What Is an Entrepreneurial Opportunity and Where Does It Come From? -- Individuals and Macro Forces and Trends: The Nexus of Opportunity and the Individual -- Problems in Pursuing an Opportunity with Limited Resources -- Entrepreneurship in MBA Curricula -- Notes -- For Further Reading -- References -- 14 Emerging Markets and Development -- The New World Economy.

The Rise of the New Giants -- A Simple Accounting of Economic Growth -- Demographics -- The Employment Rate (1 Minus the Unemployment Rate) -- Average Worker Productivity -- An Example: Dell Tries Brazil -- Institutions and Emerging Economies -- Examples: Corruption and Bureaucratic Inefficiency -- Corruption -- Bureaucratic Inefficiency -- Some Guiding Principles for Emerging Markets -- Courses on Development and International Business -- Notes -- Downloadable Resources for this chapter available at www.wiley.com/go/portablemba5e -- 15 Enterprise Risk Management -- What Is Enterprise Risk Management? -- Identification of Risks -- Assessment of Risks -- Contingency Planning -- Hedging -- Risk and Statistical Analysis -- Futures and Options Contracts -- The Hedging Decision -- MBA Concepts in Action -- Select Staffing Inc. -- Risk Management in MBA Curricula -- Notes -- For Further Reading -- 16 Leading from the Middle -- Caught in the Middle -- Middle Managers as Translators -- Thinking Like Designers -- Acting Like a Partner -- Be a Teacher -- Why Tools Aren't Dropped and What to Do about It -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 17 Managing Teams -- The Essence of Teamwork -- The Case for Strong Teamwork -- Business Needs Demand Teamwork -- Teamwork Augments One's Leadership Skill Set -- The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Concerning Teams and Teamwork -- On the Positive Side -- On the Negative Side -- Different Teams, Same Teamwork Needed -- Management Teams -- Task Forces or Project Groups -- Virtual Teams -- Professional Support Teams -- Action (or Performance) Teams -- The Platform for Strong Teams and Teamwork -- Setting the Record Straight about Team Myths -- Myths about Teams and Teamwork -- The Reality of Teams and Teamwork -- Teams versus Groups -- Great Teamwork or Not -- Teamwork at Its Best -- Teamwork at Its Worst -- The Middle Ground.

Should the Level of Teamwork Be Higher?.