...Harvard Business School 9-199-009 July 8, 1998 Quality Furniture Company In March 1992, Richard Allan, an assistant credit analyst for the Quality Furniture Company, was concerned about changes in two of Quality’s accounts in Minnesota—Lloyd’s, Inc., of Minneapolis and The Emporium department store in St. Paul. He therefore brought the credit folders of these two customers to the attention of Watt Ralphson, the credit manager of Quality Furniture. The Quality Furniture Company had its headquarters in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and manufactured a limited line of high-quality home furniture for distribution to department stores, independent home furnishing retailers, and regional chains. Lloyd’s retailed quality home furnishings from three locations—one in the downtown section of Minneapolis and the others in nearby suburban areas. Sales were somewhat seasonal, with a slight downturn in the midsummer months and a slight upturn during the December holiday season. Lloyd’s sales were approximately 75% for cash or credit cards and 25% on six-month installment terms. Installment terms called for 25% down and the balance in equal monthly payments over a sixmonth period. Lloyd’s had been established as a partnership and was later incorporated. In June 1991, two of the four original partners sold their shares in the company to the two remaining owners. Lloyd’s had been a customer of Quality Furniture for over 30 years and had previously handled its affairs in a most satisfactory manner...
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...STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING DELIVERING STRATEGY: THE STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANT’S ROLE WORKSHOP NOTES 2014 AUTHORS: RICHARD COMERFORD AND PETER ROBINSON REVISED BY: BRIAN CLARKE Published by Deakin University on behalf of CPA Australia Ltd, ABN 64 008 392 452 © CPA Australia Ltd 2014 (Edition 14a) The contents and any information contained in this document (Information) are for general information only. They are not intended as professional advice. For any professional advice, please consult a suitable qualified professional. CPA Australia Ltd, Deakin University and the author(s) of the Information (Entities) make no representation about the content and suitability of this Information for any purpose. The Entities disclaim all warranties with regard to the contents and in no event will be liable for any loss and/or damage whatsoever resulting from loss of income or profits, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tortious action, arising in connection with the use and performance of and/or reliance of the Information. CPA PROGRAM – PROFESSIONAL LEVEL STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING DELIVERING STRATEGY: THE STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANT’S ROLE WORKSHOP NOTES 2014 AUTHORS: RICHARD COMERFORD AND PETER ROBINSON REVISED BY: BRIAN CLARKE Contents Workshop notes Workshop introduction Workshop objectives Workshop purpose Case Study: Pavlova Pty Ltd (PPL) Module 4: Techniques for creating and managing value Product costing at PPL Strategic management...
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...[pic] Jacobs Division 2003 Richard Soderberg, financial analyst for the Jacobs Division of MacFadden Chemical Company, was reviewing several complex issues relating to possible investment in a new product for the following year, 2004. The product was a specialty coating material, which qualified for investment according to company guidelines. Mr. Reynolds, however, the Jacobs Division manager, was fearful that it might be too risky. While regarding the project as an attractive opportunity, Mr. Soderberg believed that the only practical way to sell the product in the short run would place it in a weak competitive position over the long run. He was also concerned that the estimates used in the probability analysis were little better than educated guesses. Company Background MacFadden Chemical Company was one of the larger chemical firms in the world, with sales in excess of $10 billion. Its volume had grown steadily at the rate of 10 percent per year throughout the 1980s until 1993; sales and earnings had grown more rapidly. Beginning in 1993, the chemical industry began to experience overcapacity, particularly in basic materials, which led to price cutting. Also, more funds had to be spent in marketing and research for firms to remain competitive. As a consequence of the industry problems, MacFadden achieved only a modest growth of 4 percent in sales in the 1990’s and experienced an overall decline in profits. Certain shortages began developing...
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...[pic] Diploma of Business BSB50207 |Course Code & Title: |BSB50207 Diploma of Business | |Unit Code & Title: |BSBMKG501B: | | |Identify and evaluate marketing opportunities | |Assessments Type |Report Writing & Presentation | |Assessment No: |One | |Delivery and Assessment Mode(s) |Classroom | |Term |One | |Unit Duration |Three Weeks | Assessment 1-Report Writing & Presentation BSBMKG501B Identify and evaluate marketing opportunities BSB50207 Diploma of Business Version 2.1 Australis Institute of Technology and Education ABN 17 120 701 911 Address Level 2, 25 George St, Parramatta, NSW 2150...
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...1 2.0 Introduction. 1 3.0 The Principles of Lean. 2 3.0.1. Understanding your customers’ requirements or value. 3.0.2. Identify the value stream 3.0.3. Make the value flow through the value stream 3.0.4. Pull the value from the value stream. 3.0.5. Strive for perfection. 3.0.6. The ten rules of lean production. 4.0 The Tools of Lean. 4 4.0.1. Kaizen. 4.0.2. Jidoka. 4.0.3. JIT or Just In Time. 4.0.4. Heijunka. 5.0 Recommendations. 6 6.0 Conclusions. 6 7.0 Bibliography. 7 8.0 Web links. 7 1.0 Summary. In this exercise I have tried to convey the meaning and value of strategy and its importance while constructing a strategic analysis using SWOT, STEP and Porter’s 5 forces. I have also used Porter’s generic strategies model to establish what business we want to be in and have articulated this business model in a vision and mission statement. The target company’s I have used in my exercise is predominantly Ryanair plc. 2.0 Introduction. What is strategy? The term strategy is a military concept and comes from the ancient Greek word “strategia” meaning “office of the general “ or “generalship”. Many of the concepts of strategy have been borrowed from the military and adapted for business. In many ways a business strategy is its battle plan to provide that business with clear objectives and long term goals to ensure the business has a competitive advantage against...
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...commitments can be described as a form of strategy that firms have at their disposal, in which information on plans or intended actions by the business are publically released with the purpose of influencing the actions of other key market players. To be considered a strategic commitment the announced plan/action must have visibility so that those it is intended to influence can observe it, and it must be difficult to reverse, due to costs or other factors such as potential damage to a firm’s reputation etc. and finally it must be clear and understandable to those it will influence. There are many examples of strategic commitments including the announcement of the intended introduction of a new product, discontinuing a product/line or investments in a new facility etc. There are two approaches to strategic commitments, tough and soft. Besanko et al. (2010) state that ‘tough...
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...John Wiley & Sons, Inc. David L. Kurtz University of Arkansas Louis E. Boone University of South Alabama BUSINESS 14TH EDITION Contemporary . . . at the speed of business “The 14th edition of Contemporary Business is dedicated to Joseph S. Heider, who brought me to John Wiley & Sons. Thank you, Joe.” —Dave Vice President & Executive Publisher Acquisitions Editor Assistant Editor Production Manager Senior Production Editor Marketing Manager Creative Director Senior Designer Text Designer Cover Designer Production Management Services Senior Illustration Editor Photo Editor Photo Researcher Senior Editorial Assistant Executive Media Editor Media Editor George Hoffman Franny Kelly Maria Guarascio Dorothy Sinclair Valerie A. Vargas Karolina Zarychta Harry Nolan Madelyn Lesure 4 Design Group Wendy Lai Elm Street Publishing Services Anna Melhorn Hilary Newman Teri Stratford Emily McGee Allison Morris Elena Santa Maria This book was set in Janson TextLTStd-Roman 10/13 by MPS Limited, a Macmillan Company, Chennai, India and printed and bound by R. R. Donnelley & Sons. The cover was printed by R. R. Donnelley & Sons. This book is printed on acid free paper. ∞ Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. has been a valued source of knowledge and understanding for more than 200 years, helping people around the world meet their needs and fulfill their aspirations. Our company is built on a foundation of principles that include responsibility to the communities we serve and where we live...
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...Nucor at a Crossroads MGMT XXXX-XXX Nucor’s Historic Performance, Competitive Advantage, and Five Forces Analysis With roots dating back to 1904 in the automobile manufacturing industry, Nucor’s business strategy has morphed many times over the course of the past century in response to struggling sales and unrealized business strategies. Since F. Kenneth Iverson’s appointment as Nucor’s President in 1965, however, Nucor has performed very well. With a focus on efficiency, Nucor is committed to minimizing bureaucracy and maximizing performance and productivity via the utilization of an open-door/continuous improvement/ entrepreneurial culture, a compensation scheme premised on performance-based incentives, and — last, but not least —commitment to technological advancement. With this approach, in an industry with 36 different companies, Nucor enjoyed the second largest market share in 1986, with 16 plants and an annual production capacity of 2.1 million tons of steel. In 1985, Nucor was ranked the most productive steel-maker in the United States and the second most productive in the world, averaging 981 tons per employee, per year. Nucor managed to achieve this success using a low-cost strategy, which proved to be particularly suitable in the highly competitive, commodity-like steel industry. Despite its positive performance, competition in the U.S. steel industry was keen in 1986. At that time, the industry had sustained seven straights years of decreasing domestic...
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...Business Administration Course: International Investment & Trade Instructors: Nadolska & Verwaal RSM Erasmus University Strategy & Business Environment =>? McGraw-Hill/Irwin McGraw−Hill Primis ISBN−10: 0−39−089559−8 ISBN−13: 978−0−39−089559−2 Text: International Business: The Challenge of Global Competition, 11th Edition Ball−McCulloch−Geringer−Minor−McNett International Management: Text & Cases, 5/e Beamish−Morrison−Inkpen−Rosenzweig Global Business Today, First Canadian Edition Hill−McKaig Harvard Business School Cases — General Management Harvard Business School Cases — International Business Richard Ivey School of Business — The University of Western Ontario International Management Phatak−Bhagat−Kashlak Taking Sides: Issues in Management, Second Edition Street−Street This book was printed on recycled paper. Business Administration http://www.primisonline.com Copyright ©2008 by The McGraw−Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher. This McGraw−Hill Primis text may include materials submitted to McGraw−Hill for publication by the instructor of this course. The instructor is solely responsible for the editorial content...
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...INFS7570 GREEN COMPUTING RESEARCH PROJECT BRYAN O’HERLIHY SPRING 2014 TABLE OF CONTENTS (ix) Table of Contents (x) Executive Summary I. Project Integration………………………………………………………………… 6 II. Project Scope…………………………………………………………………….. 14 III. Project Time Management……………………………………………………….. 21 IV. Project Cost Management………………………………………………………... 24 V. Project Quality Management…………………………………………………….. 29 VI. Project Human Resource Management…………………………………………...34 VII. Project Communications Management…………………………………………...39 VIII. Project Risk Management………………………………………………………...45 IX. Project Procurement Management………………………………………………..50 References & Bibliography…………………………………………….................55 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Green Computing Research Project is an initiative commissioned by We Are Big, Inc., to research green technologies, with a long-term objective of helping to improve the environment through technology, while increasing revenues and decreasing costs. A main purpose of the project is to research possible applications of green computing including: ● Data center and overall efficiency; ● Disposal of electronic waste and recycling; ● Telecommuting; ● Virtualization of server resources; ● Thin client solutions; ● Use of open source software; ● Development of new software to address green computing for internal use and potential sale to other organizations The overall allocated budget for the Green Computing...
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...analytical tools of economics with the insights of business leaders. Our “micro-to-macro” methodology examines microeconomic industry trends to better understand the broad macroeconomic forces affecting business strategy and public policy. MGI’s in-depth reports have covered more than 20 countries and 30 industries. Current research focuses on five themes: productivity and growth; the evolution of global financial markets; the economic impact of technology and innovation; urbanization and infrastructure; and natural resources. Recent research covers job creation, infrastructure productivity, a new wave of disruptive technologies, trends in resource markets, and the shifting global company landscape. MGI is led by McKinsey & Company directors Richard Dobbs, James Manyika, and Jonathan Woetzel. Yougang Chen, Michael Chui, Susan Lund, and Jaana Remes serve as MGI principals. Project teams are led by a group of senior fellows and include consultants from McKinsey’s offices around the world. These teams draw on McKinsey’s global network of partners and industry and management experts. In addition, leading economists, including Nobel laureates, act as research advisers. The partners of McKinsey & Company fund MGI’s research; it is not commissioned by any business, government, or other institution....
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.... UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ x : In re : : LEHMAN BROTHERS HOLDINGS INC., : et al., : : Debtors. : ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ x Chapter 11 Case No. 08‐13555 (JMP) (Jointly Administered) REPORT OF ANTON R. VALUKAS, EXAMINER March 11, 2010 Jenner & Block LLP 353 N. Clark Street Chicago, IL 60654‐3456 312‐222‐9350 919 Third Avenue 37th Floor New York, NY 10022‐3908 212‐891‐1600 Counsel to the Examiner VOLUME 1 OF 9 Sections I & II: Introduction, Executive Summary & Procedural Background Section III.A.1: Risk EXAMINER’S REPORT TABLE OF CONTENTS VOLUME 1 Introduction, Sections I & II: Executive Summary & Procedural Background Introduction ...................................................................................................................................2 I. Executive Summary of The Examiner’s Conclusions ......................................................15 A. Why Did Lehman Fail? Are There Colorable Causes of Action That Arise From Its Financial Condition and Failure?..................................................................15 B. Are There Administrative Claims or Colorable Claims For Preferences or Voidable Transfers...
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...Finance Approach to Decision Making in Entrepreneurial Finance Rassoul Yazdipour By ‘uncertain’ knowledge, let me explain,… We simply do not know. J.M. Keynes (1937) Humans have an additional capability that allows them to alter their environment as well as respond to it. This capacity both creates and reduces risk. Paul Slovic (1987) All risk that is acted upon must be perceived risk because perception is based upon sensory data. We can only sense the ‘real world’ because we have no other way of being informed. Robert Olsen (2010) Understanding a problem is half of the solution Unknown Abstract Three central decisions in entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial finance – entry/seed funding, financing/investment, and growth/exit – are discussed and case is made for applying the behavioral finance theories and concepts to better understand the involved decision processes, and consequently, to help improve the decisionmaking process for both entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. The behavioral finance approach is important because the traditional finance has remained silent on the first issue, and the Agency Theory (financial contracting), which is effectively the only theory that is applicable to issues in entrepreneurial finance, has produced mixed empirical results. (See for example Bitler et al. [Bitler MP, Moskowitz T J, VissingJorgensen A (2009) Why do entrepreneurs hold large ownership shares? Testing agency theory using entrepreneur effort and wealth...
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...INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT, BUSINESS, AND ADMINISTRATION VOLUME 8, NUMBER 1, 2005 Assessing A Firm’s Future Financial Health Alicia Kritsonis MBA Graduate Student California State University, Dominquez Hills ABSTRACT The purpose of this article is to explain a step-by-step process that can assess whether a firm will remain in balance over the next two to three years. Various financial ratios will be discussed as a critical aspect of this process analysis. A case study of assessing the future health of the Harley Davidson, Inc. using a ratio analysis is included in the article to explain the step-by-step process used by managers to ensure a firm’s success. A great analogy comes to mind when considering the effects of assessing your firm’s future health. It is helpful to think of your firm as a three-legged stool. The legs are operations, marketing, and finance/accounting. As you, the leader, try to sit atop the stool, it must be balanced so that you can shift your position and sit comfortably. However, if one of the legs of the stool is too short or too long, then the stool is difficult to manage and unstable (http://www.thefullermangroup.com). Here is an example of an unbalanced firm. A firm borrows cash in order to expand its facility and operating capacity. However, sales remain constant resulting in a cash shortage. Consequently, the increased overhead costs diminish the working capital. Purchase discounts are missed resulting in decreased margins. The...
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...ACCOUNTING IN CONTEXT POTTER I LIBBY I LIBBY I SHORT ACCOUNTING IN CONTEXT BRADLEY N. POTTER University of Melbourne ROBERT LIBBY Cornell University PATRICIA A. LIBBY Ithaca college DANIEL G. SHORT Texas Christian University Boston Burr Ridge, IL Dubuque, IA Madison, WI New York San Francisco St. Louis Bangkok Bogotá Caracas Kuala Lumpur Lisbon London Madrid Mexico City Milan Montreal New Delhi Santiago Seoul Singapore Sydney Taipei Toronto Copyright © 2009 McGraw Hill Australia Pty Limited Additional owners of copyright are acknowledged in page credits. Every effort has been made to trace and acknowledge copyrighted material. The authors and publishers tender their apologies should any infringement have occurred. Reproduction and communication for educational purposes The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10% of the pages of this work, whichever is the greater, to be reproduced and/or communicated by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the institution (or the body that administers it) has sent a Statutory Educational notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) and been granted a licence. For details of statutory educational and other copyright licences contact: Copyright Agency Limited, Level 15, 233 Castlereagh Street, Sydney NSW 2000. Telephone: (02) 9394 7600. Website: www.copyright.com.au Reproduction and communication for other purposes Apart from any fair dealing for the...
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