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Intended to demystify the notion of high-tech marketing. Its first objective is to clarify the definition of high-tech marketing. Second, it provides a new framework for evaluating the question: "How is high-tech marketing different from traditional marketing practice?" Third, it discusses the implications of these differences--where they exist--for marketers in high-tech settings. Finally, it identifies some important marketing concepts often overlooked in all the hoopla about high-tech.

Describes the steps necessary to purchase a small to medium size company. Provides an eight-part analytical framework. Issues covered in the framework include the following: the self-assessment, deal criteria, deal sources, resources necessary to purchase a business, the deal process, the evaluation process, negotiating the deal, and adding value and harvesting the venture.

Explores some of the issues involved in valuing cash flow streams. A simple model is presented that reveals the effect on value of changing assumptions about the appropriate discount rate, the level of profitability, the growth rate of sales, the asset intensity ratio, and the leverage ratio. Helps students address some of the following issues: 1) What is the definition of cash flow? 2) What effects do changes in the discount rate have on valuation? 3) How sensitive is value to changes in assumptions about the underlying characteristics of the cash flow stream? 4) How does growth affect value? 5) How does the use of leverage affect value? 6) What are price-to-earnings ratios? and 7) What factors affect price-to-earnings ratios?

Describes the effects on operating cash flows of a real change in exchange rates. Describes different elements of operating exposure and includes illustrative examples.

Describes the transaction and translation exposures that companies doing business internationally face when foreign exchange rates change. Also discusses how to measure and cover both types of exposure. Covering techniques are demonstrated using examples of forward cover, money market hedges, and options market hedges. Other covering devices, such as swaps and leads and lags, are also presented. Explains how these exposures relate to each other and what can be done to minimize overall foreign exchange risk.

Describes elements of the job of the general manager that are addressed in the Management Policy and Practice course at the Harvard Business School. These include: 1) establishing strategic direction, 2) setting goals and managing standards of performance, 3) marshalling and allocating resources, 4) selecting and developing people, 5) organizing effort, 6) maintaining an understanding of day-to-day operations, and 7) building a positive working environment.

Describes the issues involved in designing and evaluating financial contracts between users and suppliers of capital and between companies and employees. A simple conceptual framework is introduced and some critical issues addressed: 1) How is cash allocated? 2) How is risk allocated? and 3) What are the incentives for all parties in the deal? The emphasis in the note is on providing the reader with a set of questions that must be addressed when designing and evaluating any deals. Created for use in Entrepreneurial Finance. Can be used to provide general background reading or as an assignment for a day devoted to the discussion of deals.

Focuses attention on a phenomenon we call capital market myopia, a situation in which participants in the capital markets ignore the logical implications of their individual investment decisions. Viewed in isolation, each decision seems to make sense. When taken together, however, they are a prescription for disaster. Capital market myopia leads to over-funding of industries and unsustainable levels of valuation in the stock market. Uses the Winchester Disk industry to elucidate the phenomenon. Argues that capital market participants should have seen the problem coming. They should have known that valuation levels were absurd, based in large part on the greater fool theory. The data necessary to anticipate the problem were readily available before the industry shakeout began and stock prices collapsed. Offers some simple lessons to help investors and entrepreneurs avoid charter membership in the greater fool club.

Reviews several key areas in the marketing manager's legal environment and is organized around the marketing mix variables. In the pricing section it covers price fixing, resale price maintenance, discriminatory pricing, and predatory pricing. In the distribution section it covers tying; exclusive dealing; and territory, location, and customer restrictions. In the promotion section it covers unfair acts and practices and deceptive acts and practices. In the product section it covers patents, trademarks, copyrights, warranties, product liability, and product safety regulation. This note is not a complete survey of the law on the subjects covered, but is rather an introduction to the complexities of the marketing manager's legal environment.

Describes a method for valuing high-risk, long-term investments such as those confronting venture capitalists. The method entails forecasting a future value (e.g., five years from the present) and discounting that terminal value back to the present by applying a high discount rate (e.g., 50%). Provides an explanation of this method, including a detailed discussion of the determinants of the key factors ranging from the discount rate to the terminal value. The pedagogic objective is to make students aware of the issues involved in valuing such "futures" investments. A model is provided that further elucidates the determinants of value.

Designed to introduce students in Entrepreneurial Finance to the subject matter and modus operandi of the course. Also included is an annotated bibliography.

Defines and describes the major categories of influence tactics and indicates some of the conditions under which they are effective.

Describes Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II), a production technique designed to couple business and financial plans with manufacturing plans. It is an important tool for aligning manufacturing with a company's overall strategy and goals. Describes MRPII, distinguishing it from its predecessor, Material Requirements Planning (MRP); discusses the technique's basic elements; and reports survey results that show the factors distinguishing the most successful adopters of the technique.

Describes how close relationships with customers require close interfunctional and interdivisional coordination. Explains where the closest vendor/customer relationships arise and how they stress internal coordination. Also enumerates and briefly describes the way in which interfunctional coordination can be achieved.

An introduction to the formal analysis of strategic situations. Ideas of game trees, backwards induction, and dominated strategies are introduced. The methods of backwards induction to find optimal strategies is related to the method of successive eliminations of dominated strategies for games of perfect information.

Explains the need for functional integration and the four ways to obtain it. A bibliography is provided. The note is managerial rather than scholarly in tone.

Discusses the background of the foreign exchange market. This includes information about the participants and how the market operates. The problem set verses students in the arithmetic in the many common foreign exchange problems such as calculating forward premium and discounts, determining hedge ratios, covered interest arbitrage, etc.

A generalized definition of marketing strategy, useful in the classroom to establish a common vocabulary and to generate discussion. Discusses relationship to corporate strategic planning and describes a number of approaches including the BCG matrix.

Describes the issues that entrepreneurs and their firms must deal with in attempting to make the transition from entrepreneurial to professional management. The note suggests that the delegation of responsibility and the implementation of formal controls are two key steps in this transition.

Provides definitions of technology and operations management terms.