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This technical note provides a basic introduction to multiple linear regression. The concept of regression using a single independent variable is first introduced and then some of the practical challenges associated with it--including multiple independent variables in a regression--are discussed. Particular attention is paid to bias in the regression coefficients in the presence of omitted variables. The concept of the economic significance of a model is introduced and is contrasted with statistical significance. At Darden, it is used in a course elective titled "Big Data in Marketing."

Does discrimination on the basis of gender, religion or ethnic origin exist in the job market? Why do employers use these factors in hiring decisions? Is discrimination equally prevalent in different sectors and in the presence of countervailing information? Are reasons for job market discrimination justified? What are possible strategies for combating job market discrimination? This case examines these questions in the context of hiring in the entry level white collar job market in an emerging economy.

Why is allocating courses to students in universities a challenging task? How difficult is it for institutions to strike a balance between the students' preferences over courses and what they can make available given the feasibility and other constraints? What are the plausible short-term and long-term effects of this demand-supply mismatch on students' university experiences and career aspirations? What are the relative pros and cons of allocation mechanisms such as course auctions, rank-order lists and random serial dictatorship used by academic administrators? Can universities design better systems that are simpler, fairer and cannot be gamed yet put students in courses they want? This case attempts to answer these questions by primarily examining the course allocation problem as a two-sided matching issue.

This note discusses valuation in the context of business mergers and acquisitions. It builds on standard methods of business valuation to consider the unique questions arising in a merger or acquisition setting. The note focuses on valuation using the discounted cash flow (DCF) approach and the comparable-firm-multiples approach and presupposes an understanding of the principles of business valuation. The note provides and reviews the details of an acquisition valuation case example. At Darden, it is used in the First Year core Finance course in a module covering Corporate Finance.

High-yield debt is an important provider of financing for a broad range of corporate purposes. This note discusses the basic features of high-yield debt, some of its advantages and disadvantages, and the market in which it is primarily issued in the United States: the Rule 144A market. Because the market serves more speculative and volatile companies, the characteristics of the debt differ in pricing, availability, and risk compared with investment-grade debt. The note discusses and provides data to illuminate each of these differences.

This note covers the institutional process for companies making an initial public offering (IPO) of equity. It focuses on the basic institutional requirements of an underwritten security offering and the role of investment bankers. It is designed to familiarize students with the terminology and institutional practices of an IPO. In addition, it discusses the regulatory changes brought about by passage of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act in April 2012 and compares the process before and after the act was implemented.

This note covers U.S. SEC Rule 415, more widely known as shelf registration. It briefly discusses the rationale and historical origins of the rule in 1982 and then discusses several reforms-the introduction of universal registration statements in 1992 and well-known seasoned issuers in 2005-which have greatly expanded shelf-registered equity issuance. The more frequent use of shelf registration has led to the development of alternative methods of selling seasoned or follow-on equity offers, such as fully marketed offers, accelerated bookbuilding offers, and overnight offers.

This note provides an overview of three key healthcare IT areas: electronic medical records and electronic health records, revenue cycle management, and telemedicine. This note also contains a glossary of key terms and acronyms in this space as well as exhibits detailing unit economics, market dynamics, and key players.

This note is an introduction to using Analysis ToolPak, a Microsoft Excel add-in program. The note describes most of the tools available in Analysis ToolPak, illustrates the steps through screenshots and provides examples of the program’s utility in Excel and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). The note also shows how to automate use of these tools with VBA. The tools explained in the note are ANOVA, correlation, descriptive statistics, exponential smoothing, F-test two-sample for variances, Fourier analysis, random numbers, histogram, moving average, random number generation, rank and percentile, regression, sampling, t-test and z-test.

Small differences in the leadership of teams can have large consequences for the success of their efforts. Many initiatives fail not because of a fatal error in judgment or insufficient ideas, knowledge, motivation, or capabilities to deliver a solution. They fail because, as is so often heard, "we needed to be more of a team to succeed," "we weren't a sufficiently high-performing team," or "our team suffered from a lack of leadership." In a world where most problems faced by organizations are too complex for a single individual to tackle alone, leadership frequently involves designing, launching, and managing teams. And yet teams are fickle. Even as teams become more common at all levels of organizations, a shocking number of them fail to live up to their potential or even to deliver at all. Teams remain the most flexible and powerful units of learning, change, and performance in most organizations but require effective leadership to succeed. This note summarizes the conditions leaders can create to increase the chances of creating, managing, and participating in successful teaming environments.

This note is used in Darden's Postmerger Integration elective. The authors present a guide to help managers prepare for integration challenges and allocate integration resources more efficiently. Although simple at first glance, addressing 20 yes-or-no questions can lead to fruitful in-depth conversations that provide a sound foundation for successful PMI planning and execution. By answering these questions in open dialogue, PMI managers and senior executives will expose the potential weaknesses in an upcoming merger and highlight the arenas in which detailed planning is not only warranted but fundamental.

This Industry Note examines the state of the digital signage industry in 2010. The industry came into being to meet the emerging commercial and communications need for more dynamic messaging. It is a nexus between two industries - those who manufacture the equipment and those who create the messaging content. Together, they created an industry that provides instantaneous messaging at the speed of light. In 2010, the industry was a technically complex, multi-product, multi-segment, multi-channel, highly fragmented market with few dominant firms, rapidly-evolving technologies, and relatively low entry barriers for many segments of the industry. Global opportunities exist and multi-national electronics firms are entering the market. The Note reviews the industry's external environment, the forces that are shaping the industry, its competitive landscape, the emerging industry structure, and the near-term future of the industry. Those firms that emerged as dominant competitors tended to have higher levels of vertical integration, greater financial strength, and greater breadth in their product lines; served multiple market segments; and had the design and engineering capabilities to provide high-level product customization. Increased capabilities in design, product engineering, fabrication, and technology integration led to broader and more diversified product lines and the ability to meet demanding customer requirements in multiple market segments.

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?

This is the syllabus and course outline for "Entrepreneurship in Healthcare IT and Services (EHITS), taught by Prof. Bob Higgins in the fall of 2013. Contains the course overview, objectives, goals and themes.

Human resource (HR) management practices in Japan are significantly different from those in Europe and North America. A knowledge of the traditional Japanese HR system, including practices relating to recruiting and compensation, unions and the labour market, is crucial for foreign companies operating in Japan as well as those seeking to do business with Japanese firms. While Japan’s distinct HR system was once considered a source of competitive advantage, changing economies and labour markets have called its current effectiveness into question. The traditional system primarily provided stable long-term employment for full-time employees; however, for a variety of reasons, non-regular forms of employment, including part-time and short-term positions, are on the rise. HR managers in Japan must consider relevant societal and economic changes and develop more effective HR systems in response.

This technical note discuss abstraction as a way of generalizing a process or component for wider application. By hiding complexity inside a module, abstraction enables system designers o think at a higher level. This lower entry barriers to using (and reusing) a complex technology.

This note discusses the shifts in the conception of brand and identity as it relates to corporations.

This note describes in detail the components of a marketing plan and the process by which data are collected and the plan is developed. Its objective is to develop a sense of purpose and discipline in how one goes about the marketing plan development process and to assist in the gathering of data that will become part of the written plan.