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This note addresses a number of different frameworks that general managers and consultants use to address problems. A general framework for addressing Operations Management is presented that can be used by both operations consultants and general managers.

Outlines the definition and applicability of financial multiples and their relationship to discounted cash flow analysis.

Presents details related to Sarbanes-Oxley, with special emphasis on Section 404.

This note introduces four common underlying processes and the analytical probability distribution used to forecast the outcomes of each. The note also illustrates how to use Excel functions to calculate probabilities from the four resulting probability distributions: the binomial, normal, Poisson, and exponential.

Provides an overview framework for understanding international strategy. Observes that international strategy draws on much of the same theory as corporate strategy. The same tests that can be applied to justify expansion across businesses--the better off and ownership tests--also apply to expansion across borders. What is different about international strategy is that widening a firm's domain to the entire globe introduces substantively different degrees of heterogeneity, scale, and volatility across markets. These three factors create new opportunities and trade-offs for multinationals. Effective international strategy is based on a source of competitive advantage that capitalizes on one of these factors and aligns the configuration of all its activities in support of that advantage. Multinationals need to choose the products they offer, the countries in which they compete, the location of their activities, and their organizational design contingent on their international strategy.

This paper reflects on the role of ethics in field of finance.

Strategizing is the process of perceiving, analyzing, and shaping competitive situations. This note aims provide some basic orientation and sketches some frameworks that can guide the strategizing process.

Decision trees can be helpful in analyzing the key drivers of profitability and in designing risk-mitigation strategies. When analyzing competitive situations, each player's viewpoint can be represented by a separate decision tree, creating a "decision forest." In some situations, it is also useful to summarize two players' decision trees in a single payoff matrix. This note introduces those concepts step by step.

This note introduces some key game-theoretic concepts and techniques, with an emphasis on their underlying motivations. It covers the following topics: • Domination • Iterated elimination of dominated strategies • Nash equilibrium • Randomized Stra

Use of streaming media; audio and video content delivered over an Internet Protocol (IP)-based network, was not as ubiquitous as e-mail, but was rapidly increasing. Workplace usage of streaming media hit 22 million users in October and November of 2001, increasing 11.3 per cent over the same period in the previous year. The users of streaming media were diverse. Enterprises used audio and video to jazz up their public-facing websites to improve the quality of on-line customer service, and to cut the costs of running a parallel closed-circuit television network for corporate communications and distance learning. Media and entertainment companies were aggressively pursuing the Internet as a distribution channel for movie trailers, and as an advertising channel to spur CD and DVD sales, and as a new revenue stream with pay-per-view delivery of entire films directly to a user's computer. Despite the best efforts of technology and service providers, TN-quality streaming, and the business models that depended on it, streaming media still faced several hurdles. This technical note provides a high-level background on the challenges involved in delivering audio and video content over the Internet in 2001. It then gives an overview of various technical solutions that have been developed to address those challenges. It concludes with a discussion of the six critical areas that organizations must consider if they plan to include audio and video components in their business applications. This is a supplement to Mercedes-Benz USA: Investing in IT Infrastructure, product 9B06E003.

Provides an overview for students of the MBA elective course Managing Networked Businesses (MNB). MNB focuses on management challenges in businesses that exhibit network effects. The first section of the note explains that such businesses comprise a large and growing share of the global economy and confront distinctive management challenges. Due to the unusual microeconomic attributes of networked businesses, designing optimal business models is difficult, and managers often must cope with winner-take-all competitive dynamics. Winner-take-all outcomes have profound implications for strategy decisions, and choices about capital structure, organizational design, and government relations. For this reason, MNB employs a general management perspective. The second section of the note reviews a set of core concepts covered in MNB and provides definitions of networks, network effects, and platforms. The final section briefly describes the organization and contents of MNB's modules.

This note discusses the legal issues entrepreneurs must consider as they form their company as a legal entity. In Q&A format, the note concisely defines the types of entity available and discusses when and how to engage a lawyer.

Examines when it is profitable for a company to position part or all of its activity set across national borders and how a cross-border business is successfully designed and managed.

An abstract is not available for this product.

Technology projects are inherently risky; research shows that large IT projects succeed as originally planned only 28 percent of the time. Building flexibility, or real options, into a project can help manage this risk. Furthermore, the management flexibility of options has value, as the downside risk is reduced and the upside is increased. The case is based upon real options analysis for an enterprise data warehouse (EDW) and analytic customer relationship management (CRM) program at a major U.S. firm. The firm has been disguised as Global Airlines for confidentiality reasons. The data mart consolidation or EDW marginally meets the hurdle rate for the firm as analyzed using a traditional net present value (NPV) analysis. However, different tactical deployment strategies help mitigate the risk of the project by building options into the project, and the traditional NPV is expanded by the real option value. Students analyze the different deployment strategies using a binomial model compound option Excel macro, and calculate the volatility using Monte Carlo analysis in Excel. A step-by-step tutorial is provided to teach students how to accomplish the real options analysis for a simplified project, and this tutorial is easily generalized by students to the case scenario. In addition to the tactical options, the case also has the strategic growth option of analytic CRM. Students must therefore analyze both the tactical and strategic growth options and make a management recommendation on funding the project and also recommend an optimal deployment strategy to manage the project risk.

This technical note provides an introduction to corporate branding, including a brief history, a discussion of differences between corporate and product branding, and some strategic implications for how corporate branding is used.

This technical note provides an introduction to corporate communication, including a discussion of recent trends.

The last of four module notes for students taking an advanced course on competitive strategy. Examines patterns that distinguish successful strategic change efforts from unsuccessful ones.

The third of four module notes for students who are taking an advanced course on competitive strategy. Examines how combinations of external threats and internal barriers to change lead to strategic failure.