The Fast Forward MBA in Business

This practical, easy-to-use guide gives you instant access to the cutting-edge thought and hard-won wisdon of experienced executives, savvy entrepreneurs, and top business educators. In short, lively segments it delivers the information you need without bogging you down in theory. You'll find brief descriptions of key concepts, tips on real-world applications, compact case studies, helpful tables, and warnings on how to avoid pitfalls.

Here are all the tools you need to plan the big moves, make the big decisions, and do business on a whole new level, including

• Knowing when to lead and when to manage
• Forming and using alternative teams
• Using the company's financial statement to develop strategy
• Getting the most out of information technology
• And much more

• Introduction
• Section One: The New Softer Side of Business
• Chapter One — Leadership and Management
• People and Purpose: A New Corporate Strategy
• Blending the Art of Leadership with the Skill of Management
• One Without the Other Won't Work
• Women as Leaders
• The Web: A New Organizational Structure
• Leaders Must learn to Listen
• Darth Vader Was a Leader, Too
• Stellar Performer: Percy Barnevik, European Star
• Good Leadeers Groom Others for Leadership
• Let the Force Be With You
• It Takes a Leader to Change a Culture
• Stellar Performer: Tom Chappell, Soul Manager
• Communication Is Key
• Anita Roddick: Feminine Power
• Practice What You Preach
• Chuck Mitchell: Small Company, Big Leader
• End Point
• More Reading
• Chapter Two — Culture: Intangible, Untouchable, But Oh So Important
• Culture Influences Performance and Profit
• The Priority of Purpose
• Revolutionary Conservatives
• Core Values Must Be Articulated
• The Energy of Vision
• The Rationale of Mission
• Nothing Is Written in Stone
• Vision Is Inclusive
• Vision Has Psychological Impact
• Corporate Cultures Are Not Totally Homogeneous
• Cultures Can Get Sick
• A Strong Culture Isn't Always a Healthy Culture
• It Pays to Stay Fit
• Unhealthy Cultures Are Costly
• Healthy Cultures Prosper
• Stellar Performer: Hewlett-Packard Deep Core Values, Strong Leadership, Cosmic Performance
• Shifting Cultural Context Is Not Easy
• Xerox: Still in Orbit
• End Point
• More Reading
• Chapter Three — People: The Management of Human Resources
• The Role and Function of HR
• Shifting Structures
• Changing Roles and Responsibilities
• Outsourcing Work Suppoorts Flexible Structure
• Flexibility Also Means Job Insecurity
• Careful Hiring Practices
• Use a Variety of Interview Techniques
• You've Gotta Like the Place
• Performance and Productivity
• Motivation, Performance Systems, and Rewards
• Design Effective Performance Measures
• Employess Need Feedback
• Communicate Goals and Review Performance
• Reward with More than Money
• Pay-for-Performance Must Be Equitably Measured
• Empowerment: The Ultimate Reward
• Open-Book Management
• Documents for Open-Book Management
• Application Depends on Culture
• It's a Good Technique for smaller Companies
• It's a Good Way to Build Trust
• Training and Development
• Remember to Change Beliefs before Behavior
• Managing Diversity
• Stellar Performer: Motorola, Educational Power
• Levi Strauss: Leader in Diversity
• Without Question: A Need for Ethics
• End Point
• More Reading
• Chapter Four — New Relationships: Teamwork and the Customer Connection
• Teamwork: An Integral Piece of the New Business Structure
• Teams Come in Different Sizes and Shapes
• Making Teams Work
• Loss of Cohesion Unglues the Process
• Provide Clarity and Guidance
• Empower Teams with Decision-Making Authority
• Responsibility Is a Key Issue
• Silence Is Deadly
• Teams Need Some Conflict
• Stellar Performer: 3M, Innovation and Teamwork
• Teams Need Process Measurements
• Don't Get Caught Up in Old Patterns
• Customers Are Number One
• Listen to the Customers
• Do What It Takes to Get Close
• New One-to-One Relationships
• Learn about Customers by Being Creative
• Create a New Rule
• Learn from Others: Benchmark
• Stellar Performer: Honeywell, Customer Service
• End Point
• More Reading
• Section Two: The Hard Numbers
  
• Chapter Five — Accounting and Finance: Showing How the Numbers Count
• How a Company Works
• Accounting
• The Balance in the Balance Sheet
• Income Statement: A Picture of Profitability
• Numbers Alone Mean Nothing
• Profitability Does Not Equal Cash Flow
• Differentiate between Fixed and Variable Costs
• Cash Flow through the Company
• Compare Source of Numbers
• Book Value versus Market Value
• Annual Report: Read the Whole Thing
• Inventory and Depreciation
• IRS Stipulate Useful Life
• Accelerate to Zero
• Small Companies Can Depreciate Fully in One Year
• Check Financial Health with Financial Ratios
• Firms Need Working Capital to Work
• The Acid Test Is a Quick Ratio
• Controls That Test for Liquidity
• Debt-to-Equity Ratio
• Profitability Ratio: Return on Equity (ROE)
• ROE Contains Questions of Reliability
• ROE and Financial Leverage
• Profitability Ratios: ROA and ROI
• Ratios Are Clues
• End Point
• More Reading
• Chapter Sex — Financial Function: Hard Values
• Capital Planning
• Knowing the Cost of Capital
• Analysing Risk in Capital Investments
• Companies Tend to Set High Hurdle Rates
• Capital Asset Pricing Model
• Understanding Beta
• Time Has Value
• Missed Opportunites Cost Money
• Capital Rationing
• Don't Sink with Sunk Costs
• Use Pro Forma Statements for Forecasting
• Use Statistical Tools
• The Value of Stock
• The Value of Bonds
• End Point
• More Reading
• Chapter Seven — The Macro and Micro of Economics
• Macroeconomics
• Three Types of Unemployment
• Use GDP as a Guide to Inflation and Interest Rates
• Be Aware of Cycles
• Seasons Shift Data
• Money Is Always an Issue
• A Little History Helps
• International Economics
• Foreign Exchange Rate
• Weak or Strong Money?
• Consumption
• Use Software and Regression Analysis to Plot Relationships
• The Economy and Investment
• Analyzing the Macroenvironment
• Microeconomics
• Supply and Demand
• Demand Elasticity
• Demand Is Key to Competitive Advantage
• Price Competitively or Watch Demand Die
• Market Structures Affect Supply and Demand
• Crowds Crowd Out Markets
• End Point
• More Reading
• Section Three: Functions and Strategies: Making Business Work
• Chapter Eight — Information Technology: The New Engine of Business
• Information Technology Revolutionizes Economies
• Digital Age Brings Virtual World
• Technologies Demand Change
• IT Improves Business
• IT: Power and Speed
• Networks Change Business Environment
• Wal-Mart: Retailer with a Noteworthy Network
• Train people to Use Information and Technology
• Without Good Networks, Negligible Net Profit
• Networks Help the Little Guy
• IT and Business Strategy
• IT Alone Aun't Strategic
• IT Provides Advantages beyond Efficiency
• Small Company, Big IT Star: Flower and Samios
• IT Can Drive Business Strategy
• Tailor Technology and Work with Environment
• The Question: Go Inside or Outside for IT?
• Integrate Technologies
• IT Companies: Innovation and Demand
• Combine High Volume with Low Prices and Be Generous
• Know the Market
• Learn How to Mass-Customize Products
• Commitment Leads to Success
• Analog Devices, Inc.: Committed to Chips
• Failure to Exploit IT Causes Lost Opportunities
• Mergers Matter
• Breakups Matter, Too
• End Point
• More Reading
• Chapter Nine: M&M: Manufacturing and Marketing
• Business Processes, Not Functions, Provide Focus
• Capacity Is Key in Both Manufacturing and Service Industries
• Productivity Does Not Mean Volume
• Materials: Too Much or Too Little
• Capital and Capacity
• Use Caution Investing in Capacity
• Technology: Man and Machine
• Total Quality Management (TQM)
• The Flexibility of Agile Manufacturing
• Nothing's Easy
• The Essence of Time
• Leverage Manufacturing
• Develop a Manufacturing Strategy
• Location Is Strategically Important
• USA: A Manufacturing Renaissance
• Use Development Projects as Change Agents
• Prototyping Technologies
• Manufacturing and marketing: A New Mix
• DeskJet Printer: Result of Mingling M&M and R&D
• Cultural Barriers Can Impede Mingling
• Create Shared Understanding and Space
• R&D: Collaboration Pays Off
• Culture Can Cause Collaboration Problems
• Understand Marketing Tools
• Market Share versus Customer Share
• Tecnol: Small Company Wins Market Share
• Segmented Marketing and Differentiated Products
• Develop Value through One-to-One Marketing
• Start at the Very Beginning — With the Customer
• Position to Shape Perception
• Bundling Products Can Help Marketers
• Service Requires More than a Smile
• Stellar Performer: Ross Controls, Virtual Manufacturer
• Product Life Cycle
• Price: How Much to Charge?
• Work toward Building Trust through Understanding Price
• Distribution: The Right Time and the Right Place
• Remember Information Technology Makes Time Real
• Federal Express: Distributing Expertise
• Develop Supplier Relationships
• Trust Is Critical: So Is Comparable Compensation
• Promotion: Persuading the Public
• Stellar Performer: Wal-Mart, Innovative Marketing and Distribution
• End Point
• More Reading
• Chapter Ten — Strategic Thinking: It's All About Moves
• Pirnciples of Strategic Management
• The Strategic Game Needs Goals
• The Outcome Depends on All the Moves
• It's Tricky, But It's Not Rocket Science
• Exploit Opportunities and Innovate
• Massive Parallelism: An Innovative Move
• Strategy: Develop Core Competencies
• Core Competence Leads to Core Products
• Core Competencies Can Erode
• Create Competitive Space
• Creating Value
• EDS: Star Company Seeks White Space
• Restructuring Strategies
• Stay Healthy, Not Thin
• Growth Strategy
• Break New Ground
• Organizations Are Organisms
• Develop Stretch Goals
• Partnering Strategies
• NEC: Growth through Alignment
• Pull Tohether, Not Apart
• Check Out Assumptions
• Stellar Performer: Southwest Airlines, Industry Challenger
• Strategy Involves Learning
• Scenario Planning: A Learning Tool for Strategic Planning
• Reengineering Business Processes
• Do It Right or It Won't Work
• Reengineering Is Not TQM
• Reengineering Is Not Restructuring
• Reengineering Is Hard Work
• Reengineering Never Ends
• Global Strategies
• Competitive Advantage in Going Global
• Racing Strollers: Small-Sized Reengineering Star
• Global Networks Link Businesses
• Global Strategies Present Challenges
• Far And Away, but Local Counts
• Global Strategies Demand Leadership
• Globalization Includes Hard and Soft Issues
• Fort Motor Company: Risk Taker
• Global Partnering Can Prove Profitable
• Fiat: Italian Partnerships
• KLM: European High Flyer
• Small Companies Can Cross Big Oceans, Too
• The Smaller the Pocket, the Bigger the Caution
• Information Is Everywhere — If You Know Where to Look
• End Point
• More Reading

Like most of the books in this series, you may skip it.