Growing businesses, whether large or small, publicly-owned or privately-held, need access to capital markets for money to support their growth. Much is written in the popular press showing how companies are richly rewarded when they please the capital markets, and how they are punished when they do not meet the expectations of those who supply their capital. Therefore, it is vital that Strategic managers, business-unit managers, and profit-center managers understand how their internal decisions and actions influence the success or failure of the business as it is seen externally, by bankers and investors. This module shows operating managers what they need to know about the finance side of the business, especially how their work is tied to providing the proper return to investors and how that connects to a rising share price for the owners of the business. Using mini-lectures, mini-case studies, and spreadsheets, participants will be shown the financial impacts of their business decisions concerning research and development, production, marketing, and strategy in a transitioning economy. Emphasis is placed on the preparation of project proposals that are good enough to be approved by financial managers, so operating managers can justify their requests for the funding they need to grow their businesses.

Key topics to be covered in this session:

• Apply financial statement analysis with ratios, cost-volume-profit planning, and break-even analysis from Accounting module 

• Understand proper and improper use of financial information to measure the performance of  profit centers and business units

• Apply Time Value of Money techniques and forecasting methods to prepare winning cash flow forecasts for project proposals, evaluating the risk and reward of these projects using Cost of Capital, Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return, Profitability Index, Return on Capital Employed, and Economic Value Added performance measurements

• Understand techniques for optimizing working capital requirements

• Prepare make-or-buy, outsourcing, and lease-or purchase justifications 

• Understand how companies finance growth using debt and equity financing, and the valuation models used to value companies, i.e., the links between the operations of a business, the financial markets, and the stock price 

• Coverage of above topics in the environment of a transitioning economy with fluctuating commodity prices and foreign exchange rates

• Learn to communicate effectively with financial managers who control the funding needed to operate at profit-center, business-unit, and Strategic management levels

This module focuses on formulation and implementation of strategy. We will examine strategic issues at the business, corporate and multinational levels and employ foundational frameworks and analytics to craft successful strategies. Our starting point will be strategy at the level of the business unit, which is the foundation level for competitive analysis and competitive advantage. Next, we will examine strategy at the corporate and multinational levels. Here, the emphasis is on understanding the advantages and disadvantages of diversified and multinational firms with respect to a single business firm. We will also examine different modes of growing the firm including internal development, innovation, and vertical integration (make vs. buy decision). We conclude the module by examining the importance of organization design in both creating and implementing successful strategies.  The vitality of sound leadership in the creation and implementation of strategy is addressed throughout the Module.

Key topics to be covered in this session:

• Industry and Competitive Analysis

• Competitive Advantage

• Growth Strategies

• Organization Design for Successful Strategy Implementation

• Leading and Communicating Strategy