MBA in a Day What You Would Learn at Top-Tier Business Schools (If You Only Had The Time!)

Подождите немного. Документ загружается.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any

form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise,

except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without

either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the

appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers,

to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley

& Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best

efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the

accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied

warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or

extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained

herein may not be suitable for your situation. The publisher is not engaged in rendering

professional services, and you should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the

publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or other commercial damages, including

but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

For general information on our other products and services please contact our Customer Care

Department within the U.S. at (800) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or

fax (317) 572-4002.

Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed by trademarks.

In all instances where the author or publisher is aware of a claim, the product names appear in

Initial Capital letters. Readers, however, should contact the appropriate companies for more

complete information regarding trademarks and registration.

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in

print may not be available in electronic books. For more information about Wiley products, visit

our web site at www.Wiley.com.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Stralser, Steven, 1945–

MBA in a day

: what you would learn at top-tier business schools (if you

only had the time!) / Steven Stralser.

p. cm.

ISBN 0-471-68054-0 (cloth)

1. Business education. 2. Industrial management—Study and teaching

(Graduate) 3. Master of business administration degree. I. Title.

HF1111.S77 2004

658—dc22 2004007668

Printed in the United States of America.

10987654321

ffirs.qxd 7/26/04 4:30 PM Page viii

MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests

TLFeBOOK

To my father, Harold, a hero in many ways

ffirs.qxd 7/26/04 4:30 PM Page ix

TLFeBOOK

ffirs.qxd 7/26/04 4:30 PM Page x

TLFeBOOK

Preface xv

Acknowledgments xix

About the Author xxi

SECTION I:

PEOPLE, MANAGEMENT, AND POLICY

Chapter 1

Human Resources 3

Chapter 2

Organizational Behavior 18

Chapter 3

Leadership and Team Building 38

Chapter 4

Ethics 57

Chapter 5

Negotiation 71

Contents

ftoc.qxd 7/26/04 4:30 PM Page xi

TLFeBOOK

SECTION II:

MONEY: ECONOMICS, FINANCE, AND ACCOUNTING

Chapter 6

Accounting and Finance 97

Chapter 7

International, National, and Local Economics 124

SECTION III:

MARKETS AND STRATEGY

Chapter 8

Marketing, Strategy, and Competitive Analysis 145

Chapter 9

Advertising and Promotion 170

Chapter 10

Communications and Presentations 187

SECTION IV:

SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES

Chapter 11

Project Management 211

Chapter 12

Management Information Systems 228

CONTENTS

xii

ftoc.qxd 7/26/04 4:30 PM Page xii

TLFeBOOK

Chapter 13

E-Commerce and Uses of the World Wide Web 247

Chapter 14

Quality Management Systems 264

Index 289

Contents

xiii

ftoc.qxd 7/26/04 4:30 PM Page xiii

TLFeBOOK

ftoc.qxd 7/26/04 4:30 PM Page xiv

TLFeBOOK

f course you can’t get an MBA degree in a day—ask anyone

who has put in the months and years needed to accomplish

this challenging and rewarding achievement—but this book

is where you will find, in basic, easy-to-understand language, MBA

concepts and principles that are presented in the gold standard of

business education throughout the world—the master of business

administration.

The story behind this book comes from my years teaching in a

full-time MBA program where I began to notice something I found

very interesting. Every semester, in addition to the traditional MBA

students who had taken time off from their corporate life to enroll in

the MBA program, I would find one or two students who were clearly

“outliers” to these mainstream corporate types—for example, a physi-

cian, an attorney, an executive director from a nonprofit organization,

or a small business owner or entrepreneur.

It did not take long to realize this trend was an indicator of an un-

derlying interest, and need, for these well-educated professionals—

well trained in the education of their profession—to learn about the

“business side” of their professional lives.

These non-business-trained professionals wanted to fill a gap and

learn business principles and concepts needed in their professional

practices but not taught in medical schools or other professional

schools such as law, engineering, architecture, veterinary, or other

highly specialized training programs.

I also realized that for every physician, attorney, architect, or en-

trepreneur who can take the time to enroll in an MBA program, there

are many more who are pressed for time and focused on the day-to-day

challenges of running a successful practice, operating a small business,

or launching a new venture but who would benefit from learning the

essential principles and concepts found in the coursework of an MBA

Preface

fpref.qxd 7/26/04 4:31 PM Page xv

TLFeBOOK

program. It is for these successful—albeit time-sensitive—profession-

als that this book is written.

In this book, you will learn the fundamental concepts and prin-

ciples that full-time MBA students learn and that also have applica-

bility to professional services providers, small business owners, and

entrepreneurs as well as corporations and industry. These principles

and concepts are not industry or profession specific—they are clas-

sic, strategic, and essential in performing in today’s complex eco-

nomic environment.

The book begins with Section I: People, Management, and Policy,

which focuses on the human side of business. Chapter 1, “Human Re-

sources,” explores how human assets are critical to success and com-

petitive advantage. Chapter 2, “Organizational Behavior,” explores the

dynamics of how people work together in an organizational setting.

Chapter 3, “Leadership and Team Building,” explores the differences

between managing and leading and presents concepts behind the effec-

tive use of teams as a means to achieve organizational goals. Chapter 4,

“Ethics,” focuses on the complexities and issues that managers face in

doing the right thing in an increasingly ambiguous and uncertain orga-

nizational environment. Chapter 5, “Negotiation,” presents essential

processes for navigating through the dynamics of conflict and agree-

ment, providing a useful understanding of how this subject is critical

to managers who must negotiate to some degree, on several levels,

every day.

Section II: Money: Economics, Finance, and Accounting, focuses

on the concepts and principles we associate with the financial side of

an organization and its economic context. Chapter 6, “Accounting and

Finance,” explores the way we keep score in business, providing the

essentials of accounting systems and financial statements. Chapter 7,

“International, National, and Local Economics,” provides a vocabulary

of economic fundamentals to understand how nations, corporations,

and individuals behave in markets to efficiently apply and allocate

scarce resources and make their way through global economic systems.

Section III: Markets and Strategy explores the way organizations

read, adapt, and communicate with their customers, competitors, and

constituencies. In Chapter 8, “Marketing, Strategy, and Competitive

Analysis,” we review how organizations analyze their industry and their

competition and then develop the way they communicate with their

PREFACE

xvi

fpref.qxd 7/26/04 4:31 PM Page xvi

TLFeBOOK

target customers. Chapter 9, “Advertising and Promotion,” looks at the

specifics of companies’ communication with customers and clients.

Chapter 10, “Communications and Presentations,” presents principles

and concepts about an increasingly important part of managing a busi-

ness today—how to present our ideas and communicate effectively.

Section IV: Systems and Processes explores the key areas for orga-

nizations to implement their strategies and maintain competitiveness

and sustainability. Chapter 11, “Project Management,” explains how

managers can tackle specific projects from start to finish and efficiently

manage them. In Chapter 12, “Management Information Systems,” we

explore the increasingly important essentials of today’s cyber-environ-

ment and how technology can be harnessed to achieve organizational

excellence. Chapter 13, “E-Commerce and Uses of the World Wide

Web,” explores the use of the Web both as a means to communicate with

customers, clients, and constituencies and also as a tool for organiza-

tional efficiency and productivity. And finally, in a world where quality is

the key driver to market success and sustainability, Chapter 14, “Quality

Management Systems,” explores the concepts and principles of develop-

ing a culture and organizational purpose focused on quality.

Preface

xvii

fpref.qxd 7/26/04 4:31 PM Page xvii

TLFeBOOK