Highly recommended. Gives the reader a good working knowledge of management concepts, tools, and formulas. This should be mandatory reading for any new employee, regardless of industry or expertise. Some highlights:
1) Break even unit volume (how much to produce to break even) = fixed costs / selling price of product - variable costs
2) A balance sheet is a snapshot of the company's holdings at any time. Assets = Liabilities+ Owner's equity. If the records do not balance, then there is a mistake.
3) Overview of quantitative analysis: how to calculate EMV (expected monetary value), cash flow modeling, net present value, IRR (internal rate of return), and probability distributions.
4) A major drawback of the corporation is double taxation: taxation as an entity, and also taxation on dividends.
5) CAPM (capital asset pricing model) determines the rate of return necessary to compensate for that inherent risk of a particular investment. (e.g. is that stock worth buying)
6) Even if you do not work in operations, it will help you to understand the meaning of key acronyms: MRP (master resource plan), BOM (bill of materials), SPC (statistical process control), CPM (critical path methodology), EOQ (economic order quantity)
7) Good history of economic thought: Keynes (positive effect of government fiscal spending), Friedman (government should only focus on money supply), Smith (invisible hand), Schumpeter (creative destruction), Laffer (supply side)
8) "Strategy is the most exciing course in the MBA curriculum because it gives you the chance to put all your new skills to work. Strategy classes place students in the chairman of the board's chair, and MBAs love that feeling." (pg 297)
9) The author recommend these two books as compulsory business reading: Michael Porter's [Competitive Strategy] and [Competitive Advantage].
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192250339_.gif){kind=small}
