What the Best MBAs Know: How to Apply the Greatest Ideas Taught in the Best Business Schools [Hardcover]

Peter Navarro (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0071422757 | ISBN-13: 978-0071422758 | Publication Date: February 24, 2005 | Edition: 1

Easy access to the essential knowledge and skills of a top-level M.B.A. program--without having to attend a lecture

What the Best MBAs Know provides professionals who don't have the coveted M.B.A. designation with the skills and knowledge taught in today's finest programs. Professors from Stanford, MIT, Northwestern, and other influential programs contribute detailed chapters on broad-scope topics such as strategy, functional areas including accounting, and key disciplines from managerial economics to decision analysis.

The resulting application-based book gives readers complete mastery over the most important concepts of an M.B.A. education, leveling the playing field between M.B.A. and non-M.B.A. professionals. Organized according to the subject matter of the core M.B.A. curriculum, this unique and valuable book features:

• Fascinating boxes discussing real-world situations and applications
• Companion website with interactive exercises, key links, and more
• Focused review questions and exercises for each chapter and area

Contributors

• Charles P. Bonini, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University
• Leslie K. Breitner, Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington
• Richard J. Lutz, Warrington College of Business Administration at the University of Florida
• Steven L. McShane, Graduate School of Management at the University of Western Australia
• Steven Nahmias, Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University
• Stephen A. Ross, Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Daniel F. Spulber, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Get the knowledge and skills taught in today's top MBA programs--without ever setting foot inside a classroom

What the Best MBAs Know presents the key concepts, tools, and wisdom being taught in leading MBA programs from Northwestern's Kellogg School and the Wharton School to Stanford and USC. Featuring contributions from the most accomplished business school professors, each chapter takes you inside their classrooms for a detailed look at topics from marketing, finance, and managerial economics to leadership, corporate strategy, and more. Theoretically solid and applications-based, What the Best MBAs Know is both a valuable resource and a ready reference to the core knowledge obtained with an MBA.

Includes contributions by:

• Charles P. Bonini, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University
• Leslie K. Breitner, Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs, University of Washington
• Jeffrey F. Jaffe, The Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania
• Richard J. Lutz, Warrington College of Business Administration, University of Florida
• Steven L. McShane, Graduate School of Management, University of Western Australia
• Steven Nahmias, Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University
• Peter Navarro, Graduate School of Management, University of California, Irvine
• Stephen A. Ross, Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Daniel F. Spulber, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
• Mary Ann Von Glinow, Florida International University
• Barton Weitz, Warrington College of Business Administration, University of Florida
• Randolph W. Westerfield, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California

What the Best MBAs Know covers the breakthrough strategies, techniques, and ideas that are being taught in the classrooms of today's top MBA programs. University of California business professor Peter Navarro joins more than a dozen of his colleagues--including Stephen A. Ross of MIT's Sloan School, Daniel Spulber of Northwestern's Kellogg School, and Charles P. Bonini of Stanford University's Graduate School of Business--to provide you with the key concepts, tools, and knowledge that, until now, could only be obtained through an MBA degree. This comprehensive book--as engaging as it is informative--covers virtually every subject taught in an intensive MBA program, including:

• The Big Picture: An Overview of the MBA Curriculum
• Management Strategy: Five Steps to Successful Strategic Analysis
• Macroeconomics & the Well-Timed Business Strategy
• Strategic Marketing: Delivering Customer Value
• Operations and Supply Chain Management: Getting the Stuff Out the Door
• Financial Accounting: "Doing the Numbers" for Investors, Regulators and Other External Users
• Managerial Accounting: "Doing the Numbers" for Decision Making and Control
• Corporate Finance: Big Questions and Key Concepts
• Organizational Behavior: The Power of People and Leadership
• Statistics, Decision Analysis, and Modeling: How the Numbers Help Us Manage
• Managerial Economics: Microeconomics for Managers

In each chapter, What the Best MBAs Know first identifies the key concepts of a subject like strategy or finance. One of the world's top business professors then illustrates how these concepts are applied on a daily basis in the rough-and-ready world of international business. The insights of these top professors throw open the doors of the best business schools as they highlight the latest strategies and tactics driving today's intensely competitive landscape.

Whether you are currently pursuing an MBA, already have an MBA but need to refresh and update your information, or simply want to arm yourself with MBA-level knowledge without the time and financial commitments involved in obtaining the degree, this all-in-one resource will help to place you on the same strategic playing field as your competitors.

About the Author

Peter Navarro is a business professor at the Graduate School of Management, UC-Irvine. He is the author of the bestselling investor’s guide, If It’s Raining in Brazil, Buy Starbucks, marketed worldwide in several languages. His articles have appeared in publications ranging from BusinessWeek, Forbes, the Harvard Business Review, and the Sloan Management Review, to the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. His media appearances include Bloomberg TV, CNN, CNBC, Marketplace, NPR, and all of the major news networks. His multimedia CD-ROM package The Power of Economics is distributed widely on college campuses. For more information, visit the author's website at www.peternavarro.com.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (February 24, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071422757
• ISBN-13: 978-0071422758
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #192,737 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Peter Navarro is a business professor at the University of California, Irvine. His latest book is "The Well-Timed Strategy: Managing the Business Cycle for Competitive Advantage."

He is author of the bestselling investment book If It's Raining in Brazil, Buy Starbucks" and the bestselling audio lecture course "Big Picture Investing: How, When, and Why the Stock Market Moves." His weekly newsletter on the economy and stock market is distributed widely and is available to the public at www.peternavarro.com .

A widely sought-after and gifted public speaker, Navarro has appeared frequently on Bloomberg TV, CNN, CNBC, NPR, and all three major network news shows. Navarro's articles have appeared in a wide range of leading publications, including Barrons, Business Week, Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Sloan Management Review.

Professor Navarro holds a B.A. from Tufts University and a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great B-school refresher, August 1, 2005

By 

Avid business book reader (Ohio, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What the Best MBAs Know: How to Apply the Greatest Ideas Taught in the Best Business Schools (Hardcover)

I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting a business school refresher b/c it thoroughly covers the all the topics. You'll find yourself saying "oh, yes, I remember that!"

The approach throughout the book is to highlight "the big questions" around each topic, then discuss them in detail. I've found this a great way to hit the just high points when I want to refresh myself and to have a more in-depth read when I want more.

It has become a great desk reference for me. A co-worker just finishing an MBA has also read it and found it a great complement to his MBA program.

While all the chapters are well-written and full of information, the chapter on macroeconomics was outstanding. I was surprised to learn in the book how few of the top business schools teach macroeconomics. Fortunately, the book covers it well.

Great book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good intro to b-school for the non-MBA, March 14, 2008

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SDB (California) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: What the Best MBAs Know: How to Apply the Greatest Ideas Taught in the Best Business Schools (Hardcover)

Good intro to b-school for the non-MBA person or for someone who is looking to enter b-school soon. Also, can be used as a little refresher for long-time graduates, but don't expect to be able to run a business simply by reading this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gaining an MBA Skillset, February 8, 2011

By 

K. Newcomer (New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: What the Best MBAs Know: How to Apply the Greatest Ideas Taught in the Best Business Schools (Hardcover)

A traditional MBA has many electives, but most have the same core classes such as Macro and Micro economics, finance, accounting, Organizational Behavior, Strategy, and Marketing. I purchased this book to continue learning and as a companion to my MBA program.

The chapters I enjoyed the most were Financial Accounting and Managerial Accounting. I find these skills are in high demand and understanding and being able to carry on a conversation about the topics are critical, especially in any kind of leadership or management position. As you engage with upper management who run these programs you can make more contributions when you understand the basics of these theories, ratios, metrics, and management techniques.

The author put together great Snapshot Applications which help the reader gain more insight on the topic and seeing it in a real word scenario; also I found a lot of great graphs and charts to help explain certain techniques and some concepts.

The book is organized into five parts where Part 1 is the The Big MBA Picture, Part 2 is the Strategic and Tactical MBA, Part 3 is The Functional MBA, Part 4 is the Organizational and Leadship MBA, and Part 5 is the MBA Toolbox. Contributors for the book come from top universities, but a diverse set of universities and colleges (not just Ivy League). Highly recommended for people looking at an MBA program, those going into one, those who have finished, and for anyone that wants a good toolset around understanding what it takes to run a business.

I recommend this book along with The Project Savvy Project Manager by Gary Heerkens and Managing by the Numbers by Kremer, Rizzuto, and Case.