Finance for Strategic Decision-Making. What Non-Financial Managers Need to Know

Financial professionals are faced with increasingly technical topics that are theoretically complicated but practically necessary in determining the trade-off between risk and return. The Portable Financial Analyst, Second Edition is a unique collection of essays that address the heart of every analyst's and investor's dilemma: how to make decisions in the face of unknown forces and how to assert some control over the outcome

Discover the best approaches for making business decisions Today's business leaders have to face the facts—you can't separate leadership from decision making. The importance of making decisions, no matter how big or small, cannot be overstated. Decision Making For Dummies is a candid resource that helps leaders understand the impact of their choices, not only on business, but also on their credibility and reputation. Designed for managers, business owners, and anyone else who makes tough decisions on a daily basis, this guide helps you figure out if the decisions you're making are the right ones. In addition to helping you explore how to evaluate your choices, Decision Making For Dummies covers ways to receive support for decision making, delves into various decision-making styles, reviews the importance of sifting through data and information, and includes information on ways to engage others and make decisions collectively. Being in charge can be challenging, but with this guide, you don't have to go it alone. Discusses the effects of decision making and outlines the considerations that must be made to gain trust and confidence Demonstrates ways to communicate particularly sensitive decisions, and offers approaches for making bold decisions that challenge the status quo Delves into the risks and benefits of certain decisions, and shows readers the best ways to evaluate choices Outlines smart strategies for engaging others and drawing them into the decision-making process Crucial decisions need to be made every day in the business world, so there's no time to waste. Make Decision Making For Dummies your primary resource for learning to choose your actions wisely and confidently.

This informative book offers complete, up-to-date coverage of the growing problem of cyberbullying. Written for counselors, teachers, school leaders, and others who work with children and teens, Cyberbullying addresses the real-life dangers students face on the Internet. Benefits and Features Discussion of the different types of cyberbullying and cyberbullying environments Overview of prominent theories of aggressive behavior Examination of the developmental differences in cyberbullying and victimization across the life span Proactive responses to cyberbullying Effective, nonpunitive strategies for responding to cyberbullying Useful information for parents on current technology and popular websites Guidance on the role of counselors in prevention, intervention, and advocacy Practical tips to identify and follow cyberfootprints Chapter on adult cyberbullying List of helpful websites, books, and media Appendix with review of the latest cyberbullying research *Requests for digital versions from the ACA can be found on wiley.com. *To request print copies, please visit the ACA website.

A tried and tested formula for business planning What is the one thing you need to know in business? What’s the single most important aspect of business to master in order to succeed and grow? It has to be planning. Whether you’re sitting down to plan a whole brand strategy or tasked with planning a single product and taking it to market, nailing the planning and decision making will ensure you have full buy-in from all stakeholders, a high level of market knowledge, know exactly what value your product or service brings and a thorough understanding of how the financials will work. In short, you’ll have an idea that succeeds. Ross Lovelock and his company SCQuARE have spent the last 20 years developing a formula for such planning. Ross has shared this formula with some of the world’s leading companies – now he’s going to share it with you. The One Thing You Need to Know is a complete business planning toolkit. A simple, implementable explanation of how to bring a product plan or a brand strategy together Will teach you the critical business skill of creating and selling plans Learn how to think through a complex business problem, create the right solution and then sell it through the corporate maze Explains exactly how to distil vast amounts of information into a compelling business story that will warrant a YES decision from the boss

Marketing is shrouded in arcane mystery and buzzwords. It frightens many and bewilders others. Yet every business, from the hand-car-wash by the side of the road, to the world's most famous brands, engage in marketing every single day. This is an essential, reliable, speedy and up to date guide to the most robust and important concepts in marketing. This book shows you how to understand and do marketing without having to study a degree or a diploma in it. Along the way it shows you what has been learned about marketing over the centuries, what experts can teach us that we can use ourselves, how marketing has changed in our new ‘digital' world, and how to avoid classic mistakes. In short, this is all you need to know about marketing. Introduction – Marketing: the world's second oldest business activity Chapter 1 – The Product. Chapter 2 – The Marketing Strategy and the Marketing Plan Chapter 3 – Your Customers. Chapter 4 – Pricing and Promotion Chapter 5 – Placement or Distribution. Chapter 6 – Customer Engagement Chapter 7 – Branding Chapter 8 – Social Media and Digital Marketing

As project management has evolved and matured, so has the executive's role in project management. To ensure the success of individual projects and the organization as a whole, today's executives are increasingly involved in activities such as capacity planning, portfolio management, prioritization, and strategic planning specifically for project management. In fact, more and more executives are becoming certified Project Management Professionals (PMPs). What Executives Need to Know About Project Management offers executives a guide to project management, focusing on what they need to know and what they need to do. It provides step-by-step guidance to help executives get effective, well-resourced project management teams in place and ensure the success of any individual project. The book begins with basic principles, including a detailed discussion of the three best practices that enable executives to ensure effective project management: Developing an environment where project management is viewed as a profession Securing key personnel for project management positions Creating opportunities for rewards and advancement through successful project management Next, the book explores how executives serve as executive sponsors in project management teams, setting forth solutions to the many problems and challenges they face in this role, including managing disagreements, delegating authority, and accelerating projects. The authors explain how the role of the executive sponsor changes depending upon the life-cycle phase of the project. For example, during the project initiation and planning phases, the sponsor may take on a very active role, ensuring that proper objectives are established and that the project plan satisfies the needs of the business as well as the needs of the client. During the execution phase, the sponsor may take on a less active role; however, the book shows how executive sponsors need to become involved when roadblocks appear, crises occur, and conflicts arise over priorities among projects. Throughout the book, helpful illustrations clarify complex concepts and processes.

The complete guide to the basics of nonprofit financial management Let's be honest. Most books about financial management are densely written, heavy on jargon, and light on practicality. Expert financial consultant and author Tom McLaughlin takes a different approach with his fourth edition of Streetsmart Financial Basics for Nonprofit Managers. This comprehensive guide provides effective, easy-to-use tips, tools, resources, and analyses. The light, humorous tone in Streetsmart Financial Basics for Nonprofit Managers makes it an accessible resource for nonprofit executives, board members, students, and those new to the field. This book forgoes useless, pretentious verbiage in order to outline real-world strategies that work. This edition includes: New insights, updates, vignettes, case studies, and examples to deal with the implications of nonprofit financial management An examination of nonprofit business models in relation to growing demands from the government and other funders How to construct business plans for virtually any nonprofit entity Customizable resources—including financial worksheets, forms, and Excel templates to help nonprofit managers complete their day to day assignments A guided tour through common aspects of nonprofit management, such as financial analysis, accounting, and operations Practical and informative, Streetsmart Financial Basics for Nonprofit Managers is the go-to financial management reference for nonprofit managers, boards of directors, and funders.

How much should top management really care about IT? That’s the question Adam Kolawa bluntly poses in this feisty and compelling book. “The Next Leap in Productivity” goes far beyond traditional business books written for the CIO community. It tackles crucial issues such as productivity, efficiency and quality management. It makes the case for applying the principles of Deming and Juran to software development. Then it takes a “leap,” arguing that huge potential increases in IT productivity can lead to enormous increases in enterprise productivity. In this sense, “The Next Leap in Productivity” is a truly visionary book. Software vendors and CIOs who read this book will discover a software development process that is transparent, practical and efficient. Non-technical C-level executives (CEOs, CFOs, COOs, etc.) will discover a blueprint for improving corporate productivity and dramatically reducing operating costs. For the past decade, CIOs have been urged, coaxed, counseled and exhorted to act more like CEOs, CFOs, COOs and other C-level executives. This book suggests that it’s time for CEOs, CFOs, COOs and other C-level executives to start acting more like CIOs. “The Next Leap in Productivity” will appeal to anyone involved in buying, selling, developing or using IT. Advance Praise for “The Next Leap in Productivity” “Adam’s book is a challenge to all the top managers who’ve stopped caring about IT. His message is simple: If you really care about IT, you find ways to make IT more productive. The improvements you achieve in IT productivity can then be leveraged into huge leaps in productivity at the enterprise level. This book offers a roadmap for translating IT productivity into business profit. Adam’s argument is worth reading and worth considering as you formulate your IT strategies and plan your IT budgets.”–Gary Beach, Publisher Emeritus, CIO magazine “Adam lays the groundwork for a common language that can be used to bridge the chasms between IT and other essential components of the business such as finance, product development, sales, marketing, distribution and customer service. Everyone who reads this book will learn valuable lessons that can be leveraged to improve returns on human capital investments at every level of the organization. Adam’s concepts have the potential to boost levels of confidence and performance throughout the enterprise.”– Michael Minelli, Co-author, Partnering with the CIO “These kinds of productivity principles are not mere theory. When we put these same principles into effect, our productivity went up more than we had thought possible. And our employee morale went up, too. It became easier to write code the right way and harder to make stupid mistakes. This new way of creating software makes it possible for us to concentrate on what we really want to do here at Cisco, which is to improve the Internet for everybody.”– Andy Chessin, Senior Technical Lead, Cisco, Inc.

Ever wanted to be an entrepreneur? Ever wanted to control what you do, when you do it and stop just making money for someone else? Now is your chance. Starting up a business has never been more exciting. This book explains what you really need to know to make your business a success: • How you'll know if you've got a good idea • The practicalities of setting up a company • How to manage the money • How to sell what you do • How to make sure you stay soon through it all. This is the book you need to swagger into the Dragon's Den full of confidence. Introduction Chapter 1 – The Idea Chapter 2 – The Business Plan Chapter 3 – Systems, Tools and Legalities Chapter 4 – Money Chapter 5 – Sales & Marketing Chapter 6 – People Chapter 7 – Growth and Staying Power Chapter 8 – Lifestyle

A comprehensive analysis of the macroeconomic and financial forces altering the economic landscape Financial decision-making requires one to anticipate how their decision will not only affect their business, but also the economic environment. Unfortunately, all too often, both private and public sector decision-makers view their decisions as one-off responses and fail to see their decisions within the context of an evolving decision-making framework. In Decision-Making in a Dynamic Economic Setting, John Silvia, Chief Economist of Wells Fargo and one of the top 5 economic forecasters according to Bloomberg News and USA Today, skillfully puts this discipline in perspective. Details realistic, decision-making approaches and applications under a broad set of economic scenarios Analyzes monetary policy and addresses the impact of financial regulations Examines business cycles and how to identify economic trends, how to deal with uncertainty and manage risk, the building blocks of growth, and strategies for innovation Decision-Making in a Dynamic Economic Setting details the real-world application of economic principles and financial strategy in making better business decisions.