Contents<br/>Introduction 1<br/>1. Accounting 16<br/>The rules of the game 17; Fundamental conventions 17;<br/>Accounting conventions 21; The rule makers 22;<br/>Bookkeeping – the way transactions are recorded 23; Cash<br/>flow 24; The profit and loss account (income statement) 28;<br/>The balance sheet 32; Filing accounts 37; Financial ratios 39;<br/>Analysing accounts 40; Accounting ratios 41; Ge&#1048884;ing<br/>company accounts 49; Ratio analysis spreadsheets 51;<br/>Break-even analysis 51<br/>2. Finance 52<br/>Sources of funds 53; How gearing works 53; Borrowed<br/>money 55; Banks 55; Bonds, debentures and mortgages 57;<br/>Asset-backed financiers 59; Equity 60; Sources of equity<br/>capital 61; Hybrids 68; Cost of capital 69; Investment<br/>decisions 72; Budgets and variances 77<br/>3. Marketing 81<br/>Ge&#1048884;ing the measure of markets 82; Understanding<br/>customers 86; Segmenting markets 90; The marketing<br/>mix 94; Selling 108; Negotiating 110; Market research 111<br/>4. Organizational behaviour 120<br/>Strategy vs structure, people and systems 121; Structures –<br/>the options 122; Building and running a team 129; The board<br/>of directors 130; People 132; Motivation 140; Leadership 144;<br/>Management 146; Delegation: the essential management<br/>skill 151; Systems 153; Managing change 158<br/>5. Business history 162<br/>How business history is studied in business schools 163;<br/>Babylon and beyond (4000 &#1049679;&#1049680;–1000 &#1049678;&#1049681;) 164; Mediaeval<br/>merchants (1000–1700) 168; The era of ventures (1700–1900)<br/>170<br/>6. Business law 175<br/>Corporate structures 176; Employment law 180;<br/>Employment legislation 183; Intellectual property 185;<br/>Principles of taxation 190<br/>7. Economics 195<br/>Schools of economic thought 196; Micro vs macroeconomics<br/>196; Market structures 197; Essential economics 199; Business<br/>cycles 201; Inflation 204; Interest rates 206; Economic policy<br/>and tools 207; More concerns 209<br/>8. Entrepreneurship 213<br/>Why entrepreneurship ma&#1048884;ers 213; Who make good<br/>entrepreneurs? 214; Entrepreneurial categories 217;<br/>Entrepreneurship in practice 220<br/>9. Ethics and social responsibility 221<br/>Teaching ethics and social responsibility in business<br/>schools 223; Owners vs directors: the start of the ethical<br/>tug of war 223; Understanding stakeholders 226; Mapping<br/>out the stakeholders 226; Assessing obligations 227;<br/>Stakeholder strategies 228; Implementing ethical and<br/>responsible strategies 229; Does being ethical pay off? 231<br/>10. Operations management 233<br/>Outsourcing and the value chain 234; Production methods<br/>and control 235; Inventory management 240; Quality 242;<br/>Information technology 243<br/>11. Quantitative and qualitative research and analysis 246<br/>Quantitative research and analysis 247; Qualitative<br/>research and analysis 255; Triangulation 258<br/>12. Strategy 261<br/>Devising strategy – the overview 263; The experience (or<br/>learning) curve 264; Differentiation 266; Focus 266; Industry<br/>analysis 268; Shaping strategy – tools and techniques 269;<br/>Implementing strategy – business plans 274; What business<br/>are you really in? 277<br/>iv Contents<br/>Appendix: Personal development and lifetime learning 278<br/>Learning for free from the world’s top business schools 279;<br/>The world’s best management development programmes 284;<br/>Free knowledge tools to stay ahead 287; MBA information<br/>resource centre 294; Keeping track of the MBA world 299;<br/>Ranking the schools 302; The standards for business school<br/>applicants 305