Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Course Information
Quarter
Time
: Fall 2009
: Internet any time
Location
Credits
: Internet
: Four
2
This course will follow these themes:
1. Developing new ways of looking at familiar problems and concepts for example, liquidity
and risk, and risk and return, and how they are different in the three stages of the enterprise.
2. To understand the different behaviors of an organization during both economic expansion and
contraction, and how this affects different strategies, such as leverage, right sizing, mergers,
acquisitions, divestitures, management of enterprise risk, maximizing shareholder value and
other related topics.
3. Introducing some relatively new and (or) presenting interesting topics regarding financial
decision making in its relationship to strategic cost management that jointly facilitate business
strategy, to include but not limited to:
EVA
Lean Production
Kaizen
Leverage
Economic expansion
Downsizing
Globalization
Outsourcing
Hold, Harvest, Divest, Build
4. This course will concentrate in these following areas of financial decision-making for the three
stages of a business enterprise.
Start Up:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Growth to Maturity:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Maturity:
1. Harvest, Hold, Divest, Build
2. Mergers and Acquisitions
3. Reorganization
3
4. How non-financial managers affect financial decisions.
20
20
20
20
20
100
4
2. E-mail. You will need to be able to send and receive e-mail messages, as well as attach and
download files.
Student Responsibilities
1. have completed the assigned reading material before the class period (see Schedule of
Classes);
2. spend two - three hours of outside preparation for each hour of class (average student for an
average grade);
3. actively participate in the class discussions (if a chat forum) ;
4. request clarification or further elaboration whenever necessary;
5. do not interfere with the learning of other students;
6. be punctual with assignments and internet correspondence;
7. ask me for discussion notes if you are absent the day a case is reviewed, or an assignment
returned;
8. borrow class notes from another student if you need to miss a required time on the internet;
9. hand in course assignments on time and neatly word processed if specified. Late papers and
assignments will be accepted with prior consent of the Professor.
COURSE PRE-REQUISITES:
The School of Business Administration strictly enforces prerequisites for business courses. If a
student completes a course before completing the prerequisites and later completes the prerequisites,
he/she will NOT receive any credit for the prerequisites. The prerequisite for this course is Fin 561.
Grade Revisions:
If you believe that any of your tests have been incorrectly graded, you are encouraged to submit a
written request for grade revision. This document should clearly identify why you believe more credit
is justified and support those beliefs with as much documentation as possible. Simply asking for an
item to be re-graded is insufficient, and will not result in a grade change. You must explain why more
credit is justified. All requests must be in writing, and attempts to have a grade revised orally will
preempt your ability to submit a written request.
Academic Honesty:
The Student Conduct Code, which applies to all students, prohibits all forms of academic cheating,
fraud, and dishonesty. These acts include, but are not limited to, plagiarism, buying and selling of
course assignments and research papers, performing academic assignments (including cases and
discussions) for other persons, unauthorized disclosure and receipt of academic information, and other
practices commonly understood to academically dishonor. The code of conduct also describes
standards of behavior for all student members of the campus community. Violation of the SCC may
lead to disciplinary action. Students may obtain copies of the Student Conduct Code by contacting the
campus judicial officer at (503) 725-4422, or by visiting her office in room 433 Smith Memorial
Center.
Other Information:
1. If there is any student in this class who has a special need for an accommodation, please
discuss this with me before the course begins.
2. Harvard Business School Cases and Articles:
Address: cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/access/4697521
Grading Policy
A
AB+
B
B-
= 93-100%
= 90-92%
= 87-89%
= 83-86%
= 80-82%
C+
C
D
F
= 77-79%
= 70-76%
= 60-69%
= Below 60%
Text: Grinblatt, Titman, Financial Markets and Corporate Strategy, second edition
- selected chapters
Reading assignments (cases & articles)
Problem assignments (case studies)
Lecture material
Internet class discussions
Class handouts
Videos
Practical applications
Schedule of Classes
Case Study dates are firm, unless an emergency situation prevails, and we may need to modify topics
and discussions as the quarter progresses
Start Up (entrepreneurial)
Week/Date
Topics
Reading
Week
of
Sept.28
Chapters 1, 2 and 3
Article New Venture Financing
Video Leverage and Risk
Week
of
Oct. 5
Week
of
Oct.12
Chapter 17
Video Aligning capital structure
with corporate strategy
Discussion Exit
strategies, ethical
considerations
Assignments
Growth to Maturity
Week/Date
Topics
Reading
Assignments
Week
of
Oct. 19
Week
of
Oct. 26
Week
of
Nov. 2
4. Management of Enterprise
Risks and Corporate
Strategy
Week
of
Nov. 9
5. Maximizing Shareholder
Value
6. Review of Case American Outsourcing
Case Study
American Outsourcing
Discussion - Outsourcing
7
Maturity
Week/Date
Topic
Reading
Assignments
Chapters 18, 19
Video Hold, Harvest, Divest,
Build
Video How managers affect
financial decisions
Chapter 20
Article When to Ally and When to
Acquire
Video Mergers and Acquisitions
Case Study
The Renault Nissan
Alliance
10 Week
5. Reorganization
of
Internal
Nov.30 6. Reorganization
Bankruptcy
11 Week
of
Dec. 7
None
None
Week
1. Hold, Harvest, Divest,
of
Build
Nov.16 2. Financial Decisions - How
Affected by Managers
Week
3. Mergers and
of
Acquisitions
Nov.23 4. Review of Case The
Renault Nissan Alliance