It’s week three in the Bat Cave of Managerial Finance. I think it’s pretty sad that I am counting the weeks (and sometimes the days) until this class is over. I turned in my work from last week and it was graded very quickly. I got a 100% on it, and the professor said it was the best in the class. How cool is that? For something that I dislike so much, I am very surprised that I did so well. By the time I was done with the assignment, I was like a deer caught in the headlights. I had the 1000-yard stare.
This week, the concept of a time value of money is introduced, that is, a dollar today is worth more than a dollar received a year from now. (or in this economy, a dollar received now will be worth more than a dollar received 5 minutes from now). Thus if we are to logically compare projects and financial strategies, we must either move all dollar flows back to the present or out to some common future date. This week’s material introduces the concepts that underlie the valuation of securities and their rates of return. We are going to focus specifically on common stock, preferred stock, and bonds. We also look at the concept of the investor's expected rate of return on an investment.
Now this is a part of the economy that I am more interested in. To pique my interest in certain subjects that I will be taking throughout the remainder of this MBA program, I have been hitting the Half Priced Books stores around town. There are three of them close to where I live. There are some great books on leadership, marketing and other things that I really do enjoy learning more about. Recent purchases include Global Literacies, The 8 Practices of Exceptional Companies and Small is the New Big.
For anyone who is considering an MBA program, I think it’s wise to bring as much knowledge to the table as possible. Read up. I know that it has helped me to be able to talk about some of the issues affecting businesses just from my own experience and from the books I have acquired over the years. Good luck!
"Let us tenderly and kindly cherish, therefore, the means of knowledge. Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write." --John Adams
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About WheelCipher
Scott is a strategic consultant in the customer care industry and an avid amateur photographer.
You can see his work at http://gallery.scottdavis.info
He has experience in the high-technology industry in management, engineering, and support positions with Time Warner Cable, Dell Computer Corporation, UUNET Technologies, Wayport and others.
Scott started his degree program in 2003, and had no prior college credit before jumping into the distance learning environment. He graduated in October 2007 having attained an A.A.S. in Information Technology and a B.S. in Management from Kaplan University.
In 2009, he graduated with his MBA from Norwich University and is now a student at Gonzaga University.
Scott LOVES fan mail. You can e-mail him any questions about distance learning at sdavis@wheelcipher.net