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or poor value。 And that’s from the very best business schools！ GMAC’s
Introduction 13
statistics break down MBAs into only a handful of job sectors； with the
majority heading for banking； consulting services； information technology；
investment banking and management consulting。 So it’s fair to surmise that
if you don’t fit into those sectors； going to a business school may prove less
of a sound investment。
THIS BOOK AND YOUR OWN RESOURCES
If you decide； as do most students of business； that business school is not
the only way to acquire an MBA skill set； or perhaps it is not right for you
now for reasons of cost； time or convenience； then you can fall back on your
own resources。
Each chapter in the book covers the essential elements of one of the core
disciplines in a top MBA programme。 There are links to external readings
and resources； online library and information sources； case examples and
links to online self…assessment tests so you can keep track of your learning
achievements。
For many of the topics there are direct links to the free teaching resources
of the world’s best business schools。 You can watch and listen as Professor
Porter explains how his Five Forces strategy model works； exactly as he
might have taught it in his Harvard lecture theatre。 There are also links
in the book to hundreds of hours of free video lectures given by other
distinguished business school professors； from top schools including LBS
（London Business School）； Imperial； Oxford and Aston。 You can download
Duke University’s top…ranking Fuqua School of Business’s lecture material
on forecasting； or link into Cranfield School of Management’s Research
Paper Series and see the latest insights into business and the management
of organizations。
You certainly don’t need to spend a fortune in time or money to gain
MBA knowledge and skill。 There is no aspect of business school teaching
and virtually no world…class professor that you can’t listen to for free to
plement the content of this book。 But you do need willpower！ But if
you do decide that business school is right for you； the appendix will help
you choose the right one for you； and the book will be a sound preparation
for the programme and a worthwhile resource when you start revising for
the exams。
HOW THIS BOOK IS ORGANIZED AND
HOW TO USE IT
All business disciplines claim； some with more justification than others；
that theirs is the overarching subject or starting point。 The marketers claim
14 The Thirty…Day MBA
the customer as king； human resources specialists persist in believing that
nothing happens without people； strategists insist that petitive advantage
is fundamental to enduring success； entrepreneurs say that they
are in at the birth of all ventures； accountants see the only truth being
in numbers； even quantitative analysis has history on its side as being a
founding subject in management theory。
To sidestep the argument； in part at least； this book is organized alphabetically；
in three groupings。 Accounting； finance； marketing and organizational
behaviour are together at the start of the book。 These contain
the basic tools that an MBA will use or need to refer to more or less every
working day。 Strategy es at the end of the book as the coordinating
discipline。 It could just as easily e at the beginning； but to understand
strategy you need a reasonable grasp of the four first disciplines。 The five
bookend disciplines are in something of a chicken and egg situation。 You
can’t have any one of these without the other； but where it all begins is
more academic than useful as a point for debate。
The remaining disciplines are covered； also in alphabetical order； in the
middle of the book。 Ideally you should read the first four chapters first； these
will take about half of your 30 days。 If you are an accountant； have taken
a business or economics degree； or have a marketing or human resources
professional qualification； that time will be scaled back。 Then if you have an
immediate strategic issue at work； perhaps concerned with an acquisition；
divestment； entering a new market or changing direction； go straight to
the chapter on strategy。 While reading that； you will almost certainly need
to refresh yourself on some aspects of the first four chapters。 This chapter
will probably need a further three or four days to assimilate。 The middle
chapters you can read in order of personal preference； or alphabetically as
set out。 That should take up the remaining 10 days or so of your schedule。
By way of a bonus you will find that a number of the tools and concepts
straddle disciplines。 For example； while Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is
covered in the marketing chapter； it is equally applicable in dealing with
employees or negotiating with suppliers。 Break…even analysis is equally
applicable in accounting； marketing and economics。
This weighting corresponds closely to the emphasis you will find put
on these subjects at top business schools。 Also； as at school； you should
tackle the subjects in bursts of an hour or so and certainly not in whole
days and weeks。 You need to take time to assimilate the subject and try
the concepts out in live situations。 So； for example； you could spend a
couple of hours reading the section on balance sheets； then get your own
pany’s balance sheet and check out your understanding of it。 If you
need any further clarification you could talk in an informed way with your
pany’s accountant。
You should draw up a timetable spread over the time period allocated
for your 30…day MBA； say 12； 24 or 36 weeks。 Then mark out the hours
Introduction 15
allocated for each subject； not forge。。ing to leave an hour or so to review
each area。 You will also need to build in a couple of days for revision before
you take your final exam。
The subject areas within each chapter correspond to what you would
find in the syllabus at major business schools in terms of theoretical
underpinning and the practical application of that theory that you would
pick up from fellow students。
At the end of the book is an appendix covering personal development
and lifetime learning。 You should visit this on a regular basis to ensure
you have all the advantages that an MBA would hope for in terms of
career progression。 Here you will find out how to update your skills and
knowledge by taking short courses at top business schools around the globe。
The cost of these ranges from a few hundred pounds to several thousand
and； by a。。ending； you may well get onto the school’s alumni list； plugging
into a valuable business network in the process。
TRACKING YOUR PROGRESS
You will find a dozen short tests on the Kogan Page website （
koganpage/resources/books； password： TT8005）。 Use these to check
your understanding of each subject。 If there is anything you are not clear
on； go back over the relevant chapters。
As a rough guide you should be aiming to get six out of every ten questions
right。 MBAs； unlike undergraduate degrees； don’t e with grades。
You either pass or fail。 Also the ‘pass’ mark can vary with the quality of
those taking the exams。 Read up on the normal distribution curve to see
how this works。
Accounting
。 Accounting conventions and principles
。 The bookkeeping process
。 Cash…flow forecasts and statements
。 Calculating profit
。 Balancing the books
。 Finding financial facts
。 Business ratios
Sometime before 3000 。。。。 the people of Uruk and other sister…cities of
Mesopotamia began to use pictographic tablets of clay to record economic
transactions。 The script for the tablets evolved from symbols and provides
evidence of an ancient financial system that was growing to acmodate
the needs of the Uruk economy。 There is detailed evidence that almost
every country had some form of record keeping； from China to ancient
Rome； where the heads of families maintained daily entry of household
receipts and payments in an adversaria or daybook； and monthly postings
were made to a cashbook known as a codex accepti et expensi。 Accounting
is the process of recording and analysing transactions that involve events
that can be assigned a monetary value。 By definition； financial information
can be only a partial picture of the performance of an enterprise。 People；
arguably a business’s most valuable asset； don’t appear anywhere in the
accounts； except for football clubs and the like where people are the subject
of a transaction。
Although accounting has bee more plex； involving ever more
regulations； and has moved from visible records wri。。en in books to key
strokes in a so。。ware program； the purpose is the same：
。 to establish what a business owns by way of assets；
。 to establish what a business owes by way of liabilities；
。 to establish the profitability； or otherwise； at certain time intervals； and
how that profit was achieved。
1
Accounting 17
Pacioli； about whom we will hear more in the bookkeeping section below；
claimed wisely that ‘frequent accounting makes for long friendship’。 But
accounts must not only be timely； but should be reliable too； and no ma。。er
where accounting is studied you can be certain that the general principles
will be universally applied。
An MBA is unlikely to be required to perform the recording side of the
accounting process。 But it is only by knowing how accounts are prepared
and the rules governing the categorizing of assets and liabilities that you can
gain a good understanding of what the figures really mean。 For example；
it is not obvious to the uninitiated that a pany’s shares are classed as
a liability and that there is not the remotest possibility that the assets as
recorded will realize anything like the figures shown in the accounts。
THE RULES OF THE GAME
Accounting is certainly not an exact science。 Even the most enthusiastic
member of the profession would not make that claim。 There is considerable
scope for interpretation and educated guesswork as all the facts are rarely
available when the accounts are drawn up。 For example； we may not know
for certain that a particular customer will actually pay up； yet unless we
have firm evidence that they won’t； for example if the business is failing；
then the value of the money owed will appear in the accounts。
Obviously； if accountants and managers had plete freedom to
interpret events as they wished； no one inside or outside the business would
place any reliance on the figures； so certain ground rules have been laid
down by the profession to help get a level of consistency into accounting
information。
FUNDAMENTAL CONVENTIONS
These are the enduring principles that govern the way in which the accounting
profession assembles and presents financial information。
Money measurement
In accounting； a record is kept only of the facts that can be expressed in
money terms。 For example； the state of the managing director’s health and
the news that your main petitor is opening up right opposite in a more
a。。ractive outlet are important business facts。 No accounting record of them
is made； however； and they do not show up on the balance sheet； simply
because no objective monetary value can be assigned to these facts。
Expressing business facts in money terms has the great advantage of
providing a mon denominator。 Just imagine trying to add puter
18 The Thirty…Day MBA
equipment and vehicles； together with a 4；000 sq m office； and then arriving
at a total。 You need a mon term to be able to carry out the basic
arithmetical functions； and to pare one set of accounts with another。
Business entity
The accounts are kept for the business itself； rather than for the owner（s）；
bankers； or anyone else associated with the firm。 The concept states that
assets and liabilities are always defined from the business’s viewpoint。 So；
for example； were a business owner to lend his business money it would
appear in the accounts as a liability； though in effect he might see it as
his own money。 Anything done with that money； say buying equipment；
would appear in the accounts as an asset of the business。 The owner’s s