MBA 725 – Reflections on Module 5 Concepts

As the former Cincinnati Reds pitcher Joe Nuxhall would end every radio broadcast… we are “Rounding third and heading for home.” MBA 725 has one week left. Week five was extremely challenging in reviewing financials and other cost factors of a startup. We also discussed benchmarks and their impact on a business. Here’s the questions for review…

Why is it important to understand the factors that impact cash flow? How can the factors vary based on the waves of change?

Cash flow is critical to a business. It is its lifeblood. If a company does not have cash flow, it can’t pay the bills and won’t remain in business very long. A business leader needs to understand how cash flow is affected so that changes can be made when necessary to maintain a positive flow. In terms of the waves of change, I would imagine one big difference is in the newer era, more businesses are dealing in “paper money”. Stock creates cash flow for the business, but is wealth only on paper for the stockholder. This is much more common in the current waves than in the past. The newer wave is more technological also and will have much more detailed analysis than the earlier waves.

Does a leader’s lens perspective impact the benchmarks he or she identifies as critical for his or her organization and/or the analysis of such benchmarks? Explain.

Certainly. A leader who is more analytical, for example, will be more likely to utilize highly analytical benchmarks. A leader who is more people oriented is probably going to select benchmarks that focus on the people aspects of the business.

Many organizations that use the balanced scorecard approach require different people within different functional areas as well as different levels of the organization to complete a balanced scorecard evaluation. Why would it be important to obtain different evaluations? Would you recommend this approach? Why or why not?

Different evaluations bring different perspectives. Just as in the last example, it would be valuable to have multiple lens perspectives in the reporting. The purpose of a balanced scorecard it to bring a balanced view of multiple areas of the company. By obtaining these differing evaluations, it will add to the “balance” of the scorecard reporting. I would recommend this approach. While it may be time consuming, it will give more breadth to the data presented in the scorecard.

June 17, 2007 | Filed Under MBA 725 

Comments

One Response to “MBA 725 – Reflections on Module 5 Concepts”

  1. Maria on June 23rd, 2007 1:02

    Hi Brian!

    Checking in. . .

    Maria

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