This textbook presents an overview of how the activities of an organisation can be managed to satisfy the needs of stakeholders through the cost effective, operationally efficient and sustainable transformation of resources into outputs. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, the authors show the relationship between management and economics and within this framework present the key areas of management activity. The book explains the connections between these areas and provides tools and instruments for successful management. The book's approach and content is relevant for all kinds of organisation - private or public sector, service or manufacturing, non-profit, large or small. Each chapter provides cases to illustrate what has been discussed and some questions to test comprehension. Throughout the book is a continuing project in which the reader is put in the position of owning their own business and must think and make decisions about what the chapter has discussed. The book combines Anglo-American and German approaches to management and management studies, making it a valuable resource both for those who are studying management and those who are working as managers.

How to make sound investment decisions: Fundamentals of Investment Appraisal, 2nd edition, is based on long-term experience with students and is written in an easily understood style. A case study has been constructed to illustrate all methods discussed. The goal of the book is to pace a sure way through the variety of methods in investment appraisal. Mathematical basics are specifically explained in detail. The book shows clearly why there are different methods in investment appraisal and on where to focus in a given situation. As all methods are introduced by the same case study, it is easy to compare and evaluate the results. The statements in the text are further consolidated by abstracts and evaluations of each of the methods. Exercises with extensive solutions will lead to the confidence which is necessary for an ease of handling the investment appraisal techniques and for a good preparation for students’ exams. German and international students at universities and other institutions of higher education will find this book an excellent systematic preparation for their exams.

Making decisions is certainly the most important task managers are faced with, and it is often a very difficult one. This book offers a procedure for solving complex decision problems step by step. Unlike other texts, the book focuses on problem analysis, on developing potential solutions, and on establishing a decision-making matrix. In this fourth edition of the book, published under a new title, the authors present simplified, actionable guidelines that can be easily applied to the individual steps in the heuristic process. The book is intended for decision-makers at companies, non-profit organizations and in public administration whose work involves complex problems. It will also benefit students and participants in executive courses.

BWL-Kennzahlen sind für die erfolgreiche Unternehmensführung unverzichtbar. Sie aggregieren unternehmerische Zusammenhänge und schaffen Vergleichbarkeit. Sie ermöglichen es, komplexe Sachverhalte prägnant und aussagekräftig darzustellen und bilden die unternehmerische Realität ab. Damit sind sie unverzichtbar für die Analyse und Vorbereitung von vielfältigen Entscheidungssituationen im Management. BWL-Kennzahlen weisen einen klaren Weg zur tiefergehenden Analyse. Für alle Kennzahlen wird die Formel dargestellt und anhand der vorliegenden Rechenwerke berechnet. Die Aussagekraft der Kennzahlen wird jeweils erläutert sowie Vor- und Nachteile benannt. Die Darstellung erfolgt dabei anhand einer Deutsch-Englisch-Gegenüberstellung für jede Kennnzahl. Das Buch enthält 100-130 Kennzahlen im Pocket-Buch-Format.

Venture capital plays an important role in the entrepreneurial process of providing financing and management support to young, rapidly growing companies. While venture capital investment success stories such as those of Microsoft, Apple and Google are well known, such "home runs" are rather rare. Many investments provide little or no return so that accurately evaluating the prospects of portfolio companies and terminating further engagement in unsuccessful ventures in time is key to the overall portfolio performance of venture capital firms. When venture capitalists act rationally it should be expected that investment terminations are neither systematically premature nor systematically delayed. However, recent studies have discovered a systematic tendency toward delayed project terminations of unsuccessful investments that cannot be reconciled with a model of rational decision making. The present study examines such delayed project terminations in the venture capital industry and investigates whether escalation of commitment may provide an appropriate perspective on the phenomenon and contribute to its explanation. The study develops a comprehensive theoretical framework that synthesizes and integrates several economically irrational drivers of project escalation. A large scale survey among European venture capitalists provides the basis for the empirical analysis of the hypothesized relationships. The analysis yields valuable new insights into the interaction of different escalation drivers, which are much more intertwined than previously supposed by the literature, and permits to suggest effective escalation countermeasures for practice. The considerations and findings of the study are generalizable beyond the venture capital context to a wide variety of settings in which organizations routinely make sequential investment decisions.

Equilibria protect against crisis. All disciplines of sciences have the objective to create equilibria. But economics are not successful in this point. Here a simple equilibrium model based on a wage-price-rule is demonstrated. Economics are able to create economic equilibria by using this rule. But in economic systems there are a lot of rules, especially in accounting, which make economic equilibria impossible. These rules must be changed. If it is possible to create economic equilibria, the side-effect is the realization of economic sustainability. Dr. Hermann Witte, Professor of Business Administration, Logistics and Environmental Economics, University of Applied Sciences Osnabruck, Campus Lingen, Institute of Management and Technology.

Inhaltsangabe:Gang der Untersuchung: Die Arbeit beschreibt das BEP (Basic Economic Principle Wirtschaftliche Grundprinzipien) Seminar in dem südafrikanischen Township Alexandria in Johannesburg im europäischen Sommer 2002 durch die Mitliberalen Friedrich Naumann Stiftung im Rahmen eines dort absolvierten Praktikums. Die Arbeit ist in 5 Hauptteile gegliedert, wobei Teil 1 bis 3 die Einleitung bilden, Teil 4 den Hauptteil und Schluß der Arbeit darstellt und Teil 5 auf die Anhänge verweist. Im Teil 1 findet sich u.a. sowohl eine Danksagung als auch die persönliche Motivation des Autors. Teil 2 versucht NGO und NPO von einander abzugrenzen und Teil 3 beschäftigt sich mit politischen Stiftungen in Deutschland, ihren Aufgaben und Zielen im Allgemeinen und der Friedrich Naumann Stiftung im Besonderen. Teil 4 beschäftigt sich einleitend im Überblick kurz mit dem historischen Südafrika und beschreibt zum besseren Verständnis die möglichen Zielgruppen vor Ort. Im 2. Unterabschnitt geht der Autor auf die Segmentierung der Zielgruppen ein und beschreibt im Folgenden deren Targeting, im 4. Unterpunkt das Positioning. Es folgt die Einbindung Porter's 5 Faktorenmodell am BEP, wo sich die Erfolgsfaktoren anschließen. Im 7. Unterabschnitt präsentiert der Autor 2 selbst geschriebene Geschichten, die als Marketingtool bei der speziellen Zielgruppe sehr erfolgreich waren, bevor im Schlussabschnitt Zusammenfassung und Aussicht, resp. Empfehlungen aus den evaluierten Ergebnissen folgen. Teil 5 hat die Hauptfragebögen und somit die Untersuchungsgrundlage, die Bibliographie und einen nützlichen Adressenhang von Partnern der Stiftung zum Inhalt. Abstract: The thesis describes the realisation process of the BEP (Basic Economic Principle) Seminar in the South African Township of Alexandria in Johannesburg in the European Tate summer 2002, realised by the employees of the liberal Friedrich Naumann Foundation which was evaluated during the authors internship. The thesis is divided in 5 main parts; part 1 to 3 is the preface, part 4 the main part and the conclusion, attachments will be found in part 5. Part 1 contents acknowledgements and a personal motivation, part 2 tries to distinguish between NGO's and NPO's. Part 3 deals with political foundations in Germany, their tasks and objectives in general, and, at last, with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in particular. Pt 4 starts with an overview about the historical situation in RSA and discusses different target groups. [...]