Free Example of Economic Concepts Essay

Although some managerial and economic concepts are difficult for understanding (I mean in general), the author tried to do his best to make the key ideas as simple as possible. I like the quotes at the beginning of each subchapter, as they direct attention to what will be discussed and smoothly encourage delving into the issue.

The author evidently relied on attention-grabbing techniques, posing a couple of important and relevant questions, which every reader should pay attention to, while reading the chapter. I also like step-by-step explanations, although before I finished reading this chapter, I felt overwhelmed with information, as the most difficult points for me were presented at the end, and I reread them in order to get the gist. The information is structured logically with examples that facilitate understanding and demonstrate practical applications of theoretical concepts.

I think it is great that the author focuses on relevant and up-to-date aspects, which influence managerial decisions. I also like that the author makes references to the previous chapters, refreshing the material that was covered earlier. He helps to get a clear picture of a complex process of arriving at the best possible decisions. Also, he inspires to sift the information according to its priority and significance for the desired outcome. Of course, it is impossible to envisage everything, but a really good manager should think ahead of time and know how to interpret figures.

Both short-term and long-term perspectives are equally important, as they are elements of the strategic planning. I would like to see more correlation between these two perspectives as well as the potential risks that the companies face, when giving preference to one strategy. Corporate leaders often complain that the market is short-term-oriented. Is it riskier to invest in companies with short-term goals rather than long-term ones? What kinds of investors do short-term and long-term companies attract respectively? The economic environment changes so quickly and managers have to be prepared to do with the limited resources. In light of the uncertainty or, in other words, scarce resources (human, financial, and natural), what type of strategy (I mean short-term or long-term) the manager should opt for?

When the author writers about the general ideas, it is clear what he tries to convey, but when he comes to specifics and details with a number of figures, it is difficult to keep track of the point under discussion without returning to what was said in previous paragraphs. The information about the payback period was easy to grasp. In simple words, it means how fast the company will regain its cash investment. The author does not mention the cutoff period, which is the desired length of time for an investment to be recovered. One substantial disadvantage of the payback period method, which was not mentioned in the chapter, is that it does not effectively evaluate projects that rely on small cash inflows in the beginning and large cash flows afterwards.

I like that throughout the course of the chapter the author reiterates the importance of responsibility that every manager should realize when making crucial decisions. Quantitative factors are well described, as they have the greatest impact on the decisions being made. However, qualitative factors should not be downplayed, as the manager deals with humans, who are imperfect beings. I think that the writer could focus more on the degree of impact of different interest groups on the decision-making process. After reading about the DCF techniques, I have come to the conclusion that they have more limitations than advantages, and modern managers still rely on them, because there are no better alternatives.

All in all, I find the information presented in Chapter 8 very useful for the would-be managers. The interplay of theory and examples from reality makes the information more engaging and relevant. A little bit of guidance and explanations on part of the teacher will make Chapter 8 completely understandable.