MBA Recommended Reading Books

Business Creation
Go It Alone by Bruce Judson (review) The Lean Startup by Eric Ries (review) The Knack by Norm Brodsky & Bo Burlingham (review, audio) Ready, Fire, Aim by Michael Masterson (review, audio) Escape from Cubicle Nation by Pamela Slim (review, audio) Bankable Business Plans by Edward Rogoff (review)

Value-Creation & Testing Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson (review, audio) The New Business Road Test by John Mullins (review) How to Make Millions with Your Ideas by Dan Kennedy (review) Marketing All Marketers Are Liars by Seth Godin (review, audio) Permission

Marketing by Seth Godin (review, audio) The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries & Jack Trout (review, audio) Getting Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got by Jay Abraham (review)

Sales
The Psychology of Selling by Brian Tracy (review) Pitch Anything by Oren Klaff (review) The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes (review, audio) Value-Based Fees by Alan Weiss (review) SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham (review, audio)

Value-Delivery
 Indispensable by Joe Calloway (review) The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu Goldratt (review, audio) Lean Thinking by James Womack and Daniel Jones (review, audio)

 Finance & Accounting
Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs by Karen Berman and Joe Knight (review) Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits by Greg Crabtree (review) The 1% Windfall by Rafi Mohammed (review) Accounting Made Simple by Mike Piper (review) How to Read a Financial Report by John A. Tracy (review) Venture Deals by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson (review)

The Human Mind Thinking,
Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman (review) Brain Rules by John Medina (summary, review, audio) Making Sense of Behavior by William T. Powers (summary, review) Driven by Paul Lawrence and Nitin Nohria (summary, review, audio) Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales (review, audio)

Productivity & Effectiveness
Getting Things Done by David Allen (summary, review, audio) The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr & Tony Schwartz (summary, review, audio) StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath (summary, review) Bit Literacy by Mark Hurst (summary, review) 10 Days to Faster Reading by Abby Marks-Beale (summary, review)

Problem Solving
 The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch (summary, review, audio) Accidental Genius by Mark Levy (review) Learning from the Future by Liam Fahey & Robert Randall (review)

Behavioral Change
The Power of Less by Leo Babauta (summary, review, audio) The Path of Least Resistance by Robert Fritz (review) Re-Create Your Life by Morty Lefkoe (review) Self-Directed Behavior by David L. Watson & Roland G. Tharp (review)

Decision-Making
Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions by Gary Klein (review) Smart Choices by John S. Hammond et al (review) Ethics for the Real World by Ronald Howard & Clinton Korver (review)

Communication
On Writing Well by William Zinsser (review, audio) Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds (review) Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath (review, audio) The Copywriter’s Handbook by Robert Bly (review) Show Me The Numbers by Stephen Few (review)

Influence
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini (review) How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie (review, audio) Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson et al (review, audio) The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene (review, audio)

Negotiation
Bargaining For Advantage by G. Richard Shell (review) 3-D Negotiation by David A. Lax and James K. Sebenius (review, audio) The Partnership Charter by David Gage (review, audio)

Management
First, Break All The Rules by Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman (review) 12: The Elements of Great Managing by Rodd Wagner & James Harter (review, audio) Growing Great Employees by Erika Andersen (review) The Essential Drucker by Peter F. Drucker (review)

Leadership
Tribes by Seth Godin (review, audio) Total Leadership by Stewart Friedman (review, audio) What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith (review, audio) The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan by George Bradt et al (review) The Halo Effect by Phil Rosenzweig (review, audio)

Project Management
Making Things Happen by Scott Berkun (review) Results Without Authority by Tom Kendrick (review, audio)

Systems
Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows (review) Work the System by Sam Carpenter (review)

Analysis
Turning Numbers Into Knowledge by Jonathan Koomey (review) Marketing Metrics by Paul W. Farris et al (review) The Economist Numbers Guide by Richard Stuteley (review)

Statistics
Thinking Statistically by Uri Bram (review) How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff (review)

Corporate Skills
The Unwritten Laws of Business by W.J. King (review, audio) The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker (review, audio) The Simplicity Survival Handbook by Bill Jensen (review) Hire With Your Head by Lou Adler (review)

Corporate Strategy
Purpose: The Starting Point of Great Companies by Nikos Mourkogiannis (review) Competitive Strategy by Michael Porter (review, audio) Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne (review, audio) Seeing What’s Next by Clayton M. Christensen et al (review, audio)

Creativity & Innovation
The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp (review) Myths of Innovation by Scott Berkun (review) Innovation and Entrepreneurship by Peter F. Drucker (review, audio)

Design
The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman (review, audio) Universal Principles of Design by William Lidwell et al (review)

Consulting
Getting Started in Consulting by Alan Weiss (review) Secrets of Consulting by Gerald M. Weinberg (review)

Personal Finance
Your Money or Your Life by Joel Dominguez & Vicki Robin (review, audio) The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley & William Danko (review, audio) I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi (review, audio) Fail-Safe Investing by Harry Browne (review)

Personal Growth
Lead the Field by Earl Nightingale (review, audio) The Art of Exceptional Living by Jim Rohn (review, audio) A Guide to the Good Life by William Braxton Irvine (review)

BBPW3203 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT II

ARAHAN KEPADA PELAJAR / INSTRUCTIONS TO STUDENTS 1. Tugasan ini mengandungi SATU (1) soalan sahaja yang disediakan dalam bahasa modul bercetak kursus ini. / This assignment contains only ONE (1) question that is set in the language of the printed module for the course. 2. Jawab dalam Bahasa Melayu atau Bahasa Inggeris. / Answer in Malay or English. ASSIGNMENT QUESTION PURPOSE The purpose of this assignment is to enhance learners’ skills in analysing the financing sources of public listed companies. REQUIREMENT Compare the financing sources of TWO Bursa Malaysia listed companies, selected from the consumer products and construction sectors respectively, for the years 2008 and 2009. _________________________________________________________________________

BBPS4103 STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

ASSIGNMENT QUESTION PURPOSE The purpose of this assignment is to develop learners’ ability to formulate strategies for a new service business. REQUIREMENT Choose a service business which you would like to set up e.g. a photocopy centre, a lawyer firm or a hairdresser. Formulate a vision and mission statement for your chosen business and outline specific strategies that you would use to ensure the business’s success. _________________________________________________________________________ ARAHAN KEPADA PELAJAR / INSTRUCTIONS TO STUDENTS 1. Tugasan ini mengandungi SATU (1) soalan sahaja yang disediakan dalam bahasa modul bercetak kursus ini. / This assignment contains only ONE (1) question that is set in the language of the printed module for the course. 2. Jawab dalam Bahasa Melayu atau Bahasa Inggeris. / Answer in Malay or English. 3. Muat turunkan templat tugasan versi bahasa yang berkenaan daripada MyVLE untuk penyediaan dan penyerahan tugasan anda. Tugasan anda hendaklah ditaip dengan menggunakan saiz fon 12 Times New Roman dan langkau baris 1.5. / Download the language version of the assignment template concerned from the MyVLE for preparation and submission of your assignment. Your assignment should be typed using 12 point Times New Roman font and 1.5 line spacing. 4. Tugasan anda hendaklah antara 2500 hingga 3000 patah perkataan tidak termasuk rujukan. Bilangan perkataan hendaklah ditunjukkan di hujung tugasan anda. Jangan menyalin soalan dan arahan tugasan dalam jawapan anda. / Your assignment should be between 2500 to 3000 words excluding references. The number of words should be shown at the end of your assignment. Do not copy the assignment question and instructions to your answer.

Information System & Financial Modeling

Assignment The students are required to examine the relevant scientific literature on one of the topics listed below and prepare a literature review. The reports should include: • The developments of the discussions • The critical arguments and the respective contributors • The current status of the subject • The importance and the significance of the subjects 1. Capital Investment Decisions 2. Behavioral aspects of budgetary control 3. Corporate Governance issues 4. Knowledge Management 5. Financial Statement Analysis 6. Corporate Social Responsibility The report should be between 2,000 – 2,500 words and it should be submitted to the post-graduate office by: _____________________________________ Assessment Criteria: The assessment will be based on the detail reviewing of the relevant literature and the quality of the presentation. The mark achieved will contribute on the overall grade for this unit by 50%. Use at least 10 references preferably literatures related to the chosen subject.

Module Title: International Human Resource Management

Assessment Component: Coursework Word count: 2500 words Assessment criteria and marking standards (very important thus please read carefully). 1. Application and critical treatment of academic material relevant to the assignment. That is, have you located and used appropriate literature to help tackle the case study? Have you examined the strengths and weaknesses of these models and compared them with other approaches? 2. Quality of the analysis of the issue under discussion; substantiation of your argument That is, have you looked at the problem from a number of angles and indicated that you have thought about it - both in terms of drawing on research and theories and independently. Can you find evidence to support positions you argue – especially if you are making any recommendations? 3. Integration of the material in the assignment That is, does your analysis use of models and evidence constitute a convincing and persuasive argument in which the sections fit well together? 4. Correct referencing (Harvard method), punctuation, spelling and grammar 5. Good presentation. Important note The answer should reflect excellent understanding of the subject and includes detailed analysis, evaluation and justification based on wide research and preparation. It reflects several perspectives with critical approaches and linkages beyond the immediate subject area under discussion. Presentation of the essay will reflect a high level of academic rigour including attention to structure, grammar and use of technical terminology. Question: the coursework case Playfair & Co. – ‘helping make companies more valuable’ Playfair & Co. was founded in London as an IT consultancy in 1973 by Adam Ferguson who, as a young management consultant, decided that ‘consultants should deliver results – not just reports – to their clients’. He is still the MD, and is now 65. Playfair & Co was floated in 1995: Ferguson retains 5%. The firm began when many organizations were beginning to use new technologies. It grew during the 1980s, and gained a customer base in the UK as office automation and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems began to be recognized as crucial competitive factors. However Ferguson saw the scope for developing beyond this. First of all, he ensured that IT systems that Playfair & Co. advised

MANAGING PEOPLE

Module Description 1. To develop a critical awareness of current and emerging practices in the managing of work organisations and human resources 2. Enhance participants ’abilities to increase the contribution of human resources to long-term corporate success, whatever the specific nature of their managerial role and the industry they are in. Learning Outcomes On completion of the module, participants should be able to: 1. Demonstrate a critical understanding that to engage successfully in processes of organising and managing work, their thinking needs to go beyond such dualisms as thinking and acting, structure and culture, strategy and implementation, and see each of these as different facets of unified processes in human and organisational life. 2. Analyze and evaluate the choices presented in approaches to employment management practices and how these relate to the overall strategic way an organisation handles its changing environment and the range of stakeholders with which it deals. 3. Critically appraise current managerial practices to inform the way they can contribute to the strategic direction of human resourcing, and develop appropriate and relevant solutions to employment management issues in their organisations. Indicative Contents/ Areas of Study 1. Historical view of work, work today and workers’ psychological contract 2. Essence of organisational strategy, human resource strategy 3. HRM roles in structures, culture and policy as well as strategic HR partnership and alliance 4. The Workplace Relations 5. New Roles and Challenges for HRM 6. Human Resource Trends and Organisation Culture

Business Modelling for Decision Makers

Your report must be handed in no later than the due in date as set out above. This is an INDIVIDUAL coursework assignment. There are two questions to attempt. Each of the two questions have a ‘section A’ and a ‘section B’ respectively. Each section is worth up to 50% of the marks awarded to each question. To achieve ALL of the learning outcomes, you MUST attempt both sections per question. Both questions are awarded equal marks Where possible, support your case studies with the use of an Excel spreadsheet. Use any given themes as case studies. Use your models in each of the questions, to assist you to investigate and analyse the relative strengths and weaknesses. Using the information you find, you are then requested to prepare a report demonstrating your ability to critically evaluate and to reflect upon, the performance of your models as instruments of policy to assist the decision making processes. Your reflection section for each question must contain information relating to how you would re-address and re-submit your work using a different approach or perspective, how you formulated your ideas for your original work, what methods you used in your research, what library references you found useful, how confident you are in your model etc. etc. Note, this list is not exhaustive. In this section, you may use sensitivity analysis to help you to critically evaluate and to reflect upon your models. Remember, your reflection section is worth 50% of the marks for EACH of the two questions. (Learning Outcomes 2 and 4) To help you with reflection and sensitivity analysis, you should ‘study’ your respective models into some detail. Question 1 Section A – worth up to 50% of the total marks awarded to this question A company has decided to manufacture a new product. The government has indicated there is a non repayable subsidy of £500,000 if the company decide to invest immediately. Since the government is desperate for this product, they have also indicated to the company, that if they decide to limit sales exclusively to the government, then a guaranteed £1,000,000 (£1m) of sales will occur. However, the company is aware that the potential overall demand for this product could be very high and they have decided to conduct a market research to see if it may be feasible to market this product commercially both in the home and in the export markets. Results of their market research have indicated an initial potential high or low demand, with a respective probability of 0.6 and 0.4. If their initial potential demand is low, the company project that their sales in their export market will realise a possible £2.95m payoff but there is perhaps a 40% chance. Their home market in this ‘low’ area of demand, is split into two distinct markets, one returning a potential £2.05m payoff and the other returning a potential £3.25m payoff with a probability of 0.35 and 0.65 respectively. In their initial potential demand is ‘high’, then they estimate their home market will demand more of their output, hence they are 50% certain that their export market will return a payoff of £2.75m. Related to their export market is their home market and at this point they are able to make a decision. They project a possibility of a £1.745m payoff from the government since the government will be competing for this product, which inevitably forces up the price. The other option for them, is to sell on the home market, where they project a potential payoff of £1.6m or £2.35m but their respective probabilities are estimated to be 0.8 and 0.2. Finally, the overall cost of initiating their market research will be £1m. Draw a decision tree to explain this scenario and identify the correct decision for the company to undertake. Section B – worth up to 50% of the total marks awarded to this question Discuss- your findings. Also within your reflection section and, as additional information to the requested information contained in the rubric on page one above, you should address the strong and weak points in your model identified by sensitivity analysis. For example, comment upon the possibility of points of indecision (i.e. when two or more payoffs are equal in value) etc. etc. Remember, this reflection section is worth up to 50% of your marks for this question. Question 2 Section A – worth up to 50% of the total marks awarded to this question A pharmaceutical company operates a number of manufacturing lines and, each line manufactures different drugs for the health industry. The company operates an employee policy where employees are easily moved from one line to another, for example if the company should face an immediate increase in demand for the output from one particular line. One of the distribution lines manufactures two drugs, i.e. drug ‘y’ and drug ‘x’. When demand conditions dictate, you may assume that there are up to fifteen employees trained and delegated to undertake employment on this line. Each employee works an eight hour shift and you may also assume that their output per man shift is equal. Each employee is capable of manufacturing a maximum output per man shift of thirty batches of drug ‘y’ or twenty batches of drug ‘x’. The total daily available funds to purchase quantities of the various ingredients needed to manufacture these drugs, is £105,000 (assume £105k or 105). This daily fund would purchase sufficient ingredients to manufacture either fifteen batches of drug ‘y’ or twenty-one batches of drug ‘x’ (maximum). The available daily budget allocated to blend the ingredients is £56,000 (assume £56k or 56) and this budget will support the blending of either sixteen batches of drug ‘y’ or seven batches of drug ‘x’. Government policy has restricted the production drug ‘x’ to a maximum of 3.5 batches. Use the graphical method to determine the various amounts of drug ‘y’ and drug ‘x’ to manufacture to maximize profits. You may assume the profits relating to drug ‘y’ and drug ‘x’ are equal. Section B – worth up to 50% of the total marks awarded to this question Discuss- your findings. Also within your reflection section and, as additional information to the requested information contained in the rubric on page one above, you should address the strong and weak points in your model identified by sensitivity analysis. For example, comment upon the optimal solution in your model when the slope of the objective function changes (how could this occur in practice?) to become equal in magnitude and direction to the slope of one of the constraints etc. Remember, this reflection section is worth up to 50% of your marks for this question.