dq 1
Ethical Behavior
Resources
Activity Context
This discussion helps you develop the skills to master the following course competencies:
- Assess the impact of ethical, regulatory, and tax considerations on financial policy decisions.
To review how all your activities help you achieve the competencies in the course, and ultimately, your overall program outcomes, revisit the MBA6016 Course Alignment Map.
Activity Instruction
Unfortunately, in recent times, we have seen a number of examples of unethical behavior in organizations, often tied to the organization’s handling of finances. Discuss ethical issues facing the top leadership or financial managers in today’s corporate environment regarding their approach to the financial matters of the firm. What pressures exist that might encourage unethical behavior, particularly as it pertains to the firm’s financial reporting or situation? How might these be mitigated? (You might want to conduct a search to identify examples or to examine actions suggested or taken to help mitigate these instances.)
Post a substantive initial post by Thursday. Support your post as appropriate with the theories presented in this week’s required reading.
Response Guidelines
Respond to at least two peers by the Sunday due date. Your replies should be substantive and could involve one or more of the following:
- Debate the topic.
- Ask a probing question.
- Share an insight you gained from your peer’s post.
- Make a suggestion.
- Share a personal experience related to the topic.
- Expand on your peer’s post.
dq 2
Financial Statements
Resources
- Activity Context
This discussion helps you develop the skills to master the following course competencies:
- Apply the theories, models, and practices of finance to the financial management of the firm.
To review how all your activities help you achieve the competencies in the course, and ultimately, your overall program outcomes, revisit the MBA6016 Course Alignment Map.
Activity Instruction
Compare and contrast the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. (Note that to compare and contrast these three tools, you will need to define each of them). Discuss the following:
- What is the most important segment of a cash flow statement? Why?
- Can the cash flow statement be manipulated? If so, how? If not, why not?
- Are most investors sophisticated enough to interpret a cash flow statement? Should they be?
Post a substantive initial post by Thursday. Support your post as appropriate with the theories presented in this week’s required reading.
Response Guidelines
Respond to at least two peers by the Sunday due date. Your replies should be substantive and could involve one or more of the following:
- Debate the topic.
- Ask a probing question.
- Share an insight you gained from your peer’s post.
- Make a suggestion.
- Share a personal experience related to the topic.
- Expand on your peer’s post.
Time Value of Money
Resources
Activity Context
This discussion helps you develop the skills to master the following course competencies:
- Evaluate alternative methods of financing a firm in diverse economic environments.
To review how all your activities help you achieve the competencies in the course, and ultimately, your overall program outcomes, revisit the MBA6016 Course Alignment Map.
Activity Instruction
Define and discuss the importance of the time value of money concepts including compounding (future value), discounting (present value), and annuities. Why do organization leaders need to understand these concepts?
Post a substantive initial post by Thursday. Support your post as appropriate with the theories presented in this week’s required reading.
Response Guidelines
Respond to at least two peers by the Sunday due date. Your replies should be substantive and could involve one or more of the following:
- Debate the topic.
- Ask a probing question.
- Share an insight you gained from your peer’s post.
- Make a suggestion.
- Share a personal experience related to the topic.
- Expand on your peer’s post.
dq 2
Bond Valuation
Resources
Activity Context
This discussion helps you develop the skills to master the following course competencies:
- Apply the theories, models, and practices of finance to the financial management of the firm.
To review how all your activities help you achieve the competencies in the course, and ultimately, your overall program outcomes, revisit the MBA6016 Course Alignment Map.
Activity Instruction
Describe or define and discuss a type of bond that interests you and how it is differentiated from other bonds. Then explain how valuing bonds is done and how interest rates affect their value. Consider the importance of the yield-to-maturity (YTM) in your post.
Post a substantive initial post by Thursday. Support your post as appropriate with the theories presented in this week’s required reading.
Response Guidelines
Respond to at least two peers by the Sunday due date. Your replies should be substantive and could involve one or more of the following:
- Debate the topic.
- Ask a probing question.
- Share an insight you gained from your peer’s post.
- Make a suggestion.
- Share a personal experience related to the topic.
- Expand on your peer’s post.
Capital Budgeting Methods
Resources
Activity Context
This discussion helps you develop the skills to master the following course competencies:
- Integrate financial analyses into general business management planning and decision making.
To review how all your activities help you achieve the competencies in the course, and ultimately, your overall program outcomes, revisit the MBA6016 Course Alignment Map.
Activity Instruction
Define the various capital budgeting methods such as net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), and so on, and explain how they differ from one another. Identify which, if any, of the methods discussed might be superior to the others and explain why.
Post a substantive initial post by Thursday. Support your post as appropriate with the theories presented in this week’s required reading.
Response Guidelines
Respond to at least two peers by the Sunday due date. Your replies should be substantive and could involve one or more of the following:
- Debate the topic.
- Ask a probing question.
- Share an insight you gained from your peer’s post.
- Make a suggestion.
- Share a personal experience related to the topic.
- Expand on your peer’s post.
dq 2
Capital Investment Decisions
Resources
Activity Context
This discussion helps you develop the skills to master the following course competencies:
- Apply the theories, models, and practices of finance to the financial management of the firm.
To review how all your activities help you achieve the competencies in the course, and ultimately, your overall program outcomes, revisit the MBA6016 Course Alignment Map.
Activity Instruction
Identify and define up to three concepts associated with making capital investment decisions such as cash flows, sunk costs, opportunity costs, or others. Discuss why your selected concepts are important for the investor to factor into the decision-making process.
Post a substantive initial post by Thursday. Support your post as appropriate with the theories presented in this week’s required reading.
Response Guidelines
Respond to at least two peers by the Sunday due date. Your replies should be substantive and could involve one or more of the following:
- Debate the topic.
- Ask a probing question.
- Share an insight you gained from your peer’s post.
- Make a suggestion.
- Share a personal experience related to the topic.
- Expand on your peer’s post.
Risk and Return
Resources
Activity Context
This discussion helps you develop the skills to master the following course competencies:
- Integrate financial analyses into general business management planning and decision making.
To review how all your activities help you achieve the competencies in the course, and ultimately, your overall program outcomes, revisit the MBA6016 Course Alignment Map.
Activity Instruction
Define and discuss the concepts of risk and return. Also discuss the importance of portfolio diversification and the relationship to risk and return.
Post a substantive initial post by Thursday. Support your post as appropriate with the theories presented in this week’s required reading.
Response Guidelines
Respond to at least two peers by the Sunday due date. Your replies should be substantive and could involve one or more of the following:
- Debate the topic.
- Ask a probing question.
- Share an insight you gained from your peer’s post.
- Make a suggestion.
- Share a personal experience related to the topic.
- Expand on your peer’s post.
dq 2
Beta
Resources
Activity Context
This discussion helps you develop the skills to master the following course competencies:
- Apply the theories, models, and practices of finance to the financial management of the firm.
To review how all your activities help you achieve the competencies in the course, and ultimately, your overall program outcomes, revisit the MBA6016 Course Alignment Map.
Activity Instruction
Discuss beta and its importance. What type of investors would invest in a high beta stock and a low beta stock? Also, in your textbook, review the Real World case, focusing on “Beta, Beta, Who’s Got the Beta?,” on page 343. Is beta a useful tool? Why were the beta estimates discussed in the reading different?
Post a substantive initial post by Thursday. Support your post as appropriate with the theories presented in this week’s required reading.
Response Guidelines
Respond to at least two peers by the Sunday due date. Your replies should be substantive and could involve one or more of the following:
- Debate the topic.
- Ask a probing question.
- Share an insight you gained from your peer’s post.
- Make a suggestion.
- Share a personal experience related to the topic.
- Expand on your peer’s post.
dq 1
Capital Structure
Resources
Activity Context
This discussion helps you develop the skills to master the following course competencies:
- Apply the theories, models, and practices of finance to the financial management of the firm.
- Integrate financial analyses into general business management planning and decision making.
To review how all your activities help you achieve the competencies in the course, and ultimately, your overall program outcomes, revisit the MBA6016 Course Alignment Map.
Activity Instruction
Select two of the many capital structure concepts such as Modigliani and Miller, Pecking Order Theory, leverage, and so on, and explain what each is as well as how it differs from the other concept you selected. Then, step back and discuss why it is important for managers or leaders to optimize their capital structure.
Post a substantive initial post by Thursday. Support your post as appropriate with the theories presented in this week’s required reading.
Response Guidelines
Respond to at least two peers by the Sunday due date. Your replies should be substantive and could involve one or more of the following:
- Debate the topic.
- Ask a probing question.
- Share an insight you gained from your peer’s post.
- Make a suggestion.
- Share a personal experience related to the topic.
- Expand on your peer’s post.
dq 2
Dividends
Resources
Activity Context
This discussion helps you develop the skills to master the following course competencies:
- Evaluate alternative methods of financing a firm in diverse economic environments.
To review how all your activities help you achieve the competencies in the course, and ultimately, your overall program outcomes, revisit the MBA6016 Course Alignment Map.
Activity Instruction
Consider dividend policy, stock repurchases, and stock splits. Discuss how investors may react differently if their company issues dividends or announces a stock split or stock repurchase. Feel free to include examples to illustrate your point.
Post a substantive initial post by Thursday. Support your post as appropriate with the theories presented in this week’s required reading.
Response Guidelines
Respond to at least two peers by the Sunday due date. Your replies should be substantive and could involve one or more of the following:
- Debate the topic.
- Ask a probing question.
- Share an insight you gained from your peer’s post.
- Make a suggestion.
- Share a personal experience related to the topic.
- Expand on your peer’s post.
International Finance and Political Risk
Resources
Activity Context
This discussion helps you develop the skills to master the following course competencies:
- Apply the theories, models, and practices of finance to the financial management of the firm.
- Evaluate alternative methods of financing a firm in diverse economic environments.
To review how all your activities help you achieve the competencies in the course, and ultimately, your overall program outcomes, revisit the MBA6016 Course Alignment Map.
Activity Instruction
Choose a country (not the United States or Canada) that has not already been chosen by another learner and post your country choice in the discussion area. Then, identify some political and currency risks of that country and discuss why a U.S. company would invest (for example, build a factory) in that country. Also discuss some of the various international finance topics such as the foreign exchange market, purchasing power parity, interest rate parity, cross rates, and so on. Why is it important for international firms to understand these concepts?
Post a substantive initial post no later than Thursday. Support your post with the theories presented in the reading.
Response Guidelines
Respond to at least one peer, taking the opposite side, no later than Sunday. Also, if applicable, consider the ethical implications and consequences. Support your response with the theories presented in this week’s required reading.
dq 2
Course Reflection
Resources
Throughout the course, you have been building toward the achievement of the following competencies:
- Apply the theories, models, and practices of finance to the financial management of the firm.
- Assess the impact of ethical, regulatory, and tax considerations on financial policy decisions.
- Evaluate alternative methods of financing a firm in diverse economic environments.
- Integrate financial analyses into general business management planning and decision making.
- Communicate in a manner that is professional and consistent with expectations for members of the business professions.
Reflect on the knowledge and skills you developed over the past six weeks. Address the following questions:
- For each competency, how has your ability to perform these skills and apply this knowledge evolved?
- What concepts, skills, or insights were most relevant to you?
- How have you grown in your academic and professional goals? Have you made progress on any items in your tasks plan that you developed during first course?
Response Guidelines
Provide encouraging feedback about how your peers have grown over the past six weeks. If applicable, provide recommendations for how they may continue to develop these skills and knowledge or suggest additional strategies for leveraging the knowledge gained in the course.
