Posts

Statistics

    This is the final week of the Bus 501 course, my second course in my MBA journey. As doctor and researcher, I have previous experience in statistics. However, this course was good revision for basic statistics. In addition, it enhanced my Excel experience and made me realize other uses of statistics, rather than biostatistics and uses for diseases and patients. Even the businesses use the same principle to analyze the markets, and enhance their businesses.  By applying various statistical methods and techniques, companies can uncover patterns, trends, and relationships within their data, enabling them to make informed decisions, set goals, and optimize processes (GreeksforGreeks, 2024). This week was heavy with many lectures on MBA math. However, my desire to get an A in this course motivated me to complete all lectures. During the course, I built my own Excel sheet that contains all formulas that I learned during the course. This will be very helpful for me during my...

Operation Management

    This weeks I learned about operation management (OM) and different related concepts. OM is how to manage and perform the highest level of efficiency for maximum profit for the organization (Hayes, 2024). The lecture in this module is rich and informative. It discussed different concepts such as management science, the differences between strategic and tactical decisions, and data analytics. Another related topic I learned is supply chain management (Fernando, 2024) and the discussion deepen my understanding on supply chain after reading, searching and discussion with colleagues about an excellent example of Amazon Co.  I found an old article (Glimore & Pine, 1997) on the concept of mass customization. This surprised me as I realized that the concept is not new. The article explore how companies can tailor products and services to individual customer needs while maintaining the efficiencies of mass production. They identify four distinct approaches to mass cus...

Finance Application

     I am a doctor which means I am not good at Math!  This week was challenging for me. I have practiced more financial concepts such practical use of balance sheet and investment decisions . I have created the equations on a spreadsheet. However, understanding the baseline equation and concepts was essential.  This was the first time I understood the Bonds. I have a fair knowledge of shares and the stock market previously but not of the Bonds. This week allowed me to understand Bonds that might help me even in my personal investment decisions.  I read ​the  Wall Street Journal article (Goldfarb, 2024) entitled "After Another Bad Year for Bonds, Investors Lose Faith in a Turnaround" which discusses the growing concerns among investors regarding the bond market. Despite entering the past two years with optimism, investors have faced consecutive disappointments. The article highlights concerns that the challenging environment for bonds may persist or ...

Finance Fundamentals

     Thanks for the Acc 505 course which prepared me in accounting and finance. So this was an important revisit of the accounting and finance basic concepts. This week I learned how to calculate and create an Excel spreadsheet of basic finance calculations such as the time value of money, annuity, and perpetuity. It was a challenging exercise to practice equations and some math.    In addition, I learned about financial statements and financial ratios. The information from these statements and ratios is very useful for corporate and investor decisions. I read the Corporate Finance Institute's article "Financial Statements Examples, Amazon Case Study" which provides an in-depth analysis of Amazon.com's financial statements to illustrate key components and line items. The article emphasizes the importance of understanding financial statements for assessing a company's profitability and liquidity. The assignment was a good exercise for some math and understanding ...

Marketing concepts and Group assignment

     This week, I tried to link what I have learned in the last 2 weeks on marketing together. However, the challenge was that the work should be done with a group that we never met and remotely! This week, I learned about value, pricing, and product positioning.  The pricing strategy of the 5 Cs linked many concepts that I learned earlier and economic concepts such as supply and demand, elasticity, competition, cost and others. Price is main factor for any product and it is connected to many factors. I learned about product positioning which was new for me. Now, it is clear to me. I have read and discovered many product statements of different companies.   A positioning statement succinctly describes a product and its target audience, explaining how it meets a market need uniquely. This tool ensures consistent messaging across marketing and sales teams. I found an interesting article (Murphy, 2023)  that offers practical tips for writing a positioning...

Marketing

     This is the first marketing lesson for me! During this module I learned new concepts such as value, marketing strategies, segmentation, products and branding. I found the module great introduction for marketing.  I found the concept of value interesting. The value equation as mentioned in the lecture (Villegas, 2021), V= satisfaction- cost was an eye opener for me how to appreciate the value. I can think of this equation now in my daily life and in my choices! Value in marketing refers to the perceived benefit a customer gets from a product or service relative to its cost. It’s what makes people decide whether something is worth it to them. after learning 4 Ps in marketing strategies, I realized that marketing is structured  process rather than just advertising! Considering customer perception in every step from designing, pricing to placing the product is an extensive, structured and organized process. The 4 Ps sometime can be 5 or more Ps to ensure all a...

Porter's Five Forces Model

    During the second week of the course, I learned about Porter's five forces model. It is amazing! After reading different articles (Karri, 2021 & Martin, 2023), trying to answer the prompts questions in the lecture, and discussing real business case scenarios, I realized the importance of this model in business analysis, strategic planning, decision making, and profitability. Applying this model to real business scenarios, enabled me to think critically about market dynamics.  In addition to cases and examples provided in the reading and lecture material, I have read an article (Chand, 2023) on RB Patel in Fiji as a case study of Porter's Five Forces Model. The case study analyzed the company's challenging situation and provided various strategies that might overcome these challenges. This case is a real-world example of how this model can guide the strategy.  Now I feel more eager to learn more about businesses and enjoying the rest of the course.  ...