Overview

This is a hands-on, practice-oriented, case-based course. After completing it, you will acquire essential skills to use tools, techniques and ideas for generating business options or opportunities and evaluating them. You will start acquiring the skill of making sound Business Decisions.

What You will Learn

After completing this class, you would have acquired the skills, knowledge, tools and techniques, necessary to:

1. Construct Decision Trees of Business Options

2. Identify Opportunities for major improvements in Business Performance

3. Use Market, Operational and Financial Data and Criteria, as well as Strategic Considerations, to evaluate the Business Options and Opportunities thus generated

4. Make sound Business Decisions, based on solid Data and Analysis

For Whom

It will benefit Managers (both present & aspiring) in any functional area, Owners of Businesses & Startups, Business Analysts and Management Consultants – because all of them need to keep taking decisions in their own or their client's company, business unit, product line or function, based on sound evaluation of business options and opportunities. And of course, also students in business schools.

Unique Learning Method

The Learning Method in this course will be uniquely different. Unlike conventional learning, where you start with theory & concepts, and then go to examples and applications, this course reverses the approach: it derives all the concepts and demonstrates skills, tools and techniques of Decision Making and Evaluation of Business Options & opportunities, through the characters, events and actions of a case study, that I have written for this course, based on my experiences in analyzing different kinds of business decisions, in different industries. Your learning will be deep and memorable because you will identify with the characters, events and actions in the case.

The Framework

This course is built around critical analysis and interpretation of Market, Operational and Financial performance parameters and criteria. It also will give you the essence of Strategic Audit based on sound concepts like Critical (Key) Success Factors, Ability to Compete, Market Attractiveness etc. and techniques to quantify these for using the GE-McKenzie Portfolio Matrix. It will expose you to the basics of the nature and structure of Decisions, Options and Decision Making.

Course Structure

It has 30 video lectures (lessons), 1 Practice Assignment,1 Quiz and 1 Project. The case is divided into 2 parts:

Part-1: Narration of the Background Facts & Performance Review of Company; and

Part-2: Narration of the Business Options & Opportunities for the company,

with an Assignment and my Analysis and Answers for the Assignment, both in Video and downloadable PDF document forms. There is a Project also, which has my Solution attached to it, again in Video and PDF formats. There is a Quiz attached to the last Lesson (# 30), with answers.

You can ask questions or seek clarifications any time, on any lecture, assignment or the project. I will answer within 48 hrs.

The Project

This is designed to test your understanding of the content of this class, based on the two parts of a business case study, developed by me, for this course exclusively. You will be required to provide a short write-up on your recommendations to the top management of the company featured in the case study narration and analysis provided by me. You can ask questions to clarify any doubts on the project. I have also provided a Solution, both in Video and downloadable PDF, which you can compare with your own.

About Me

My name is Bala, short for Balachandran. With degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Business Administration, from two of the most prestigious institutions, namely the IIT and IIM, I have over 48 years of work experience, in a variety of industries – both products & services. Of this, I spent 27 years in corporate managerial career in different functional areas. I have held positions of the Country CEO of a USA-based trans-national business group and as Head of Corporate & Strategic Planning, in a large, diversified business group. I have lived in Australia for a while and travelled widely in Europe, South-East Asia and of course, USA on business. And spent 21 years in Management Consulting, Mentoring & Training, as well as Teaching in Business Schools, both in person and online.

Welcome aboard

COME, JOIN me in this exciting learning journry. Let me show you how to do thorough and professional evaluation of business options and opportunities. ENROLL in the course today. I will meet you inside the Course.