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one　of　the　UK’s　then　all…too…frequent　economic　troughs。　
It　was　at　this　point　that　I　realized　that；　in　mon　with　millions　of　others　
in　business；　I　had　li。。le　knowledge　outside　my　own　narrow　discipline。　
My　cash…starved　employer　had　no　real　incentive　to　train　me；　or　any　of　
his　employees；　in　any　subject　that　didn’t　have　a　reasonably　immediate　
payback。　I　had　spent　two　years　at　Sandhurst　being　trained　thoroughly。　I　
had　a　rudimentary　grasp　of　what　engineers；　infantry　and　artillery　could　
do；　as　well　as　the　abilities　and　role　of　the　navy　and　air　force　in　any　task　in　
which　I　was　likely　to　be　involved。　But　now　in　business；　outside　of　sales；　in　
which　I　had　been　given　just　two　days　of　instruction；　I　was　totally　ignorant。　
Accounts；　production；　supply；　global　petitors；　substitute　products　and　
the　economic　climate　were　all　a　closed　book。　I　wasn’t　even　aware　that　the　
client　whom　I　thought　was　so　large　and　powerful　was　about　to　be　swept　
away　in　a　maelstrom　of　technological　change。　I　le。。　the　pany；　took　an　
MBA；　and　went　on　to　line　and　staff　positions　around　the　world　and　then　
to　running　businesses；　small　at　first　and　eventually　quite　large。　A　spell　in　
consulting　was　followed　by　a　return　to　the　business　school　world；　this　time　
to　teach　and　research　in　some　great　schools　in　the　UK；　mainland　Europe；　
the　United　States　and　Asia。　
Anyone　who　wants　to　play　a　more　rounded　role　in　shaping　and　implementing　
the　direction　of　the　organization　they　work　in；　but　are　inhibited　
by　their　lack　of　fundamental　business　knowledge；　needs　MBA　knowledge。　
Reading　this　book　will　equip　them　to　take　part　in　strategic　decision　making　
on　an　equal　footing　with　MBA　graduates；　while　feeling　at　ease　in　the　process。　
It　places　MBA　skills　within　reach　of　all　professionals　in　large　and　small　
organizations　in　both　the　public　and　private　sectors；　providing　them　with　a　
petitive　edge　over　less　knowledgeable　colleagues。　
WHAT　IS　MBA　KNOWLEDGE？　
Business　schools　have　tended　to　plicate　and　intellectualize　the　subject　
of　business　but　it　basically　boils　down　to　a　dozen　disciplinary　areas；　each　
with　a　number　of　ponents。　The　disciplines　contain　the　tools　with　
which　you　can　analyse　a　business　situation　effectively；　drawing　on　both　
internal　information　relevant　to　the　business　and　external　information　on　
its　markets；　petitors　and　general　business　environment　as　a　prelude　to　
deciding　what　to　do。　
The　emphasis　here　in　the　contents　of　this　book　is　on　the　terms　‘concepts’　
and　‘tools’。　The　business　world　is　full　of　conflicting　theories　and　ideas　on　
Introduction　3　
how　organizations　could　or　should　work；　or　how　they　could　be　made　to　
work　be。。er。　They　e　in　and　out　of　fashion；　get　embellished　or　replaced　
over　time。　In　business；　for　example；　there　is　no　such　thing　as　a　universal　
optimal　capital　structure；　or　the　right　number　of　new　products　to　bring　to　
market；　or　whether　or　not　going　for　an　acquisition　is　a　winning　strategy。　
What’s　best　in　terms　of；　say；　a　debt　to　equity　ratio　varies　with　the　type　of　
organization　and　the　prevailing　conditions　in　the　money　market。　That　ratio　
will　be　different　for　the　same　organization　at　different　times　and　when　it　
is　pursuing　different　strategies。　Layering　an　inherently　risky　marketing　
strategy；　say　diversifying；　with　a　risky　financing　strategy；　using　borrowed　
rather　than　shareholders’　money；　creates　a　potentially　more　risky　situation　
than　any　one　of　those　actions　in　isolation。　But　whichever　choices　a　business　
makes；　the　tools　used　to　assess　financial　and　marketing　strengths　and　weaknesses　
are　much　the　same。　It　is　the　concepts　and　tools　to　be　used　in　those　
disciplines　that　this　book　explains；　and　it　shows　you　how　to　use　both　of　
these　individually　and　to　assess　a　business　situation　prehensively。　
THE　MBA　DISCIPLINES　
These　are　a　dozen　or　so　core　disciplines　that　prise　the　subject　ma。。er　of　
an　MBA　programme。　Many　business　schools　eschew　some　vital　elements　
within　these　disciplines　as　they　are　considered　either　too　practical；　unsexy　
from　a　research/career　prospective　or　more　skill　or　art　oriented　than　
academic。　A　prime　example　is　the　field　of　selling；　which　fits　naturally　into　
the　marketing　domain　but；　much　to　the　surprise　of　MBA　students；　o。。en　
fails　to　appear　on　the　syllabus。　There　are　thousands　of　professors　of　marketing；　
distribution　and　logistics；　market　research；　advertising；　industrial　
marketing；　strategic　munications　and　every　subsection　of　marketing；　
but　there　are　no　professors　of　selling。　Yet　most　employers；　and　students　
for　that　ma。。er；　feel　that　their　MBA’s　value　would　be　enhanced　by　a　sound　
grounding　in　selling　and　sales　management。　
Some　business　schools　miss　out　personal　development；　social　responsibility　
and　ethics；　entrepreneurship；　business　planning　or　even　quantitative　
methods。　Almost　all　of　them　miss　out　business　history　–　a　core　subject　at　
Harvard　–　and　business　law　–　essential　at　all　top　schools。　You　will　find　all　of　
these　disciplinary　areas　covered　in　this　book。　
Accounting　
This　covers　the　basic　assembly　and　interpretation　of　raw　financial　data；　
from　double…entry　bookkeeping　through　to　the　construction　of　the　key　accounting　
reports　–　profit　and　loss；　cash　flow　and　balance　sheet。　It　continues　
through　to　the　accounting　concepts　and　ground　rules　and　the　auditing　
4　The　Thirty…Day　MBA　
process　and　the　tools　required　to　access　a　business’s　financial　health　and　
performance。　
Business　history　
This　is　a　brief　review　of　the　processes　that　led　to　the　creation　of　the　types　
of　business　enterprise　we　have　today；　showing　how　they　came　about；　
their　significance　and　development。　The　main　area　covered　is　the　development　
of　modern　industry　from　1800；　but　the　trading　laws　and　business　
structures　created　in　Babylon　and　the　activities　of　mediaeval　merchants　
are　also　relevant　to　an　understanding　of　the　pedigree　of　today’s　business　
environment。　The　watchword　here　is：　‘Those　who　cannot　remember　the　
past　are　condemned　to　repeat　it。’　
Business　law　
From　intellectual　property；　employment　and　legal　structures；　through　to　
the　laws　governing　contracts　and　corporate　governance；　organizations　are　
constrained　in　their　actions　by　local　and　international　laws。　
Economics　
In　the　1990s　there　was　a　prevailing　view　that　globalization　and　technology　
would　check　inflation　and　keep　prices　so　low　that　consumers　would　keep　
consuming。　The　death　of　the　economic　cycle　was　announced　alongside　the　
birth　of　the　‘long　boom’。　Today；　those　same　forces　are　credited　with　creating　
a　more　volatile　world　with　more　violent　economic　swings。　For　the　
manager；　a　grasp　of　elements　of　macro　and　microeconomics　is　essential　to　
making　sense　of　the　business　environment。　
Entrepreneurship　
Until　the　late　1980s　entrepreneurship　was　a　paragraph　or　two　in　an　economics　
textbook。　The　discovery　by　David　Birch；　a　researcher　in　the　United　
States；　that　small　and　new　businesses　accounted　for　over　80　per　cent　of　new　
jobs　propelled　entrepreneurship　from　a　footnote　to　a　core　discipline　important　
equally　to　potential　participants　and　government　policy　makers。　
Ethics　and　social　responsibility　
One　of　the　primary　goals　of　business　is　to　make　the　world　a　be。。er　place。　
Until　recently　this　was　something　that　business　moguls　did　a。。er　a　lifetime　
of　being　responsible　for　oil　spills；　deforestation　and　generally　polluting　
Introduction　5　
the　planet。　Sure；　Exxon　can’t　solve　the　world’s　energy　problems　and　Wal…　
Mart　and　Nike　can’t　solve　the　poverty　experienced　by　the　250　million　
child　workers　and　their　families。　But　increasingly　businesses　are　being　
required　to　work　within　accepted　guidelines　and　to　take　part　in　the　debate　
about　morals　and　responsibilities。　Monsanto　alone　can’t　decide　whether　
genetically　modified　crops　are　safe　or　desirable　and　stem　cells　and　cloning　
are　not　subjects　where　it　can　be　le。。　to　industry　alone　to　set　boundaries。　
But　those　working　in　an　industry　have　a　wider　constituency　than　their　
shareholders　and　their　own　careers。　
Finance　
Finance　covers　the　vital　areas　of　where　a　business　gets　its　money　from　and　
the　risks　and　responsibilities　associated　with　each　of　those　sources。　Debt；　
eq