The Fourth Edition includes 45 cases: 16 new, 10 updated, 15 from 2000 and later, and the remaining 4 from the 1990's (no case will be before 1995). This currency is a large benefit to customers, as there are not many updated or new cases in the market. The number of cases is reduced from 54 cases in the Third Edition to make the book more manageable.
New topics include the Internet, real options, and entrepreneurial finance. These topics are appealing to instructors and students alike, and make this the most current and modern casebook available.
Adopting instructors will receive a helpful manual called 'Teaching by the Case Method,' written by Bruner, that assists instructors in teaching their class using cases. There are also accompanying videos that pose actual class situations/problems and how an instructor can deal with them. This material is currently used in a training course offered by Darden that teaches 2,000 people per year how to teach cases.
A new custom-crafted website is available for the Fourth Edition that includes spreadsheet templates that accompany the cases.
Focus on Value emphasizes that value creation should be an enduring focus of concern because it is the foundation of survival and prosperity of the business. The cases in this book exercise valuation analysis over a wide range of assets, debt, equities, and options, and a wide range of perspectives, such as investor, creditor, manager, and government.
Linkage to Capital Markets'an important premise of these cases is that managers should take cues from the capital markets. The cases help students to look at the capital markets in a variety of ways. They illustrate important players in the capital markets; They exercise the students' abilities to interpret capital market conditions; They explore the design of financial securities and rationalize the use of exotic securities in support of corporate policy; They help students understand the implications of transparency of the firm to investors, and the impact of news about the firm in an efficient market.
Respect for the Administrative Point of View'These cases illustrate the immense practicality of finance theory in sorting out the issues facing managers, assessing alternatives, and illuminating the effects of any particular choice. A number of cases present practical ethical dilemmas or moral hazards facing managers. Most of the cases call for action plans rather than mere analysis or description of a problem.
Robert F. Bruner is the Dean of the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration and Charles C. Abbott Professor of Business Administration at the University of Virginia. He is the author or coauthor of more than 400 case studies and notes as well as the author of two other Wiley titles, Applied Mergers and Acquisitions and Deals from Hell. Bruner specializes in the areas of corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and investing in emerging markets. Bruner holds a BA from Yale University and an MBA and DBA from Harvard University.
Sean D. Carr is the Director of Corporate Innovation Programs at the Darden School's Batten Institute, University of Virginia. His applied research in new ventures and corporate finance has been published in numerous award-winning case studies, books, and digital media. Previously, Carr spent a decade as a journalist, having served as a producer for both CNN and ABC News's World News Tonight with Peter Jennings. He holds a BA from Northwestern University, an MS from Columbia University, and an MBA from the University of Virginia.