Block, S. B., Hirt, G. A., & Danielsen, B. R. (2019). Foundations of financial management (17th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill. ISBN: 9781260013917
Write an 8-12 page paper discussing in detail three key concepts from this course as they affect your chosen industry.
TELEMEDICINE is the industry
Begin by identifying three strategic objectives and three key characteristics of your industry. See the document titled Identifying industry strategic objectives and key characteristics.
Next, choose three financial concepts covered in the course that relate in some way to your industry strategic objectives.
Choose one financial concept from chapters 2-4 (financial statements, trends, a specific ratio with analysis, forecasting).
Choose the second concept from the financing area (operating leverage, financial leverage, short-term financing, green financing, long-term debt financing, leasing).
The third concept should come from any of the remaining topics (time value of money, budgeting, mergers and acquisitions, ethics, CSR, foreign investment, foreign currency risks, or a topic from a chapter not covered in the course that interests you).
When you choose your three financial concepts, make them specific rather than general in order to better tie them to your strategic objectives with concrete examples. For instance, if one of your strategic objectives is to move inventory quickly, rather than choosing “Asset Management Ratios” as your first concept, choose “Inventory Turnover Ratio.” If community partnerships is one of the key characteristics of your industry, rather than choosing “Ethics,” which is very broad, choose a specific topic like “Corporate Social Responsibility.”
As you choose your concepts, ask yourself the following:
How do the three concepts help organizations achieve the strategic objectives of your industry?
How do the key characteristics of your industry influence the significance of each of these financial concepts for your industry?
How can you relate these concepts to elements of some of your previous courses in this program? This is important to demonstrate how finance touches many functions of the business.
Organize your paper with topics and headings as follows:
Begin with a solid introduction, identifying your industry and stating what your paper will accomplish. If you are using a specific company or organization in your examples throughout the paper, identify that organization here. Otherwise, let your reader know that your examples will come from a variety of organizations within the industry.
Strategic Objectives and Key Characteristics
Identify and discuss your industry’s strategic objectives and key characteristics. Explain why these are important in your industry.
Create a separate heading for each of the three financial concepts
This is the meat of your paper. Each of the three key course concepts should first be defined and explained. This is more than a cut-and-paste definition. For example, a financial ratio should explain how and when it is used, what it means, and show where the numbers are found and on which financial statement. An industry average should be explained to show what a high or low ratio might mean for a company in your industry. Then you should explain how this financial concept can help achieve one or more of your industry objectives. Also explain, if relevant, how one or more of the key characteristics of your industry could have an effect on the use of this concept. Demonstrate through a concrete example how this financial concept is used in a company in your industry.
Relevance of Previous Courses
Bring in information learned and used in previous courses. Did you learn about strategy, communication, innovation, HR, or leadership in other classes? Identify at least one of these and demonstrate your understanding of how the financial concepts you are discussing relate in some way to what you learned in that course.
Conclusion
Your conclusion should be lengthy (at least a page), tying the financial concepts, strategic objectives, and key characters together in a meaningful way. How does one concept affect another? What kind of web is woven with the various components of the paper? Make your conclusion a synthesis rather than a summary. Find the connections, and then leave your reader with something critical to ponder.
Please use and cite at least eight sources, one of which should be from an industry trade journal and at least one peer-reviewed article using the correct APA format. If using a specific financial statement as a source, be sure the URL in the reference page goes directly to that statement. This paper should be written exclusively in the third person.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Although you can use the research done for previous assignments and discussion boards, do not simply cut and paste your work. You may use the information you gleaned, tailor it to this paper, and expand on it.
Note: use the Library Resources guide for this course to help find scholarly articles, trade journal articles, company and industry reports, and assistance with APA.
