EVALUATING BANK OPPORTUNITIES by Carol Hammes Faced with shrinking profit margins from their traditional products and services, financial institutions have been searching for ways...

GETTING IT STRAIGHT
Marketing may be second nature in large companies, but smaller firms tend to have a tough time implementing, managing, and monitoring an effective marketing strategy. The title of 'marketing director' is often conferred on the person designated to answer requests for sales literature, or the title is added as an afterthought to the role of the sales manager who thinks that marketing is just an alternative spelling of 'sales.'

Marketing may be second-nature in large companies, but smaller firms often have a tough time implementing, managing, and monitoring an effective marketing strategy. The 'marketing director' title is often conferred on the person designated to answer requests for sales literature, or given as an afterthought to the sales manager (who thinks that marketing is just another way of spelling s-a-l-e-s).

Though faced with the realities of dramatic economic change, the reconfiguration of the business landscape, and globalization, U.S. companies continue to go down the wrong path. Former U.S. Treasury Department official Michael Jacobs calls it "business myopia."

It may be argued that "enhancing shareholder value" drives the myopic vision of publicly-traded companies, but "shareholder demand" is perhaps more accurate. In privately held companies, myopic thinking results from a desire to increase market share or simply beat last month's figures.

USING OPERATING RATIOS AS A MANAGEMENT TOOL TO INCREASE AGENCY VALUE by Robert Westin The days of determining value solely by applying an assumed multiple to gross commissi...