Suppose you study a group of successful companies and you find that they emphasize customer focus, or quality improvement, or empowerment; how do you know that you haven't merely discovered the management practice equivalent of having buildings? how do you know that you've discovered something that distinguishes the successful companies from other companies? you don't know. you can't know--not unless you have a control set, a comparison group.

Jeanie had always been interested in how individuals and businesses effectively allocate their resources in order to accomplish personal and organizational goals. that’s why she majored in economics and took on an entry-level position at an accounting firm. she is very interested in further advancing her career by looking into a specialization that builds upon her academic background, and her interest in deepening her understanding of how companies adjust their operating results to incorporate the economic impacts of their practices on internal and external stakeholders. which specialization could jeanie follow to get the best of both worlds? jeanie should chose to get the best of both worlds.