Shareholders want managers to maximize the of their investments. The firm faces a trade-off. Either it can invest its cash in or it can give the cash back to in the form of a and they can invest it in . Shareholders want the company to invest in only if the is than they could earn for themselves. The return that shareholders could earn for themselves is therefore the for the firm.

Cynthia is a hospitality worker in the lodging industry who prefers to cater to small groups of people. she might want to open a

Garrett is an executive vice president at samm hardware. he researches a proposal by a larger company, maximum hardware, to combine the two companies. by analyzing past performance, conducting focus groups, and interviewing maximum employees, garrett concludes that maximum has poor profit margins, sells shoddy merchandise, and treats customers poorly. what actions should garrett and samm hardware take? a. turn down the acquisition offer and prepare to resist a hostile takeover. b. attempt a friendly merger and use managerial hubris to improve results at maximum. c. welcome the acquisition and use knowledge transfer to impart sam hardware's management practices. d. do nothing; the two companies cannot combine without samm hardware's explicit consent.

The five steps to financial success a. five money myths b. five foundations