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MANAGING PROJECTS

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Projects represent nonroutine business activities that often have long-term strategic ramifications for a firm. In this chapter, we examined how projects differ from routine business activities and discussed the major phases of projects. We noted how environmental changes have resulted in increased attention being paid to projects and project management over the past decade. In the second half of the chapter, we introduced some basic tools that businesses can use when planning for and controlling projects. Both Gantt charts and network diagrams give managers a visual picture of how a project is going. Network diagrams have the added advantage of showing the precedence between activities, as well as the critical path(s). We wrapped up the chapter by showing how these concepts are embedded in inexpensive yet powerful software packages such as Microsoft Project. If you want to learn more about project management, we encourage you to take a look at the Web site for the Proj...
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Interest Rates

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In this chapter, we discussed the way interest rates are determined, the term structure of interest rates, and some of the ways interest rates affect business decisions. We saw that the interest rate on a given bond, r, is based on this equation:
r = r* + IP + DRP + LP + MRP
Here r* is the real risk-free rate, IP is the premium for expected inflation, DRP is the premium for potential default risk, LP is the premium for lack of liquidity, and MRP is the premium to compensate for the risk inherent in bonds with long maturities. Both r* and the various premiums can and do change over time depending on economic conditions, Federal Reserve actions, and the like. Since changes in these factors are difficult to predict, it is hard to forecast the future direction of interest rates.
The yield curve, which relates bonds’ interest rates to their maturities, usually has an upward slope; but it can slope up or down, and both its slope and level change over time. The main determinants of the slope of the curve are expectations for future inflation and the MRP. We can analyze yield curve data to estimate what market participants think future interest rates are likely to be.
We will use the insights gained from this chapter in later chapters, when we analyze the values of bonds and stocks and when we examine various corporate investment and financing decisions.

 

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