Nordstrom: The Workplace Violence Dilemma Net Present Value (NPV) / MBA Resources

Introduction to Net Present Value (NPV) - What is Net Present Value (NPV) ? How it impacts financial decisions regarding project management?

NPV solution for Nordstrom: The Workplace Violence Dilemma case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Nordstrom: The Workplace Violence Dilemma case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Stewart Robert Miller, Pamela Paziotopoulos. The Nordstrom: The Workplace Violence Dilemma (referred as “Nordstrom Workplace” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Organizational Development. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, .

The net present value (NPV) of an investment proposal is the present value of the proposal’s net cash flows less the proposal’s initial cash outflow. If a project’s NPV is greater than or equal to zero, the project should be accepted.

NPV = Present Value of Future Cash Flows LESS Project’s Initial Investment

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Case Description of Nordstrom: The Workplace Violence Dilemma Case Study

Black Friday, the day after American Thanksgiving, marked the official start of the Christmas shopping season in the United States. It was a day that generally brought smiles to the executives of retailing giant Nordstrom, Inc. (Nordstrom). However, on November 28, 2014, Nordstrom had to deal with the tragic loss of a seasonal worker at a Nordstrom store in downtown Chicago. She had been killed in a workplace violence incident involving her former boyfriend. The event was a reminder of an earlier incident involving an Indianapolis-based employee who was terminated in November 2013. Even though Nordstrom had been a strong advocate for workplace safety, the retailer had endured public scrutiny after terminating the employee, who was victimized by her ex-boyfriend. These two workplace violence incidents made it necessary for Nordstrom's management to determine how best to protect all Nordstrom stakeholders in the future. Stewart Robert Miller is affiliated with University of Texas at San Antonio.

Case Authors : Stewart Robert Miller, Pamela Paziotopoulos

Topic : Organizational Development

Related Areas :

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Nordstrom: The Workplace Violence Dilemma Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10006500)	-10006500	-	-
Year 1	3459040	-6547460	3459040	0.9434	3263245
Year 2	3967501	-2579959	7426541	0.89	3531062
Year 3	3954812	1374853	11381353	0.8396	3320536
Year 4	3223151	4598004	14604504	0.7921	2553037
TOTAL			14604504		12667881

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2661381

In isolation the NPV number doesn't mean much but put in right context then it is one of the best method to evaluate project returns. In this article we will cover -

Different methods of capital budgeting

What is NPV & Formula of NPV,
How it is calculated,
How to use NPV number for project evaluation, and
Scenario Planning given risks and management priorities.

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Capital Budgeting Approaches

Methods of Capital Budgeting

There are four types of capital budgeting techniques that are widely used in the corporate world –

1. Payback Period
2. Profitability Index
3. Internal Rate of Return
4. Net Present Value

Apart from the Payback period method which is an additive method, rest of the methods are based on Discounted Cash Flow technique. Even though cash flow can be calculated based on the nature of the project, for the simplicity of the article we are assuming that all the expected cash flows are realized at the end of the year.

Discounted Cash Flow approaches provide a more objective basis for evaluating and selecting investment projects. They take into consideration both –

1. Timing of the expected cash flows – stockholders of Nordstrom Workplace have higher preference for cash returns over 4-5 years rather than 10-15 years given the nature of the volatility in the industry.
2. Magnitude of both incoming and outgoing cash flows – Projects can be capital intensive, time intensive, or both. Nordstrom Workplace shareholders have preference for diversified projects investment rather than prospective high income from a single capital intensive project.

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Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of Nordstrom: The Workplace Violence Dilemma

NPV = Net Cash In Flowt1 / (1+r)t1 + Net Cash In Flowt2 / (1+r)t2 + … Net Cash In Flowtn / (1+r)tn
Less Net Cash Out Flowt0 / (1+r)t0

Where t = time period, in this case year 1, year 2 and so on.
r = discount rate or return that could be earned using other safe proposition such as fixed deposit or treasury bond rate. Net Cash In Flow – What the firm will get each year.
Net Cash Out Flow – What the firm needs to invest initially in the project.

Step 1 – Understand the nature of the project and calculate cash flow for each year.
Step 2 – Discount those cash flow based on the discount rate.
Step 3 – Add all the discounted cash flow.
Step 4 – Selection of the project

Why Organizational Development Managers need to know Financial Tools such as Net Present Value (NPV)?

In our daily workplace we often come across people and colleagues who are just focused on their core competency and targets they have to deliver. For example marketing managers at Nordstrom Workplace often design programs whose objective is to drive brand awareness and customer reach. But how that 30 point increase in brand awareness or 10 point increase in customer touch points will result into shareholders’ value is not specified.

To overcome such scenarios managers at Nordstrom Workplace needs to not only know the financial aspect of project management but also needs to have tools to integrate them into part of the project development and monitoring plan.

Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 15%

After working through various assumptions we reached a conclusion that risk is far higher than 6%. In a reasonably stable industry with weak competition - 15% discount rate can be a good benchmark.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 15 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10006500)	-10006500	-	-
Year 1	3459040	-6547460	3459040	0.8696	3007861
Year 2	3967501	-2579959	7426541	0.7561	3000001
Year 3	3954812	1374853	11381353	0.6575	2600353
Year 4	3223151	4598004	14604504	0.5718	1842847
TOTAL					10451062

The Net NPV after 4 years is 444562

(10451062 - 10006500 )

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 20%

If the risk component is high in the industry then we should go for a higher hurdle rate / discount rate of 20%.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 20 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10006500)	-10006500	-	-
Year 1	3459040	-6547460	3459040	0.8333	2882533
Year 2	3967501	-2579959	7426541	0.6944	2755209
Year 3	3954812	1374853	11381353	0.5787	2288664
Year 4	3223151	4598004	14604504	0.4823	1554375
TOTAL					9480781

The Net NPV after 4 years is -525719

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9480781 - 10006500 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Nordstrom Workplace to discount cash flow at lower discount rates such as 15%.

Acceptance Criteria of a Project based on NPV

Simplest Approach – If the investment project of Nordstrom Workplace has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Nordstrom Workplace can ACCEPT the project, otherwise they can reject the project. This means that project will deliver higher returns over the period of time than any alternate investment strategy.

In theory if the required rate of return or discount rate is chosen correctly by finance managers at Nordstrom Workplace, then the stock price of the Nordstrom Workplace should change by same amount of the NPV. In real world we know that share price also reflects various other factors that can be related to both macro and micro environment.

In the same vein – accepting the project with zero NPV should result in stagnant share price. Finance managers use discount rates as a measure of risk components in the project execution process.

Sensitivity Analysis

Project selection is often a far more complex decision than just choosing it based on the NPV number. Finance managers at Nordstrom Workplace should conduct a sensitivity analysis to better understand not only the inherent risk of the projects but also how those risks can be either factored in or mitigated during the project execution. Sensitivity analysis helps in –

What will be a multi year spillover effect of various taxation regulations.

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

What are the key aspects of the projects that need to be monitored, refined, and retuned for continuous delivery of projected cash flows.

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

What are the uncertainties surrounding the project Initial Cash Outlay (ICO’s). ICO’s often have several different components such as land, machinery, building, and other equipment.

Some of the assumptions while using the Discounted Cash Flow Methods –

Projects are assumed to be Mutually Exclusive – This is seldom the came in modern day giant organizations where projects are often inter-related and rejecting a project solely based on NPV can result in sunk cost from a related project.

Independent projects have independent cash flows – As explained in the marketing project – though the project may look independent but in reality it is not as the brand awareness project can be closely associated with the spending on sales promotions and product specific advertising.

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Negotiation Strategy of Nordstrom: The Workplace Violence Dilemma

References & Further Readings

Stewart Robert Miller, Pamela Paziotopoulos (2018), "Nordstrom: The Workplace Violence Dilemma Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.