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Deaconess-Glover Hospital (C) 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 Deaconess-Glover Hospital (C) case study


At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Deaconess-Glover Hospital (C) case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Steven J. Spear. The Deaconess-Glover Hospital (C) (referred as “Carter Bonenfant” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Technology & Operations. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Change management, Health, Organizational structure, Supply chain.

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






Case Description of Deaconess-Glover Hospital (C) Case Study


For nearly three months, John Carter, a vascular surgeon by training, had been studying a variety of clinical processes at Deaconess-Glover Hospital in Needham, Mass. Carter was looking for an opportunity to test the applicability of Toyota Production System "Rules-in-Use" in the health care context. After several weeks of increasing focus, he had found a particular process--medication administration--to test his ideas. He had just suggested to John Dalton and Julie Bonenfant, the hospital's president and vice president, that they create a learning unit or model line within one of the nursing wards to begin conducting experiments. Dalton and Bonenfant received his modest proposal negatively. They complained that his proposal seemed remarkably unambitious, yet, paradoxically, they complained that creating a dedicated learning unit within the larger nursing ward would be infeasible. Carter struggled to explain how they could react simultaneously with such seemingly contradictory sentiments.


Case Authors : Steven J. Spear

Topic : Technology & Operations

Related Areas : Change management, Health, Organizational structure, Supply chain




Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Deaconess-Glover Hospital (C) Case Study


Years              Cash Flow     Net Cash Flow     Cumulative    
Cash Flow
Discount Rate
@ 6 %
Discounted
Cash Flows
Year 0 (10023118) -10023118 - -
Year 1 3443398 -6579720 3443398 0.9434 3248489
Year 2 3959322 -2620398 7402720 0.89 3523782
Year 3 3968413 1348015 11371133 0.8396 3331956
Year 4 3225872 4573887 14597005 0.7921 2555193
TOTAL 14597005 12659420




The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2636302

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.




Capital Budgeting Approaches

Methods of Capital Budgeting


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

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

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 Carter Bonenfant 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. Carter Bonenfant shareholders have preference for diversified projects investment rather than prospective high income from a single capital intensive project.






Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of Deaconess-Glover Hospital (C)

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 Technology & Operations 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 Carter Bonenfant 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 Carter Bonenfant 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 (10023118) -10023118 - -
Year 1 3443398 -6579720 3443398 0.8696 2994259
Year 2 3959322 -2620398 7402720 0.7561 2993816
Year 3 3968413 1348015 11371133 0.6575 2609296
Year 4 3225872 4573887 14597005 0.5718 1844403
TOTAL 10441774


The Net NPV after 4 years is 418656

(10441774 - 10023118 )








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 (10023118) -10023118 - -
Year 1 3443398 -6579720 3443398 0.8333 2869498
Year 2 3959322 -2620398 7402720 0.6944 2749529
Year 3 3968413 1348015 11371133 0.5787 2296535
Year 4 3225872 4573887 14597005 0.4823 1555687
TOTAL 9471250


The Net NPV after 4 years is -551868

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9471250 - 10023118 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Carter Bonenfant 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 Carter Bonenfant has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Carter Bonenfant 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 Carter Bonenfant, then the stock price of the Carter Bonenfant 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 Carter Bonenfant 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 –

Understanding of risks involved in 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.

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

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.

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

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.






Negotiation Strategy of Deaconess-Glover Hospital (C)

References & Further Readings

Steven J. Spear (2018), "Deaconess-Glover Hospital (C) Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.


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