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Striking at the Queen 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 Striking at the Queen case study


At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Striking at the Queen case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Carolyn Conn, Aundrea K. Guess. The Striking at the Queen (referred as “Collins Enticements” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Global Business. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Government, Managing people.

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 Striking at the Queen Case Study


The focus of this case is a series of ethical dilemmas faced by three undergraduate students, in their pursuit of solutions to perceived mismanagement, financial misdeeds, and possible fraud by their university's administrators. After Calvin Collins, Kent Russell, and Daniel Morris (who became known as the Tech-3) accidentally found confidential university payroll records discarded in a non-secure area, they took the records and their concerns to several administrators. Because they were rebuffed by university officials, the students "went public" to the news media and on to the state capitol. After their public cry for the resignation of the university president, the three students were put on probation and two of the three were arrested on criminal charges. University administrators attempted to break up the solidarity of the three students. After several months of "fighting the good fight," several enticements were offered to Collins by a university trustee. Collins must decide whether to accept the enticements and persuade his friends they should give up their fight to improve conditions at the university. If they continue to demand change, they would be going against extremely challenging obstacles. The administration make it impossible for them to complete their degrees. Continuing their battle will involve much personal sacrifice. Was it time for the students to give up? Had they already gone too far?


Case Authors : Carolyn Conn, Aundrea K. Guess

Topic : Global Business

Related Areas : Government, Managing people




Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Striking at the Queen Case Study


Years              Cash Flow     Net Cash Flow     Cumulative    
Cash Flow
Discount Rate
@ 6 %
Discounted
Cash Flows
Year 0 (10014554) -10014554 - -
Year 1 3460003 -6554551 3460003 0.9434 3264154
Year 2 3970987 -2583564 7430990 0.89 3534164
Year 3 3967259 1383695 11398249 0.8396 3330987
Year 4 3243998 4627693 14642247 0.7921 2569550
TOTAL 14642247 12698855




The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2684301

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






Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of Striking at the Queen

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 Global Business 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 Collins Enticements 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 Collins Enticements 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 (10014554) -10014554 - -
Year 1 3460003 -6554551 3460003 0.8696 3008698
Year 2 3970987 -2583564 7430990 0.7561 3002637
Year 3 3967259 1383695 11398249 0.6575 2608537
Year 4 3243998 4627693 14642247 0.5718 1854766
TOTAL 10474639


The Net NPV after 4 years is 460085

(10474639 - 10014554 )








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 (10014554) -10014554 - -
Year 1 3460003 -6554551 3460003 0.8333 2883336
Year 2 3970987 -2583564 7430990 0.6944 2757630
Year 3 3967259 1383695 11398249 0.5787 2295867
Year 4 3243998 4627693 14642247 0.4823 1564428
TOTAL 9501261


The Net NPV after 4 years is -513293

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9501261 - 10014554 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Collins Enticements 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 Collins Enticements has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Collins Enticements 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 Collins Enticements, then the stock price of the Collins Enticements 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 Collins Enticements 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 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.

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

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 Striking at the Queen

References & Further Readings

Carolyn Conn, Aundrea K. Guess (2018), "Striking at the Queen Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.


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