Country Analysis in a "Global Village" 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 Country Analysis in a "Global Village" case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Country Analysis in a "Global Village" case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Bruce R. Scott. The Country Analysis in a "Global Village" (referred as “Notion Differing” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Global Business. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Economics, International business, Market research, Operations management.

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 Country Analysis in a "Global Village" Case Study

This case is available in only hard copy format (HBP does not have digital distribution rights to the content). As a result, a digital Educator Copy of the case is not available through this web site.Substantially rewritten to establish the relevance of countries in the global context. It does so in terms of their differing economic performance in recent decades, and also by contrasting those that have "converged" toward the rich country norm (as theory would predict) from those that have not. It then develops the country analysis framework, with a scheme to identify context, strategy, and performance. Adds a political dimension, following Sam Huntington's emphasis on the strength of a state/government rather than its form; Hernando de Soto's notion that property rights are more important for most Third World countries than FDI receipts; and Joe Stiglitz's thesis that the notion of differing positions on a common production function is simply not plausible. Thus, advantages remain to be created, and substandard returns should be expected in order to catch up. In addition, provides an economic strategy matrix for the classification of strategies, or for the analysis of their evolution through time. A short bibliography is included. A rewritten version of an earlier note.

Case Authors : Bruce R. Scott

Topic : Global Business

Related Areas : Economics, International business, Market research, Operations management

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Country Analysis in a "Global Village" Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10000579)	-10000579	-	-
Year 1	3455409	-6545170	3455409	0.9434	3259820
Year 2	3968032	-2577138	7423441	0.89	3531534
Year 3	3970482	1393344	11393923	0.8396	3333693
Year 4	3236111	4629455	14630034	0.7921	2563303
TOTAL			14630034		12688350

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2687771

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. Net Present Value
3. Internal Rate of Return
4. Profitability Index

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. Notion Differing 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 Notion Differing have higher preference for cash returns over 4-5 years rather than 10-15 years given the nature of the volatility in the industry.

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Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of Country Analysis in a "Global Village"

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 Notion Differing 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 Notion Differing 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	(10000579)	-10000579	-	-
Year 1	3455409	-6545170	3455409	0.8696	3004703
Year 2	3968032	-2577138	7423441	0.7561	3000402
Year 3	3970482	1393344	11393923	0.6575	2610656
Year 4	3236111	4629455	14630034	0.5718	1850257
TOTAL					10466019

The Net NPV after 4 years is 465440

(10466019 - 10000579 )

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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	(10000579)	-10000579	-	-
Year 1	3455409	-6545170	3455409	0.8333	2879508
Year 2	3968032	-2577138	7423441	0.6944	2755578
Year 3	3970482	1393344	11393923	0.5787	2297733
Year 4	3236111	4629455	14630034	0.4823	1560625
TOTAL					9493442

The Net NPV after 4 years is -507137

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9493442 - 10000579 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Notion Differing 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 Notion Differing has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Notion Differing 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 Notion Differing, then the stock price of the Notion Differing 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 Notion Differing 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 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 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 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.

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Negotiation Strategy of Country Analysis in a "Global Village"

References & Further Readings

Bruce R. Scott (2018), "Country Analysis in a "Global Village" Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.