Developing Effective Middle Management in an Entrepreneurial Firm in China 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 Developing Effective Middle Management in an Entrepreneurial Firm in China case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Developing Effective Middle Management in an Entrepreneurial Firm in China case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Allen Fu Tze Yu, Yuen-ching Sin Fu. The Developing Effective Middle Management in an Entrepreneurial Firm in China (referred as “Middle Management” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Innovation & Entrepreneurship. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Organizational culture, Reorganization, Social responsibility, Technology.

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 Developing Effective Middle Management in an Entrepreneurial Firm in China Case Study

Victoria Idea Company Limited was a major network security solution provider based in Zhuhai, China. The company had been facing problems common to many family-owned businesses due to its management style. It was later restructured with the goal of transforming it from a family-run business to a professionally managed one by first removing most family members from the company and then slowly re-building a new, solid management structure. In order to instil a sense of responsibility and accountability in its middle managers, the company promoted staff from within instead of recruiting from outside, sponsored management training courses and made several other changes, including giving out shares to management staff. Despite all the efforts made, middle managers were still reluctant to make decisions on their own and would turn to senior management who used to be the sole decision-makers before the restructuring. Victoria Idea needed to find a way to develop a sense of trust among its middle managers so that the latter would feel confident to make decisions on their own without seeking advice or approval from senior management. A proactive and responsible management team was deemed to be crucial if the company wanted to expand further. This case illustrates how and why changes to long-established practices and operations or management styles can be difficult to implement.

Case Authors : Allen Fu Tze Yu, Yuen-ching Sin Fu

Topic : Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Related Areas : Organizational culture, Reorganization, Social responsibility, Technology

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Developing Effective Middle Management in an Entrepreneurial Firm in China Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10006106)	-10006106	-	-
Year 1	3468867	-6537239	3468867	0.9434	3272516
Year 2	3981897	-2555342	7450764	0.89	3543874
Year 3	3954534	1399192	11405298	0.8396	3320303
Year 4	3247528	4646720	14652826	0.7921	2572346
TOTAL			14652826		12709040

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2702934

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. Internal Rate of Return
2. Payback Period
3. Profitability Index
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. Magnitude of both incoming and outgoing cash flows – Projects can be capital intensive, time intensive, or both. Middle Management 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 Middle Management 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 Developing Effective Middle Management in an Entrepreneurial Firm in China

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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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 Middle Management 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 Middle Management 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	(10006106)	-10006106	-	-
Year 1	3468867	-6537239	3468867	0.8696	3016406
Year 2	3981897	-2555342	7450764	0.7561	3010886
Year 3	3954534	1399192	11405298	0.6575	2600170
Year 4	3247528	4646720	14652826	0.5718	1856785
TOTAL					10484247

The Net NPV after 4 years is 478141

(10484247 - 10006106 )

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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	(10006106)	-10006106	-	-
Year 1	3468867	-6537239	3468867	0.8333	2890723
Year 2	3981897	-2555342	7450764	0.6944	2765206
Year 3	3954534	1399192	11405298	0.5787	2288503
Year 4	3247528	4646720	14652826	0.4823	1566130
TOTAL					9510563

The Net NPV after 4 years is -495543

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9510563 - 10006106 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Middle Management 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 Middle Management has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Middle Management 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 Middle Management, then the stock price of the Middle Management 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 Middle Management 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.

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

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 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 Developing Effective Middle Management in an Entrepreneurial Firm in China

References & Further Readings

Allen Fu Tze Yu, Yuen-ching Sin Fu (2018), "Developing Effective Middle Management in an Entrepreneurial Firm in China Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.