Robert S. Hartman died an untimely death in 1973. Since then, many of his friends, colleagues, and former students have worked diligently on his formal theory of value and have made important advances in developing both the theory itself and practical applications of it. Those familiar with his work are convinced that he made extraordinary advances in theoretical and applied axiology. Bob Hartman saw the Form of the Good. He laid the foundations for a science of values, still being developed. This book is written by members of the Robert S. Hartman Institute to acquaint others better with his achievements and to forge ahead where he left many problems unresolved. Robert Schirokauer escaped from Nazi Germany in 1933 on a false passport that read "Robert Hartman." He kept the name but later added the "S." He became a prominent and highly innovative philosopher who dedicated his life to resolving problems about human values, as expressed in his own words: "I thought to myself, if evil can be organized so efficiently [by the Nazis] why cannot good? Is there any reason for efficiency to be monopolized by the forces for evil in the world? Why have good people in history never seemed to have had as much power as bad people? I decided I would try to find out why and devote my life to doing something about it."

Master the fundamentals, hone your business instincts, and save a fortune in tuition. The consensus is clear: MBA programs are a waste of time and money. Even the elite schools offer outdated assembly-line educations about profit-and-loss statements and PowerPoint presentations. After two years poring over sanitized case studies, students are shuffled off into middle management to find out how business really works. Josh Kaufman has made a business out of distilling the core principles of business and delivering them quickly and concisely to people at all stages of their careers. His blog has introduced hundreds of thousands of readers to the best business books and most powerful business concepts of all time. In The Personal MBA, he shares the essentials of sales, marketing, negotiation, strategy, and much more. True leaders aren't made by business schools-they make themselves, seeking out the knowledge, skills, and experiences they need to succeed. Read this book and in one week you will learn the principles it takes most people a lifetime to master.

This text provides a catalogue of valuation tools, together with guidance on analyzing and valuing a business. The author breaks down the topic to provide advice for any business, no matter how complex. He presents eight different methods of firm valuation and discusses the benefits and limitations of each method, supporting this information with examples from international markets.

Valuation lies at the heart of much of what we do in finance, whether it is the study of market efficiency and questions about corporate governance or the comparison of different investment decision rules in capital budgeting. In this paper, we consider the theory and evidence on valuation approaches. We begin by surveying the literature on discounted cash flow valuation models, ranging from the first mentions of the dividend discount model to value stocks to the use of excess return models in more recent years. In the second part of the paper, we examine relative valuation models and, in particular, the use of multiples and comparables in valuation and evaluate whether relative valuation models yield more or less precise estimates of value than discounted cash flow models. In the final part of the paper, we set the stage for further research in valuation by noting the estimation challenges we face as companies globalize and become exposed to risk in multiple countries.

Nutrient recycling, habitat for plants and animals, flood control, and water supply are among the many beneficial services provided by aquatic ecosystems. In making decisions about human activities, such as draining a wetland for a housing development, it is essential to consider both the value of the development and the value of the ecosystem services that could be lost. Despite a growing recognition of the importance of ecosystem services, their value is often overlooked in environmental decision-making. This report identifies methods for assigning economic value to ecosystem servicesâ€"even intangible onesâ€"and calls for greater collaboration between ecologists and economists in such efforts.

Discover the tools necessary to determine what your company's value is, what drives its value, and how to enhance that value during an M&A transaction. The only book to focus on valuation specifically for mergers and acquisitions, Valuation For M&A: Building Value in Private Companies, Second Edition lays out the steps for measuring and managing value creation in privately held businesses. This groundbreaking work led directly to authors Chris M. Mellen and Franck C. Evans being named the joint 2010 AM&AA Middle Market Thought Leader of the Year by the Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors, and its thorough overview of the subject: Recognizes a company as an investment and explains how to manage that value to maximize shareholder returns, focusing on returns, risks, and capital invested Explains investment or strategic value versus fair market value and provides a document request checklist; sample interview questions; and formats for adjusting financial statements, developing discount rates, the computation of net cash flow; and a valuation reconciliation form Includes a comprehensive case study to illustrate concepts and calculations Now covers fair value accounting and the impact of SFAS Nos. 141, 142, and 157 and their IFRS counterparts, intangible asset valuation techniques, exit planning, international M&As, and venture backed/early stage companies Showing corporate executives as well as M&A professionals and business appraisers how to value privately-held businesses for merger and acquisition purposes, this book helps investors, executives, and their advisors determine the optimum strategy to enhance both market value and strategic value to maximize return on investment.

With growing market pressures, transaction values, and information density, practitioners need to begin approaching M&A in a more innovative, efficient and collaborative way. This book looks at how Agile, the project management technique, can be scaled and implemented to improve the entire lifecycle of M&A while increasing value and closing deals faster.

An accessible, and intuitive, guide to stock valuation Valuation is at the heart of any investment decision, whether that decision is to buy, sell, or hold. In The Little Book of Valuation, expert Aswath Damodaran explains the techniques in language that any investors can understand, so you can make better investment decisions when reviewing stock research reports and engaging in independent efforts to value and pick stocks. Page by page, Damodaran distills the fundamentals of valuation, without glossing over or ignoring key concepts, and develops models that you can easily understand and use. Along the way, he covers various valuation approaches from intrinsic or discounted cash flow valuation and multiples or relative valuation to some elements of real option valuation. Includes case studies and examples that will help build your valuation skills Written by Aswath Damodaran, one of today's most respected valuation experts Includes an accompanying iPhone application (iVal) that makes the lessons of the book immediately useable Written with the individual investor in mind, this reliable guide will not only help you value a company quickly, but will also help you make sense of valuations done by others or found in comprehensive equity research reports.

Resource-management decisions, especially in the area of protecting and maintaining biodiversity, are usually incremental, limited in time by the ability to forecast conditions and human needs, and the result of tradeoffs between conservation and other management goals. The individual decisions may not have a major effect but can have a cumulative major effect. Perspectives on Biodiversity reviews current understanding of the value of biodiversity and the methods that are useful in assessing that value in particular circumstances. It recommends and details a list of components-including diversity of species, genetic variability within and among species, distribution of species across the ecosystem, the aesthetic satisfaction derived from diversity, and the duty to preserve and protect biodiversity. The book also recommends that more information about the role of biodiversity in sustaining natural resources be gathered and summarized in ways useful to managers. Acknowledging that decisions about biodiversity are necessarily qualitative and change over time because of the nonmarket nature of so many of the values, the committee recommends periodic reviews of management decisions.

Expert direction on interpretation and application of standards of value Written by Jay Fishman, Shannon Pratt, and William Morrison—three renowned valuation practitioners—Standards of Value, Second Edition discusses the interaction between valuation theory and its judicial and regulatory application. This insightful book addresses standards of value (SOV) as applied in four distinct contexts: estate and gift taxation; shareholder dissent and oppression; divorce; and financial reporting. Here, you will discover some of the intricacies of performing services in these venues. Features new case law in topics including personal good will and estate and gift tax, and updated to cover the new standards issued since the first edition Includes an updated compendium discussing the standards of value by state, new case law covering divorce, personal goodwill, and estate and gift tax, and coverage of newly issues financial standards Shows how the Standard of Value sets the appraisal process in motion and includes the combination of a review of court cases with the valuator's perspective Addresses the codification of GAAP and updates SOV in individual states Get Standards of Value, Second Edition and discover the underlying intricacies involved in determining "value."