Creating Shareholder Value - by Alfred Rappaport (Hardcover)

About the Book

Updated and featuring a new Introduction by the author, this business classic provides definitive guidance for managers on how to select and implement the tactics that will create the most value for shareholders and businesses.

Book Synopsis

Economist, consultant, and Wall Street Journal contributor Alfred Rappaport provides managers and investors with the practical tools and tests for a corporate strategy that creates shareholder value.

The ultimate test of corporate strategy, the only reliable measure, is whether it creates economic value for shareholders.

After a decade of downsizings frequently blamed on shareholder value decision making, this book presents a new and indepth assessment of the rationale for shareholder value. Further, Rappaport presents provocative new insights on shareholder value applications to: (1) business planning, (2) performance evaluation, (3) executive compensation, (4) mergers and acquisitions, (5) interpreting stock market signals, and (6) organizational implementation. Readers will be particularly interested in Rappaport's answers to three management performance evaluation questions: (1) What is the most appropriate measure of performance? (2) What is the most appropriate target level of performance? and (3) How should rewards be linked to performance? Through the lens of high-stakes case studies, like the notable acquisition of Duracell International by Gillette, Rappaport dissects the intricate decisions and risks inherent in the merger and acquisition process.

The shareholder value approach presented here has been widely embraced by publicly traded as well as privately held companies worldwide. Brilliant and incisive, this is the one book that should be required reading for managers and investors who want to stay on the cutting edge of success in a highly competitive global economy.

Review Quotes

Stephen F. Bollenbach President and CEO, Hilton Hotels Corporation Updates all of us on the front lines with the latest thinking about creating shareholder value--from the social aspects to the very specific. I recommend this book to any person seriously concerned about the function of a corporation in a market economy.

Alan Shapiro Ivadelle and Theodore Johnson Professor of Banking and Finance, Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Southern California Al Rappaport lives up to his reputation as the father of shareholder value. This book is an invaluable resource for anyone committed to creating shareholder value or teaching about it. Creating Shareholder Value presents not just the basic principles and theoretical underpinnings of its subject matter but also their application through numerous well-chosen and up-to-date real-world examples.

Charles W. McCall President and CEO, HBO & Company I've had the pleasure of following Al Rappaport's work for over 20 years and I feel this is his best work ever. The insights on acquisitions and the work on performance measurements are very important for fast-growing companies. Al's principles have helped us grow from a market value of less than $100 million to over $7 billion in the past six years.

Harry M. Jansen Kraemer, Jr. President, Baxter International, Inc Dr. Rappaport does a phenomenal job of bridging the gap between shareholder value theory and practice. I highly recommend Creating Shareholder Value for CEOs, CFOs, business school students and anyone who wants to truly understand as well as create shareholder value.

Martin L. Leibowitz, Vice Chairman and Chief Investment Officer, TIAA-CREF Rappaport's work shines a bright light on how to systematically apply fiancial theory to the pratical problems of corporate valuation. The distinction Rappaport makes between shareholder return and corporate return is particularly critical in today's markets. Every serious ananlyst should have a firm understanding of his writings.

Michael J. Mauboussin Managing Director, Equity Research, Credit Suisse First Boston Corporation Herein lie the power tools of any investor's toolbox. This significant update to the seminal Creating Shareholder Value offers investors and corporate managers a theoretically sound and practically usable guide for decision making. Business people who have been jostled by the latest management fads and buzzwords will find refuge in Rappaport's well-conceived and effective framework.

About the Author

Dr. Alfred Happaport, the Leonard Spacek Professor Emeritus of J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, developed the idea for the Shareholder Scoreboard, published annually by The Wall Street Journal. He is co-founder and former Chairman of the Board of The Alcar Group Inc., whose consulting and education practices are now part of The LEK/Alcar Consulting Group, LLC, the U.S. operation of a worldwide strategy consulting firm. He has been a guest columnist for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Business Week, and lives in La Jolla, California.