What are the top five most important lessons learned in Business school?

Quora的这个问答总结了商学院里学到的最重要的5件事，有些道理。

 

1. 时间价值（尤其要考虑很多人忽略的机会成本）The time value of money. It underlies virtually everything in business, is non-intuitive, and completely reorients your perspective on a wide range of issues. (Nearly as important is the inverse: the money value of time, also known as "Opportunity Cost").
 

The time value of money is the value of money figuring in a given amount of interest earned over a given amount of time. The time value of money is the central concept in finance theory.

For example, $100 of today's money invested for one year and earning 5% interest will be worth $105 after one year. Therefore, $100 paid now or $105 paid exactly one year from now both have the same value to the recipient who assumes 5% interest; using time value of money terminology, $100 invested for one year at 5% interest has a future value of $105. This notion dates at least to Martín de Azpilcueta (1491–1586) of the School of Salamanca.

The method also allows the valuation of a likely stream of income in the future, in such a way that the annual incomes are discounted and then added together, thus providing a lump-sum "present value" of the entire income stream.

All of the standard calculations for time value of money derive from the most basic algebraic expression for the present value of a future sum, "discounted" to the present by an amount equal to the time value of money. For example, a sum of FV to be received in one year is discounted (at the rate of interest r) to give a sum of PV at present: PV = FV − r·PV = FV/(1+r).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim...

2. 运筹学（利用数学和统计等分析工具为复杂的问题寻找简单的解决方案）Operations Research. The fact that there is likely to be a mathematically derivable answer to virtually any business question you can ask, gives you a different way of considering questions that you would previously have answered based on 'gut feel'.
 

Operations research is a discipline that deals with the application of advanced analytical methods to help make better decisions. Employing techniques from mathematical sciences such as mathematical modeling, statistical analysis, and mathematical optimization, operations research arrives at optimal or near-optimal solutions to complex decision-making problems.

Because of its emphasis on human-technology interaction and because of its focus on practical applications, operations research overlaps with other disciplines, notably industrial engineering and operations management, and draws on psychology and organization science. Operations Research is often concerned with determining the maximum (of profit, performance, or yield) or minimum (of loss, risk, or cost) of some real-world objective.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ope...

3. 谈判技能 Negotiation basics. Once you understand the three critical components of your negotiating position (the overall market, everyone's alternatives, and your true bottom line) negotiating anything becomes a piece of cake.
 

Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or parties, intended to reach an understanding, resolve point of difference, and to produce an agreement upon courses of action. Negotiation is a process where each party involved tries to gain an advantage for themselves by the end of the process. Negotiation is intended to aim at compromise.

The study of the subject is called negotiation theory. Professional negotiators are often specialized, such as union negotiators, leverage buyout negotiators, peace negotiators, hostage negotiators, or may work under other titles, such as diplomats, legislators or brokers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neg...

4. 财务报表Financial statements. While these are purely technical rather than theoretical, understanding them is critical for anyone engaged in any facet of business operations.
 

For a business enterprise, all the relevant financial information, presented in a structured manner and in a form easy to understand, are called the financial statements. They typically include four basic financial statements, accompanied by a management discussion and analysis:

• Statement of Financial Position: also referred to as a balance sheet, reports on a company's assets, liabilities, and ownership equity at a given point in time.

• Statement of Comprehensive Income: also referred to as Profit and Loss statement (or a "P&L"), reports on a company's income, expenses, and profits over a period of time. A Profit & Loss statement provides information on the operation of the enterprise. These include sale and the various expenses incurred during the processing state.

• Statement of Changes in Equity: explains the changes of the company's equity throughout the reporting period

• Statement of Cash Flows: reports on a company's cash flow activities, particularly its operating, investing and financing activities.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fin...

5. 正直和道德 Integrity and Ethics. Last on this list relative to its specific relationship to business school, but first on any list of critical business concepts, it is imperative to understand how *pragmatically* important integrity is in the real world of business.
 

Business ethics is a form of applied ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and entire organizations.

The range and quantity of business ethical issues reflects the interaction of profit-maximizing behavior with non-economic concerns. Interest in business ethics accelerated dramatically during the 1980s and 1990s, both within major corporations and within academia. Today, most major corporations promote their commitment to non-economic values under headings such as ethics codes and social responsibility charters.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus...