Jargon buster

So you're in the midst of an MBA program, or intend to get into one. Here's a short primer on the jargon oft encountered in the b-school business. Sprinkle a few phrases in your interview, and half the battle is won!

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)
you put all your money, 'x' on a horse on a sunny race day. Assuming the horse wins the derby and you don't pay tax, you take home an amount = 3x. Your ROCE = 300%.

Leverage
you put in you money = 'x' and borrow an amount '1.5x' from your friend. Now you put all this money into the bet described above. If you win, you get 7.5x. You pay back your friend 2x and keep 5.5x for yourself. Your ROCE = 550%.

Competitive Strategy
a.k.a gameplan. In cricket parlance, comp strat would be moving Harbhajan to umpire Bansal's end during the last test match against Australia so that the last man would be given out lbw.

Competitive Advantage
a.k.a sucker punch, if you have one. In cricket parlance, India's C.A would be the dusty pitch dished out in Bombay.
Usage: The dust bowl was India's comp. adv.

Value Chain
all the activities involved in producing a product or service. For eg., when you eat a heavy meal and experience a cathartic expurgation of you bowels the next morn, think of your body as a reverse value chain.
Usage: We must analyze the industry' s value chain to develop a differentiation strategy.

Value appropriation
your cut in the business. For eg., if you are a slave coder earning 4 lakhs p.a and your company bills you at $4ooo per month, then use as below.
Usage: My employer's been appropriating the value in this software value chain. (Notice that you're now getting good at this game, you just used two catch-phrases in one sentence.)

So go ahead, use these terms on your friends and surprise them. Better still, throw them at your boss and colleagues and watch yourself rise in their esteem.

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