"The book is aimed at the relative newcomer to the subject in that it does not make many assumptions about the prior knowledge of the reader and does not develop the theoretical aspects beyond the level needed to provide the reader with the necessary understanding to apply the concepts in...

"This book is more than a collection of ideas, equations, and chapters. It has an important integrating theme-that of value creation. This theme, which is carried throughout the book, provides a framework that helps students understand the relations between the various concepts covered in the...