The discussion about time value of the money - Essay Example

Student’s NameInstructor’s NameCourse Name25 November 2008Week 6: Integration Paper The discussion and lessons tackled during the week in this course made me realize a lot of things. First of all, it has broadened my knowledge on how companies make decisions. Again, it is stressed that companies are profit-maximizing entities which are always minimizing cost and always looking for income. Secondly, it opened my eyes on the fact that the value of money changes. With the economic situation in the nation right now, discussion about finances seem to be the very much the concern of business organizations.

In my personal life, I believe that the greatest learning so far has been the time value of money. In calculating the interest of my bank earnings, I have always been analyzing the returns by assuming that the value of the money doesn’t change over time. But with the lesson, I became more informed of the fact that I should consider the returns of any investment based on the future value of the streams of payment that I will get. With the low interest rates charged by banks and the high inflation rate in the market, it becomes apparent that it often is better to spend the money for present consumption than by saving it.

Note that most banks give an annual interest of around 3% while inflation is above 4%. Thus, this learning is very much applicable to my life as an individual trying to maximize the money that he has at hand. Professionally, this week’s discussion is an essential because most decisions in the workplace require the use of financial analysis. The mere buy or lease decision, investing in a new machine, and even looking at the employee’s payroll requires a cost and benefit analysis in order to maximize the resources of the business organization.

Being interested in marketing, this lesson will enable me to project come up with a financial forecast which does not only look at the future streams of cash but on the future value of money together with the targeted return. I really appreciate the discussions presented in the class as I know that they will become instrumental in managing my financial resources in the future. With the economic slowdown in the United States and in other well developed countries worldwide, the need to be well-informed and be knowledgeable in personal financial management becomes a necessity—a field that one should master.