Examples and Categories of Business Risks 1. Macro ( + Political ) econ growth, interest rates inflation, exchange rates 2. Micro (Demand & Cost) e.g. new product, risky R&D 3. Regulatory/Legal /Litigation political risks, expropriation 4. Competitive market-share battles, price wars, contractual Decision Making under UncertaintyChapter 12 slide 1 5. Natural Risks weather, natural disasters, Scientific risks 6. Human, Organizational reputation, corporate scandals Your job disappears in a reorganization
DRILLING FOR OIL Decisions Chance Events and Possible Outcomes.4.6 $600 -$200 Wet Dry Drill Don ’ t Drill Probabilities “ objective ” “ frequency-based ” “ subjective ” 120 $0 12.2
Investment Outcomes BioChem. $10 M $90 or $50 (.7) (.3) BioGen. $20 M $200 or $0 (.2) (.8) Drug Company R&D Decision 12.3 Expected $68 M $20 M Which R&D program has the greater expected ? What about Simultaneous Development? Simultaneous Development Only Biochem succeeds Only Biogen succeeds Both succeed Both “ fail ” Biochem BioGen BioChem $60 $170 BioGen BioChem $20 $170 $60 $
Pursue BioChem Quit -$20 What about Sequential Development? Let ’ s try Biogenetic First then Biochemical. An R&D Decision (continued).2 $180.8 BioGen succeeds BioGen fails Try BioGen 48.7 $60.3 $20 BioChem succeeds BioChem “ fails ” It ’ s best to resolve the “ larger ” risk first. 12.4
5-Year Profits from a promising New Product depend on the strength of the Economy. Strong Economy: $20 M Moderate Economy: $10 M Recession: -$22 M Likelihoods of these outcomes? -22 Moderate Recession Strong LAUNCHING A NEW PRODUCT12.5 Decision Tree? Expected Profit? 5.92 Don ’ t Launch $0 Launch 5.92
Redesigning a Supersonic Aircraft No Restrictions.5 Restrictions.5 $25 $125.5 $100 $0 Success.6 Failure.4 $100 Redesign Do Not Producing a Movie Low Cost.5 High Cost $80 $10 Low Demand High Demand.4.6 $0 -$70 Low Demand High Demand Quit -$30 Produce Do Not $
SETTLE or GO TO COURT? Try to Settle Court $.4 Offer.5 $.9 Offer.2.3 $0 $1 $ (+.1) AcceptReject $.45 Accept Reject $.95 $
A RISK-AVERSE WILDCATTER Assign utility values to monetary outcomes. u($600) = 100, u(-$200) = $600 -$200 Wet Dry Drill Don ’ t Drill $ u($0) = 50 (100) (0) (50) The risk-averse wildcatter chooses not to drill Monetary Values Utility Scale -$200 $0 $600 A risk-averse utility curve is concave.