1.What does it mean if a company's website has a high bounce rate?

Multiple Choice

• Potential customers who click on their ad are only visiting the company's home page.

• Potential customers are not clicking on their ad and are instead clicking on the ads of their competitors.

• Potential customers are clicking on their ad and the company's website is holding their interest enough for them to explore other page links.

• The company's website ranks high in a search engine's unpaid results.

• The company has successfully engaged customers to pass along information to other potential customers.

2. In a study of over 30,000 Internet consumers from 60 countries, what percentage of respondents trusted recommendations from people they know?

Multiple Choice

• 42 percent

• 51 percent

• 58 percent

• 72 percent

• 83 percent

3. Which of the following represents earned media?

Multiple Choice

• the selling company's social media

• advertising on television, in print, and on the radio

• branded websites and brochures

• television news, newspaper articles, and reviews

• advertising on mobile devices, on billboards, and online

4. Social media could be used to deliver which of the following types of content?

Multiple Choice

• insider knowledge

• educational content

• humor

• customer service

• All these answers are correct.

Where in the World Is Timbuk2?

Outsourcing, Offshoring, and Mass Customization1Brennan Mulligan paused to admire the San Francisco skyline before entering the leased building that housed all of Timbuk2’s activities, from management to manufacturing (Figure 1). Who would imagine that anyone could profitably manufacture a textile product in San Francisco in 2002? With competition not only from lower-cost centers in the United States but also from China and other places in the Far East, a converted warehouse building in San Francisco was an unlikely location for this manufacturing business. Yet Brenna n was not sure Timbuk2 could continue indefinitely to produce everything in San Francisco. While the pride and satisfaction of producing in San Francisco were ingrained in Timbuk2’s culture, and moving production elsewhere would be a huge change for a small company with local roots, Timbuk2 needed to remain profitable. Hence, Brennan knew there was no easy answer to the question on the table: Should Timbuk2 outsource some (or all) of its production to a Chinese firm?

History and processesTimbuk2 were founded in 1989 by Rob Honeycutt, aSan Francisco bicycle messenger with an old sewing machine. The Timbuk2 Web site (www.timbuk2.com) describes Rob’s goal, “to make a messenger bag rugged enough for real bicycle messengers, yet stylish enough to appeal to a broader market of young, hip urbanites as an alternative to the traditional two-strap daypack. Our catchy name, three-panel design, distinctive ‘swirl’ logo, and the fact that we’re ‘Madein San Francisco’ added to our cachet.”

2At one time Timbuk2’s Web site claimed that its bags were “messenger-designed, civilian-approved, and guaranteed to wear like hell.”Early on, Rob became interested in lean manufacturing and mass customization and hired Brennan Mulligan, then a young graduate from the University of California at Berkeley, to take up the cause. Brennan joined the firm in 1993to help Rob implement his vision. Rob and Brennan managed the company for its first seven years. By 2002 the management team included four other guys, who, together with Rob and Brennan, ran the show at Timbuk2. Collegiality and informality characterized the work environment, where shaving and closed-toe shoes were generally optional for the management team. The name of one of their early successful products, “El Ocho,” was born one-night in Mexico when the VP of marketing woke up to find himself in jail “Number Eight.” (The circumstances shall remain undisclosed.)By 1996, Timbuk2 was a smooth-running operation selling a variety of bicycle messenger bags and similar products whose manufacturing process was first characterized by lean manufacturing and then, once leanness was achieved, by mass customization. Brennan reflected on the many changes they had implemented on their path through lean manufacturing and on to mass customization, and the many decisions the team members had to consider. If the company had not pursued lean manufacturing, Brennan believed that it would not have been able to deliver a product customized to a mass market. Lean manufacturing’s emphasis on eliminating waste and improving quality through smaller batch sizes and streamlined product and information flows had been particularly critical. Brennan recalled that the efforts to reduce batch sizes were much more difficult than they had made it sound in business school. After much analysis and experimentation, the team purchased many additional sewing machines, greatly reduced setups at nearly every step of the manufacturing process, and altered the layout and organization of the factory floor in order to handle batch sizes as small as one item. In addition, they altered the process so that the information associated with a specific order, such as colors and add-on options, was available to workers as they worked on individual bags. A customer order was printed for each bag to accompany it through the manufacturing process. Through experimentation, Timbuk2 found that it was most effective to have work cells of five employees manufacture bags from start to finish as they filled individual customer orders. As each cell operated, there would be five bags in the process, one for each worker. Each employee was trained to perform all of the tasks to produce a bag, and a “bump-back” process was used to balance the workload. When the worker assigned to the last position finished her bag (sending it off to the shipping area), she would “bump back” to the next-to-last position and take over production of that bag, wherever it was in the process. The person in that position would then “bump back” to the previous person, and so on until the person at the beginning of the process would go to the order backlog and begin producing the bag associated with the next order in the queue. Brennan was amazed at the dexterity, speed, and accuracy of the cutters and sewers, all of whom were women, mostly of Asian descent. Figures 3-6 in the Appendix show some of the processes and inventory locations at Timbuk2.After Timbuk2 had successfully implemented a relatively lean manufacturing process with batch sizes as small as one, it was in a position to mass-customize bags. Many new issues had to be worked through to implement mass customization, however, including decisions about product offerings, pricing, delivery, and order processing.The decisions about product offering were especially critical. How many choices should the company provide customers? While every bag had three panels that could be customized according to the customer’s choice of colors, how many colors should be allowed? Each additional color meant more fabric to stock. What other options should the company offer? For example,if Timbuk2 offered a bag with a handle, the management team would need to configure the machines and processes and then train the sewers how to make a bag with this option. If they allowed customers the choice of panel size (in addition to color) the issues would be even more complex, in that equipment able to customized pieces of fabric with little setup time was very expensive, among other issues.Timbuk2’s process for determining which choices to offer customers was based on management intuition. Options were added if they seemed relatively straightforward to offer (in the sense that they would be easy to manufacture with processes currently in place and perceived to be attractive to the customer. For example, they would typically offer between 12 and 16 color choices for the material—enough to cover most of the color palette, but still manageable for stocking and managing inventory.A nice feature of mass customization was that the company could temporarily delete a color from the product offering if it was out of stock.By 1997, Timbuk2 was able to produce bags in batches of one with its signature three-panel, tri-color messenger bag design. Bags could be made in multiple sizes, fabrics, and colors, andTimbuk2 was also capable of adding other options to individual bags such as center dividers, reflector tabs, and tails, grab straps (handles), and even a variety of logo colors.In 2000, Timbuk2 launched it's “Build Your Own Bag” page on its Web site (Figure 2), allowing customers to configure and order individual bags to their own specifications. Customers could see the bag they were configuring on the computer screen and experiment with different colors and options. The customer was offered different colors for the three panels at no extra cost, but most other options, such as the alternate logo color, came at a price. Spools of different colored thread were mounted on the machine that embroidered the logo on the bag. The worker would specify which color should go on the bag and the machine would use the thread from the appropriate spool. While producing a bag with the customer’s chosen logo colors cost no more than producing one with the standard logo color, Timbuk2 charged an additional $5 for a non-standard color. “Pure profit,” Brennan remarks, as he noted that many customers chose an

alternate color.By March 2002, Timbuk2 was shipping more than 200 bags per day through multiple channels.

Question

What criteria Timbuk2 should use for selecting which options to

offer in the e-commerce channel? Please discuss the impacts of each of the following options (i.e. a-c) on 1) the order

placement (i.e. the web design that enables consumers’ ordering of the option), 2)manufacturing processes, 3) facility layout, and 4) added value to customers:

a)an added handle;

b)different color logos; and

c)different size panels—means customers can specify panel sizes, which may be non-standard. You need to discuss how each of a), b) and c) affects items 1)—4).

Gary Stevens and Mary James are production managers in the Consumer Electronics Division of General Electronics Company, which has several dozen plants scattered in locations throughout the world. Mary manages the plant located in Des Moines, Iowa, while Gary manages the plant in El Segundo, California. Production managers are paid a salary and get an additional bonus equal to 5% of their base salary if the entire division meets or exceeds its target profits for the year. The bonus is determined in March after the company’s annual report has been prepared and issued to stockholders.

Shortly after the beginning of the New Year, Mary received a phone call from Gary that went like this:

Gary: How’s it going, Mary?

Mary: Fine, Gary. How’s it going with you?

Gary: Great! I just got the preliminary profit figures for the division for last year and we are within $200,000 of making the year’s target profits. All we have to do is pull a few strings, and we’ll be over the top!

Mary: What do you mean? Gary: Well, one thing that would be easy to change is your estimate of the percentage completion of your ending work in process inventories. Mary: I don’t know if I can do that, Gary. Those percentage completion figures are supplied by Tom Winthrop, my lead supervisor, who I have always trusted to provide us with good estimates.

Besides, I have already sent the percentage completion figures to corporate headquarters. Gary: You can always tell them there was a mistake. Think about it, Mary. All of us managers are doing as much as we can to pull this bonus out of the hat. You may not want the bonus check, but the rest of us sure could use it.

The final processing department in Mary’s production facility began the year with no work in process inventories. During the year, 210,000 units were transferred in from the prior processing department and 200,000 units were completed and sold. Costs transferred in from the prior department totaled $39,375,000. No materials are added in the final processing department. A total of $20,807,500 of conversion cost was incurred in the final processing department during the year.

Gary is recommending that the completion percentage by adjusted by 10 percentage points in order to assist the team in making their bonus.

Required Discussion Points:

Do you think Mary James should go along with the request to alter estimates of the percentage completion? Why or why not?

How will this affect the financial statements?

Who will be affected by this change?

What should she do with this information?

​

This assignment is an individual-specific assessment of the industry in which you currently work or of the industry in which you intend to work after completing your MBA.  This assessment is composed of two parts. The first part of the assignment should discussion the sources of the value created within your particular industry.  Your brief document should address the following issues:

1. Brief description of your current or intended industry
2. Evaluation of the unique value created by your firm (for its customers) relative to all of its competition.  In other words, what makes your firm special for its customers.  The value may be derived from the quality of the product (relative to others on the market), customer service, overall purchase experience, or a combination of these and other factors.
3. Concluding discussion that addresses how the factors that influence value created in this industry may change over the next five years.

You should also be prepared to provide a very brief executive summary of your findings to the class (no slides) at 2:00 PM Eastern on Saturday afternoon.

The second part is the Practical Connection component for this class. You should reflect on how the specific skills or knowledge presented in this class may be applied in your current or intended career. This statement should not simply list the concepts covered to date --- it should focus on specific topics that are directly connected to your career or intended career. This part of the project should be at least 500 words or about 2 double-spaced pages.

Mastery Problem: Analyzing Transactions

KL Company Inc.

In February, Katie Long formed KL Company Inc. Transactions for the month of March have been posted to the T accounts. An intern has prepared a trial balance from the T accounts, but there seem to be some errors.

T accounts

Required:

Transactions

Descriptions of the transactions for the month of March are provided in the following table. Each of the transactions that follow has been posted to the T accounts. Referring to the T accounts, select the date on which each transaction occurred, enter the amount of the transaction, and select the account to debit and credit.

Suppose that school teachers in New Haven, CT who ride bicycles for recreation or exercise face a greater risk of having their bike stolen than professional bicycle messengers. Specifically, there is an 80% chance that a teacher will lose a $2,000

bicycle during a given year but only a 20% chance that a messenger will lose a bicycle. Assume that an equal number teacher and messengers own bicycles in New Haven.

a.If an insurance company cannot tell a teacher from a messenger, it must
therefore charge the same premium to everyone. What will the actuarially fair insurance premium be if both teachers and messengers buy insurance policies?

b.Let us say that teachers and messengers both have the logarithmic utility functions u(C) = log C, and they both earn $20,000 a year, and they care about their total wealth (earnings and the $2,000 value of the bicycle). Will the teachers and messengers purchase bicycle insurance at the premium found in part a.? Explain.

c.Given the answer to part b., does the insurance company make any profits or incur any losses? If the insurance company does not break even, what should the premium be for a fair policy? Would the new premium cause teachers and messengers to change their decision about purchasing insurance?

d.Suppose now that the insurance company can observe the “type” of the customer. Would the answers to parts a. and b. change?

use chart for ALL questions

Hernandez Inc. was founded on 12/1/2017. The initial balance sheet is as follows:

Suppose that the following transactions occurred between 12/1/2017 and 12/31/2017:

Inventory purchase of $600 (paid in cash)

$1600 worth of credit sales (due on 1/31/2018)

Operating Accruals of $50

Depreciation of $200

Taxes of $100 (paid 12/20/2017)

Ending inventory of $400

QUESTIONS:

47. What is the company’s net income on 12/31/2017?

48. Find the amount of cash the company paid to its suppliers from 12/1-12/31.  

49. What is the company’s cash flow from operations on 12/31/2017?

50. What is the retained earnings balance on 12/31/2017?

51. Find Hernandez Inc.'s operating cash margin from 1/1-1/31.

Write a C++ program that will be an information system for Oregon State University using classes as well as demonstrating a basic understanding of inheritance and polymorphism.

You will create a representation of an Oregon State University information system that will contain information about the university. The university will contain a name of the university, n number of buildings, and m number of people. People can be either a student or an instructor. Every person will have a name and an age. Every student will have also have a GPA, but an instructor will NOT have a GPA. Every instructor will have an instructor rating, but a student will NOT have an instructor rating. Every building will have a name, the size in sqft (preferred the real value which you need to look up), and an address (stored as a string, also preferred to look this up).

People will contain a method called “do_work” that will take in a random integer as a parameter that represents how many hours they will do work for. If the person is a student, a message will be printed to the screen that says “PERSON_NAME did X hours of homework.” If the person is an instructor, a message will be printed to the screen that says “Instructor PERSON_NAME graded papers for X hours.” You will need to fill in the appropriate values.

The student GPA can either be an input from the user or randomized, but it must be between 0.0 and 4.0. It cannot be preset. The instructor rating can either be an input from the user or randomized, but it must be between 0.0 and 5.0. The ages of a person can be randomized or an input, but make it realistic. You can choose whether it is randomized or user input, or both.

The university will contain a method that will print the name and address of all the buildings in its information system and another method that will print the name of all the people. The name of the university MUST be “Oregon State University” (because we are the best).

You will manually instantiate at least 1 student, 1 instructor, and 2 buildings, then give them values and store them appropriately in the university object. You can do this in whatever fashion you wish.

You will have a menu that does at least the following:

1) Prints names of all the buildings

2) Prints names of everybody at the university

3) Choose a person to do work

4) Exit the program

Note that option 3 will require you to print another menu that gives options for each person.

You may create any other functions, methods, member variables, etc. to modularize your code and complete the lab.

Extra Credit Add an option to save the information system to a file, and add an option to read a saved information system from a file so that you can close the program, but not lose information. This will also require you to be able to add people and/or buildings to the program during runtime. This is an all or nothing extra credit (you will not get partial points for partial completion).

For the three questions below…..think z scores and the area under the curve.

3. A nursing professor was curious as to whether the students in a very large class she was teaching who turned in their tests first scored differently from the overall mean on the test. The overall mean score on the test was 75 with a standard deviation of 10; the scores were approximately normally distributed. The mean score for the first 20 tests was 78. Did the students turning in their tests first score significantly different from the mean? Explain. 8 points

4. Do college students from private schools have higher than average test-taking skills? A researcher administered a standard measure of test-taking skills to a randomly chosen student from a private university and found him to have a score of 68. The average on this measure for the population in general is 60 with a standard deviation of 10. What should you conclude about whether this student from a private university has higher test-taking ability? Explain. 8 points

5. Does computer-assisted instruction help community college health science students with reading difficulties to learn reading skills at a faster than normal rate? A researcher arranged for one of these students to have access to a set of computer-learning programs instead of the normal reading curriculum for one term. At the end of the term, the researcher tested her on a standardized reading ability test on which the mean for students with reading difficulties is 36 with a standard deviation of 6. The test participant scored 55. What would you conclude? Explain. 8 points

Many universities offer subsidized tuition benefits to all employees. Discuss reasons

why thismight be efficient for universities, compared to paying higher salaries.Why

might a university be more likely to offer these benefits than a company in another

industry?