What are the relationships between project cost, risk, and procurements?

Consider a project having the following activities, time, and cost:

                                                  Normal      Normal      Crash         Crash         Maximum

                        Immediate         Time        Cost         Time         Cost             Time

      Activity      Predecessors      (weeks)          ($)         (weeks)          ($)         Reduced

            a               none                  4            3,000            2            5,000               2

            b               a                        5            5,000            3            8,000               2

            c               a                        4            7,000            4            7,000               0

            d               b                       4            6,000            2            8,000               2

            e               c,d                     8            4,000            6            8,000               2

            f               c                        3            4,000            2            9,000               1

            g               e,f                     4            2,000            2            7,000               2

Assume partial crashing (not all maximum crashing time has to be used) is available.

1. Draw the network diagram. How long does project take using normal time?
2. Which activities should be crashed to reduce the completion time of the project by two weeks? How much is the additional cost? Show all work.

Explain the links between quality and productivity and quality and cost

professor instructions for the assignment: You can earn extra credit if you read an article or news item about a project we discussed in class and write a 2 page reaction paper about it. Your paper must tell me about the project you read about, what makes it a sustainable or resilient project, what are the impacts, what did you like about the article, what did you not like, etc..

I would like to write about this new project that would expand public transportation in the Soundview area of the Bronx. An abandoned dock is being remodeled and rehabilitated for the project which is planning to open during summer 2018.

This is an article I found online that talks about this project.....

Ferry service to Soundview should be a reality this year, and some are calling for even more service in transit-starved east Bronx waterfront communities.

The route of service that includes Soundview’s ferry stop, is scheduled to begin service later this year from Clason Point Park, and the ferry dock is now under construction, according to NYC Economic Development Corporation.

As that plan inches closer to becoming a reality, the borough president used his 2018 State of the Borough speech on Thursday, February 22 to advocate for additional ferry landings.

“Ferry service is coming to Soundview, and should come to Throggs Neck and City Island as well,” said Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr.

Diaz’s spokesman let the quote stand without further elaboration, but in the two east Bronx communities, leaders who have long advocated for ferry service made their case for additional stops.

Robert Barbarelli, Throggs Neck Home Owners Association board member, said he believes that ferry service could come to Throggs Neck, adding that S.U.N.Y. Maritime already docks a large training vessel in Throggs Neck.

“The waterways are not used enough which I think is a reason why there are always traffic issues on our roads,” said Barbarelli. “Utilizing waterways is a faster and more scenic route to get downtown.”

Dotti Poggi, Ferry Point Community Advocates leader, said that Ferry Point Park has a parking lot that could be used for ferry customers.

“Ferry Point is a perfect place because it has already has the infrastruc­ture,” she said.

John Doyle, City Island Civic Association officer said he believes that one appropriate location for a ferry stop could be Orchard Beach, because it already has an large parking lot that is underutilized for nine months out of the year.

“Just having this mentioned in one of these speeches is helpful as this point,” said Doyle. “I am really hoping that when the Soundview ferry comes into service that it is super successful, because then we can build on that success.”

William Rivera, Community Board 9 district manager, said that the final details for the Soundview ferry are being worked out, including expanding service on the Bx 27 and Bx 39 buses by one stop during hours of operation so that commuters don’t have to walk far from the bus to ferry.

He is also involved in the planning of a community meeting in Clason Point that will take place prior to ferry operations starting.

Also being worked on are issues related to security, safety, lighting, parking, bathrooms and amenities at the Soundview ferry.

“Everyone supports the ferry, we just make sure it is done right,” said Rivera.

An EDC spokeswoman said stops along the ferry route servicing Soundview have changed in Manhattan, with an East 62nd Street stop dropped and an East 34th Street stop added.

The spokeswoman said that EDC “will begin to analyze ridership potential and landing capabilities for future expansion to other communities once we successfully implement 2018 routes this summer.”

System Analysis project 4: can you answer the 4 questions at the task section, thank you.
Personal Trainer, Inc. owns and operates fitness centers in a dozen Midwestern cities. The centers have done well, and the company is planning an international expansion by opening a new “supercenter” in the Toronto area. Personal Trainer’s president, Cassia Umi, hired an IT consultant, Susan Park, to help develop an information system for the new facility. During the project, Susan will work closely with Gray Lewis, who will manage the new operation. Background During requirements modeling for the new system, Susan Park met with fitness center managers at several Personal Trainer locations. She conducted a series of interviews, reviewed company records, observed business operations, analyzed the BumbleBee accounting software, and studied a sample of sales and billing transactions. Susan’s objective was to develop a list of system requirements for the proposed system.

Fact-Finding Summary

• A typical center has 300–500 members, with two membership levels: full and limited. Full members have access to all activities. Limited members are restricted to activities they have selected, but they can participate in other activities by paying a usage fee. All members have charge privileges. Charges for merchandise and services are recorded on a charge slip, which is signed by the member. • At the end of each day, cash sales and charges are entered into the BumbleBee accounting software, which runs on a computer workstation at each location. Daily cash receipts are deposited in a local bank and credited to the corporate Personal Trainer account. The BumbleBee program produces a daily activity report with a listing of all sales transactions. • At the end of the month, the local manager uses BumbleBee to transmit an accounts receivable summary to the Personal Trainer headquarters in Chicago, where member statements are prepared and mailed. Members mail their payments to the Personal Trainer headquarters, where the payment is applied to the member account. • The BumbleBee program stores basic member information, but does not include information about member preferences, activities, and history. • Currently, the BumbleBee program produces one local report (the daily activity report) and three reports that are prepared at the headquarters location: a monthly member sales report, an exception report for inactive members and late payers, and a quarterly profitand-loss report that shows a breakdown of revenue and costs for each separate activity. During the interviews, Susan received a number of “wish list” comments from managers and staff members. For example, managers want more analytical features so they can spot trends and launch special promotions and temporary discounts. Managers also want better information about the profitability of specific business activities at their centers, instead of bottom-line totals. Several managers want to offer computerized activity and wellness logs, fitness coaching for seniors, and various social networking options, including e-mail communications, fitness blogs, Facebook, and Twitter posts. Staff members want better ways to handle information about part-time instructors and trainers, and several people suggested using scannable ID cards to capture data

Tasks

1. Draw a DFD that shows how data will be stored, processed, and transformed in the TIMS system.

2. Draw an FDD that shows the Personal Trainer’s main functions. Also draw a use case diagram that represents the interaction between a user and the proposed TIMS system.

3. Using the information gathered during fact-finding, develop a requirements checklist that includes examples in each of the five main categories.

4. Gray is not familiar with the TCO concept. How should Susan explain it to him?

IN C++

7.22 LAB*: Program: Online shopping cart (Part 2)

This program extends the earlier "Online shopping cart" program. (Consider first saving your earlier program).

(1) Extend the ItemToPurchase class per the following specifications:

• Parameterized constructor to assign item name, item description, item price, and item quantity (default values of 0). (1 pt)
• Public member functions
  • SetDescription() mutator & GetDescription() accessor (2 pts)
  • PrintItemCost() - Outputs the item name followed by the quantity, price, and subtotal
  • PrintItemDescription() - Outputs the item name and description
• Private data members
  • string itemDescription - Initialized in default constructor to "none"

Ex. of PrintItemCost() output:

Bottled Water 10 @ $1 = $10

Ex. of PrintItemDescription() output:

Bottled Water: Deer Park, 12 oz.

(2) Create three new files:

• ShoppingCart.h - Class declaration
• ShoppingCart.cpp - Class definition
• main.cpp - main() function (Note: main()'s functionality differs from the warm up)

Build the ShoppingCart class with the following specifications. Note: Some can be function stubs (empty functions) initially, to be completed in later steps.

• Default constructor
• Parameterized constructor which takes the customer name and date as parameters (1 pt)
• Private data members
  • string customerName - Initialized in default constructor to "none"
  • string currentDate - Initialized in default constructor to "January 1, 2016"
  • vector < ItemToPurchase > cartItems
• Public member functions
  • GetCustomerName() accessor (1 pt)
  • GetDate() accessor (1 pt)
  • AddItem()
    • Adds an item to cartItems vector. Has parameter ItemToPurchase. Does not return anything.
  • RemoveItem()
    • Removes item from cartItems vector. Has a string (an item's name) parameter. Does not return anything.
    • If item name cannot be found, output this message: Item not found in cart. Nothing removed.
  • ModifyItem()
    • Modifies an item's description, price, and/or quantity. Has parameter ItemToPurchase. Does not return anything.
    • If item can be found (by name) in cart, check if parameter has default values for description, price, and quantity. If not, modify item in cart.
    • If item cannot be found (by name) in cart, output this message: Item not found in cart. Nothing modified.
  • GetNumItemsInCart() (2 pts)
    • Returns quantity of all items in cart. Has no parameters.
  • GetCostOfCart() (2 pts)
    • Determines and returns the total cost of items in cart. Has no parameters.
  • PrintTotal()
    • Outputs total of objects in cart.
    • If cart is empty, output this message: SHOPPING CART IS EMPTY
  • PrintDescriptions()
    • Outputs each item's description.

Code:

#include <iostream>

#include <string>

#include "ItemToPurchase.h"

using namespace std;

//main

int main()

{

//Declare two objects

ItemToPurchase p1,p2;

string myName;

int myPrice,myQuant;

//Get item1 details

cout<<"Item 1"<<endl;

cout<<"Enter the item name:";

getline(cin,myName);

cout<<"Enter the item price:";

cin>>myPrice;

cout<<"Enter the item quantity:";

cin>>myQuant;

p1.SetName(myName);

p1.SetPrice(myPrice);

p1.SetQuantity(myQuant);

cin.ignore();

//Get item2 details

cout<<"\nItem 2"<<endl;

cout<<"Enter the item name:";

getline(cin,myName);

cout<<"Enter the item price:";

cin>>myPrice;

cout<<"Enter the item quantity:";

cin>>myQuant;

p2.SetName(myName);

p2.SetPrice(myPrice);

p2.SetQuantity(myQuant);

//print total cost

cout<<"\nTOTAL COST"<<endl;

cout<<p1.GetName()<<" "<<p1.GetQuantity()<<" @ $"<<p1.GetPrice()<<" = $"<<p1.GetQuantity()*p1.GetPrice()<<endl;

cout<<p2.GetName()<<" "<<p2.GetQuantity()<<" @ $"<<p2.GetPrice()<<" = $"<<p2.GetQuantity()*p2.GetPrice()<<endl;

cout<<"\nTotal: $"<<p1.GetQuantity()*p1.GetPrice()+p2.GetQuantity()*p2.GetPrice()<<endl;

system("pause");

return 0;

}

All students are expected to read the following article, reproduced below, prior to attempting this task: Ward, M, and Chrysanthos, N 2020, ‘’Higher than usual demand’ for toilet paper in NSW supermarkets’, Sydney Morning Herald, 26 June.

'Higher than usual demand' for toilet paper in NSW supermarkets

Premier Gladys Berejiklian has asked shoppers to remain calm after reports of bare toilet paper shelves in NSW following the reinstatement of product limits in Victorian supermarkets.

Toilet paper was in short supply at Coles and Woolworths at Roselands in Sydney's south-west on Thursday, the Herald has been told.

Posting on social media, shoppers also complained of empty shelves at Coles Merrylands and Woolworths Leichhardt in Sydney, as well as Coles Toronto in Lake Macquarie.

On Wednesday afternoon Coles, Woolworths and IGA said they would reinstate product limits for toilet paper, hand sanitiser, paper towels, flour, sugar, pasta, minced meat, long-life milk, eggs and rice at all their Victorian stores.

Coles, on Friday, reintroduced one-pack purchase limits for toilet paper and paper towels across all of its stores, including Coles online.

"We ask that customers continue to shop normally so that everyone can have access to the food and groceries they need," a spokesperson said.

Costco, which has stores at Marsden Park, Crossroads and Auburn, has also reintroduced a one-per-person limit on its toilet paper packs nationwide.

It is believed the panic buying, which was witnessed earlier in the pandemic, is being caused by an uptick in coronavirus cases in Melbourne over the past week.

Victoria reported its ninth day of double-digit case growth on Thursday, with 33 new cases.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Friday that shoppers need to "stay calm" as there was no need for items to be stockpiled.

"Please continue to maintain your calm; continue to do what you've been doing – NSW is doing incredibly well," Ms Berejiklian said, adding that she didn't "blame" people for being concerned as product limits were reintroduced in Victoria amid an uptick in cases.

"We all have to be on our guard, but we certainly, certainly don't need to change our normal buying habits. So please continue with your normal buying habits, there's nothing to worry about."

A Woolworths spokesperson said they had seen "higher than usual" demand for toilet paper in parts of NSW, and were monitoring the situation.

“We’ve seen pockets of higher-than-usual demand for toilet roll across parts of NSW [on Thursday], but not anywhere near the levels we saw in Victoria," the spokesperson said.

"We’ll keep a close eye on demand over the coming days. We continue to ask customers to buy only what they need, as there is plenty of stock to replenish our shelves.”

Additional Recommended Reading:

The following is a list of additional readings that students may find useful when attempting this task: The CORE Team, (2020), The Economy: Economics for a changing world, https://core-econ.org/theeconomy/?lang=en, Chapter 8.

Parkin, M, & Bade, R 2016, Microeconomics: Australia in the global environment, Pearson Australia, Melbourne, Chapter 6. (Available online at https://multisearch.mq.edu.au/permalink/f/3e34du/MQ_ALMA51195988050002171)

Questions:

1. Using the demand and supply model:

(a) Illustrate the market equilibrium for toilet paper before the pandemic.

(b) Explain the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the market for toilet paper. Illustrate this on your diagram from part (a).

(c) Explain the impact of the restrictions brought in by supermarkets on the market for toilet paper.

Illustrate this on a new diagram.

2. Evaluate the outcomes in the market for toilet paper in terms of Pareto efficiency, fairness, and the effect on the consumer surplus, producer surplus, and deadweight loss if:

(a) no restrictions are imposed by supermarkets.

(b) purchase-limit restrictions are imposed by supermarkets.

Include appropriate diagrams to illustrate your answers.

3. Suggest and explain two other ways the problem in this market could be solved. Evaluate these alternative solutions in terms of Pareto efficiency and fairness

The purpose of this assignment is to apply a waiting line model to a business service operation in order to recommend the most efficient use of time and resources. (This assignment has been adapted from Case Problem 2 in Chapter 15 of the textbook.) Use the information in the scenario provided to prepare a managerial report for Office Equipment, Inc. (OEI). Scenario Office Equipment, Inc. (OEI) leases automatic mailing machines to business customers in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The company built its success on a reputation of providing timely maintenance and repair service. Each OEI service contract states that a service technician will arrive at a customer’s business site within an average of 3 hours from the time that the customer notifies OEI of an equipment problem. Currently, OEI has 10 customers with service contracts. One service technician is responsible for handling all service calls. A statistical analysis of historical service records indicates that a customer requests a service call at an average rate of one call per 50 hours of operation. If the service technician is available when a customer calls for service, it takes the technician an average of 1 hour of travel time to reach the customer’s office and an average of 1.5 hours to complete the repair service. However, if the service technician is busy with another customer when a new customer calls for service, the technician completes the current service call and any other waiting service calls before responding to the new service call. In such cases, after the technician is free from all existing service commitments, the technician takes an average of 1 hour of travel time to reach the new customer’s office and an average of 1.5 hours to complete the repair service. The cost of the service technician is $80 per hour. The downtime cost (wait time and service time) for customers is $100 per hour. OEI is planning to expand its business. Within 1 year, OEI projects that it will have 20 customers, and within 2 years, OEI projects that it will have 30 customers. Although OEI is satisfied that one service technician can handle the 10 existing customers, management is concerned about the ability of one technician to meet the average 3-hour service call guarantee when the OEI customer base expands. In a recent planning meeting, the marketing manager made a proposal to add a second service technician when OEI reaches 20 customers and to add a third service technician when OEI reaches 30 customers. Before making a final decision, management would like an analysis of OEI service capabilities. OEI is particularly interested in meeting the average 3-hour waiting time guarantee at the lowest possible total cost. Managerial Report Develop a managerial report (1,000-1,250 words) summarizing your analysis of the OEI service capabilities. Make recommendations regarding the number of technicians to be used when OEI reaches 20 and then 30 customers, and justify your response. Include a discussion of the following issues in your report: 4. OEI is satisfied that one service technician can handle the 10 existing customers. Use a waiting line model to determine the following information: (a) probability that no customers are in the system, (b) average number of customers in the waiting line, (c) average number of customers in the system, (d) average time a customer waits until the service technician arrives, (e) average time a customer waits until the machine is back in operation, (f) probability that a customer will have to wait more than one hour for the service technician to arrive, and (g) the total cost per hour for the service operation. I need help with this part, please show all your work.

1. ​(Please refer to the attached exhibits and sample article​ ). Which paragraph would be best for a target audience of people familiar with economics in general and the workings of the Fed in​ particular? (choose 1 exhibit?)

2. (Please refer to the attached exhibits and sample article​ ). Which paragraph would be best for a target audience of people unfamiliar with​ economics? (choose 1 exhibit?)

3. ​(Please refer to the attached exhibits and sample article​ ). Which exhibits are the most ​accurate?

4. If the FOMC orders the open market desk to purchase government​ securities,

A.  the money supply will increase and the the interest rate will increase.

B. the money supply will increase​, and the interest rate will decrease

C. the money supply will decrease and interest rate will increase

D. the money supply will decrease, and the interest rate will decrease

Article:

Jobs and the Fed

Whatever happened to the central bank's Evans Rule?

Updated March 9, 2014 7:34 p.m. ET

The Labor Department's January jobs report on Friday had something for optimists and pessimists: The economy created only 113,000 net new jobs in the month, a second straight month of weak job growth. But the jobless rate fell to 6.6%, the labor force expanded by some 499,000 jobs, and the labor-force participation rate rose from its lowest level since 1978. So continues the slow-growth pattern of this expansion.

More interesting is that at 6.6% the jobless rate is now a mere tic away from meeting the Federal Reserve's Evans Rule target of 6.5%. That's the standard , named for Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, that the central bank said in December 2012 would be its guide for when it would consider raising interest rates. Even with mediocre job growth, the Evans Rule jobless rate target will be reached in the next few months and maybe as early as next month.

So will the Fed now look to raise the fed-funds rate from near-zero, where it has been for an extraordinary 62 months? Don't count on it. The Fed is still tapering its bond purchases at a rate of $10 billion a month, with several more months to go, and to minimize any market ructions former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke was at pains to say rates would stay low as far as investors could see.

Perhaps soon the Fed will revise its Evans Rule downward to a jobless rate of 6%, or even 5.5%. But then that wouldn't say much for the credibility of Fed rules. The central bank unveiled the Evans Rule to substantial fanfare in 2012 as part of its campaign to be more transparent about policy and offer forward guidance to markets. Yet what we've learned about the Fed's guidance is that it doesn't mean very much. Perhaps the Open Market Committee should have called it the Evans Suggestion.

The Fed is still making up monetary policy on the fly, trying to see how low it can get unemployment before it has to test its political nerve and raise rams . The mistake was telling markets there was a fixed rule when the only sure thing at the Fed is more improvisation.

EXHEBITS:

Exhibit 1

The Wall Street Journal article “Jobs and the Fed” is a criticism of the supposed efforts of the Fed to be more transparent. In 2012, the Fed announced, to much fanfare, that it was going to follow the “Evans Rule”; specifically, when the unemployment rate dropped to 6.5% it would begin tightening (or at least lower the degree of easing) of open market operations in an effort to guard against a rapid increase in inflation. However, the recent spate of positive economic news and the drop of the jobless rate to 6.6% doesn’t seem to be affecting monetary policy at all. Granted, the target of 6.5% unemployment has not yet been met, but it seems only a matter of time before that point is reached and Ben Bernanke has already taken great pains to announce that the Fed Funds rate is going to remain near zero for the foreseeable future. So, in Poole’s view at least, it seems that the Fed has lost all credibility and is going to continue to keep the public in the dark about the guidelines it follows in conducting monetary policy.

Exhibit 2

The Wall Street Journal article “Jobs and the Fed” is a criticism of the Federal Reserve (which implements the nation’s monetary policy). The point it makes is that the Fed, as it’s known, has in the past promised to follow certain rules in deciding what kind of policies to pursue but that it is now going back on its word. Specifically, in 2012, the Fed announced that it was going to be more transparent in its actions and was going to follow the so-called “Evans Rule” (named after the President of the Chicago Fed). That rule dictated that when the nation’s unemployment rate fell to 6.5% the Fed would pay more attention to preventing potential inflation, rather than continuing to try to reduce the unemployment rate. However, the author points out, even though the unemployment rate is expected to fall to that target level in the near future, the Fed shows no signs of changing its policy, which up to now has been targeted at increasing economic growth and reducing unemployment. Many economists believe that it is important that the Fed make clear to the public how it decides on monetary policy and to stick to its promises and are now upset that it appears the promises made in 2012 won’t be kept.

Exhibit 3

The Wall Street Journal article “Jobs and the Fed” is a criticism of the supposed efforts of the Fed to be more transparent. In 2012, the Fed announced, to much fanfare, that it was going to follow the “Evans Rule”; specifically, when inflation rose to 2%, the upper limit of the Fed’s target range, it would begin tightening (or at least lower the degree of easing) of open market operations in an effort to guard against a further, rapid increase in inflation. However, the recent spate of positive economic news and the drop of the unemployment rate to 6.6% doesn’t seem to be affecting monetary policy at all.

Granted, the target of 2% inflation has not yet been met, but it seems only a matter of time before that point is reached. Ben Bernanke has already taken great pains to announce that the Fed Funds rate is going to remain near zero for the foreseeable future and that inflation is not the Fed’s primary concern. So it seems that the Fed has lost all credibility and is going to continue to keep the public in the dark about the guidelines it follows in conducting monetary policy.

Exhibit 4

The Wall Street Journal article “Jobs and the Fed” is a criticism of the Federal Reserve (which implements the nation’s monetary policy). The point it makes is that the Fed, as it’s known, has in the past promised to follow certain rules in deciding what kind of policies to pursue but that it is now going back on its word. Specifically, in 2012, the Fed announced that it was going to be more transparent in its actions and was going to follow the so-called “Evans Rule” (named after the President of the Chicago Fed). That rule dictated that whenever inflation rose above 2% the Fed would pay more attention to preventing prices from increasing, rather than continuing to try to reduce the unemployment rate.

However, the author points out, even though the unemployment rate is expected to fall and inflation expected to increase to above 2% in the near future, the Fed shows no signs of changing its policy, which up to now has been targeted at increasing economic growth and reducing unemployment. Many economists believe that it is important that the Fed be aware of the dangers of inflation and always err on the side of keeping that under control, even if it is at the expense of economic growth.