4. A Mediterranean restaurant chain with more than 25 restaurants in Southern California is trying to expand its operations. After reading the information presented in this module and other sources, write a two-page paper that outlines a mobile marketing program for this company. What are three mobile marketing strategies that you recommend for this company? What are the bases of your recommendations for reaching out to the largest number of potential customers with a moderate cost?
5. Multichannel, cross-channel, and omnichannel are being increasingly used by all types of businesses. After reading the information presented in this module and other sources, write a two-page paper that compares and contrasts these three strategies. Provide one advantage and one disadvantage of strategy. Also provide examples of three companies that are using each strategy. Why is omnichannel being adopted by a growing number of companies? Discuss.
6. The “hypersocial” model is gaining popularity. After reading the information in this module and other sources, write a two-page paper that lists four organizations that you consider to be hypersocial. What are the bases of your classification? What are two factors that make an organization hypersocial? What are two advantages of a hypersocial organization compared to a traditional model?

Floyd’s Bumpers has distribution centers in Lafayette, Indiana; Charlotte, North Carolina; Los Angeles, California; Dallas, Texas; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Each distribution center carries all products sold. Floyd’s customers are auto repair shops and larger auto parts retail stores. You are asked to perform an analysis of the customer assignments to determine which of Floyd’s customers should be assigned to each distribution center. The rule for assigning customers to distribution centers is simple: A customer should be assigned to the closest center. The worksheet Floyds in the provided datafile contains the distance from each of Floyd’s 1,029 customers to each of the five distribution centers. Your task is to build a list that tells which distribution center should serve each customer. The following functions will be helpful: =MIN(array). The MIN function returns the smallest value in a set of numbers. For example, if the range A1:A3 contains the values 6, 25, and 38, then the formula =MIN(A1:A3) returns the number 6, because it is the smallest of the three numbers: =MATCH(lookup_value, lookup_array, match type). The MATCH function searches for a specified item in a range of cells and returns the relative position of that item in the range. The lookup_value is the value to match, the lookup_array is the range of search, and match type indicates the type of match (use 0 for an exact match). For example, if the range A1:A3 contains the values 6, 25, and 38, then the formula =MATCH(25,A1:A3,0) returns the number 2, because 25 is the second item in the range. =INDEX(array, column_num). The INDEX function returns the value of an element in a position of an array. For example, if the range A1:A3 contains the values 6, 25, and 38, then the formula =INDEX(A1:A3, 2) 5 25, because 25 is the value in the second position of the array A1:A3. (Hint: Create three new columns. In the first column, use the MIN function to calculate the minimum distance for the customer in that row. In the second column use the MATCH function to find the position of the minimum distance. In the third column, use the position in the previous column with the INDEX function referencing the row of distribution center names to find the name of the distribution center that should service that customer.) Click on the datafile logo to reference the data. datafile.png (Hint: The INDEX function may be used with a two-dimensional array: =INDEX(array, row_num, column_num), where array is a matrix, row_num is the row numbers and column_num is the column position of the desired element of the matrix.) Floyd's Bumpers pays a transportation company to ship its product to its customers. Floyd's Bumpers ships full truckloads to its customers. Therefore, the cost for shipping is a function of the distance traveled and a fuel surcharge (also on a per mile basis). The cost per mile is $2.42 and the fuel surcharge is $.56 per mile. The worksheet May in the provided datafile contains data for shipments for the month of May (each record is simply the customer zip code for a given truckload shipment), as well as the distance table from the distribution centers to each customer. Use the VLOOKUP function to retrieve the distance traveled for each shipment from the exercise completed above, and calculate the \charge for each shipment. What is the total amount that Floyd's Bumpers spends on these May shipments? If required, round your answers to two decimal places.

Floyd’s Bumpers has distribution centers in Lafayette, Indiana; Charlotte, North Carolina; Los Angeles, California; Dallas, Texas; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Each distribution center carries all products sold. Floyd’s customers are auto repair shops and larger auto parts retail stores. You are asked to perform an analysis of the customer assignments to determine which of Floyd’s customers should be assigned to each distribution center. The rule for assigning customers to distribution centers is simple: A customer should be assigned to the closest center. The worksheet Floyds in the provided datafile contains the distance from each of Floyd’s 1,029 customers to each of the five distribution centers. Your task is to build a list that tells which distribution center should serve each customer. The following functions will be helpful:

=MIN(array).

The MIN function returns the smallest value in a set of numbers. For example, if the range A1:A3 contains the values 6, 25, and 38, then the formula =MIN(A1:A3) returns the number 6, because it is the smallest of the three numbers:

=MATCH(lookup_value, lookup_array, match type).

The MATCH function searches for a specified item in a range of cells and returns the relative position of that item in the range. The lookup_value is the value to match, the lookup_array is the range of search, and match type indicates the type of match (use 0 for an exact match).

For example, if the range A1:A3 contains the values 6, 25, and 38, then the formula =MATCH(25,A1:A3,0) returns the number 2, because 25 is the second item in the range.

=INDEX(array, column_num).

The INDEX function returns the value of an element in a position of an array. For example, if the range A1:A3 contains the values 6, 25, and 38, then the formula =INDEX(A1:A3, 2) 5 25, because 25 is the value in the second position of the array A1:A3. (Hint: Create three new columns. In the first column, use the MIN function to calculate the minimum distance for the customer in that row. In the second column use the MATCH function to find the position of the minimum distance. In the third column, use the position in the previous column with the INDEX function referencing the row of distribution center names to find the name of the distribution center that should service that customer.)

(Hint: The INDEX function may be used with a two-dimensional array: =INDEX(array, row_num, column_num), where array is a matrix, row_num is the row numbers and column_num is the column position of the desired element of the matrix.)

Floyd's Bumpers pays a transportation company to ship its product to its customers. Floyd's Bumpers ships full truckloads to its customers. Therefore, the cost for shipping is a function of the distance traveled and a fuel surcharge (also on a per mile basis). The cost per mile is $2.64 and the fuel surcharge is $.56 per mile. The worksheet May in the provided datafile contains data for shipments for the month of May (each record is simply the customer zip code for a given truckload shipment), as well as the distance table from the distribution centers to each customer. Use the VLOOKUP function to retrieve the distance traveled for each shipment from the exercise completed above, and calculate the charge for each shipment. What is the total amount that Floyd's Bumpers spends on these May shipments?

If required, round your answers to two decimal places.

$

Here is the link to the data file

https://1drv.ms/x/s!ApMP2LeBUrTssVvBH4KCoBWINZcw

*Do not round any answer until your final answer. Round your final answer to the nearest whole dollar. When entering your final answer, do not use commas or $ sign. (Sorry...Canvas is very sensitive and will mark your answer incorrect due to rounding and punctuation.) Due to possible rounding differences, all answer solutions are programmed as acceptable that are +/- 1. For example, if the correct answer is $54,372, all possible answer solutions that would be accepted would be 54,371, 54372, and 54,373.

On January 1, 20x1, ABC rendered services to Smith Corporation and accepted a $200,000, 5 year note. In exchange, Smith agreed to make quarterly payments of P&I at the end of each Mar, Jun, Sept and Dec, with the first payment to be made on March 31, 20x1. An interest rate of 8% is imputed.  

Required: Use the information above to answer the next (4) questions:

This case study concerns a bank's efforts to calculate credit risk scores (These are opposite of credit scores. Higher the value the riskier the customer) A loan officer at a bank needs to be able to identify characteristics that are indicative of people who are likely to default on loans and use those characteristics to identify good and bad credit risks. The loan officer also needs to be able to better quantify an individual’s credit risk level.

Information on 700 past customers is given in the file along with data for the following variables:

Age: customer age in years.

Employment: years that the customer has been with his/her current employer

Address: years that the customer has lived at his/her current address

Income: household annual income (in $1,000)

Debt _to _Income: debt to income ratio (x100)

Risk _Score: Credit risk score (the higher the score, the more risky)

Default _Indicator: an indicator of whether the customer had previously defaulted

Test the hypothesis that the average credit risk score of customers who have previously defaulted on their loans is higher than those who haven’t defaulted on their loans. (Divide the credit risk score into two groups those who previously defaulted and those who didn’t and then compare the two groups.)

You would like to build a regression model to predict the credit risk score based on all the other variables. What is the regression equation?

What is the predicted credit risk score of a customer aged 40, who has been with their employer for 10 years, has lived at the same address for 3 years, has an income of $200,000, debt to income ratio of 2.5 and has previously defaulted on a loan. Will the prediction be accurate? Explain

Compute the coefficient of determination (R2) and fully interpret its meaning.

Interpret the meaning of the coefficients of the independent variables income and address.

Which independent variables significant? Defend your answer.

Case Study: Marketing and Customer Service

Read the following case study to answer the questions provided below.

North Hampton Clothiers

North Hampton Clothiers, a national nature and recreation clothing brand based in New England, has a commitment to providing its customers with what the company’s Vice President of Marketing and Customer Relations calls a “kitchen sink warranty program”, meaning the company will do whatever it needs to right a customer’s problem with one of their products.

The company proudly embraces their policy, eliciting customers’ stories, which are regularly featured on their website. Stories from customers include sweaters burned by melting s’mores, backpacks clawed by bears, and boots struck by lightning; and North Hampton replaced or refunded each item, every time.

Its an expensive policy, for sure. The Vice President acknowledges that some customers abuse the policy, trading barely used items for the newest style or making a profit by returning for a full-price refund items purchased second-hand. A design defect in a product could trigger mass returns of an item. In fact, some of North Hampton’s competitors used to offer the same guarantee, but many have since returned to more traditional return policies just to limit their financial liability.

Still, New Hampton Clothiers stands by their policy with pride. They see their return policy as a sort of mascot for their customer service approach. “We love and trust our customers,” says the Vice President of Marketing and Customer Relations, “and we want them to know it! We want them to trust us, too, and that means doing whatever we can to show them that, if they have a problem, we will make it right. No matter what.”

Their approach seems to be paying off. North Hampton has topped lists across various business and industry publications when it comes to customer service rating, employee satisfaction, and brand perception. Committed customers can be found in every corner of social media singing the company’s praises and promoting their products.

Utilizing your own words, answer the following questions in detail:

• What role does North Hampton’s return policy fit into the company’s marketing mix; to which of the “four P’s” does it most closely align, and what effect does the policy have of the other elements of the marketing mix?
• In what ways does the company’s return policy influence the relationship between customers and the company’s customer service representatives?
• What characteristics and abilities should North Hampton’s customer service representative possess or be granted to ensure the return policy is exercised smoothly?
• What other considerations to policies and operations (e.g. staffing, financial, product development, etc.) should North Hampton make to support their return policy?

1. The following selected accounts appeared in the unadjusted trial balance of Hawthorne Industries: -

Additional data:

1. One-half of the revenue received in advance has been earned by December 31, 2019
2. The prepaid insurance represents three years premium on a policy providing coverage starting September 1, 2019
3. Since the last payday, employees have earned an additional $2,500 which has not yet been paid or recorded
4. The equipment has an estimated life of 10 years and no expected value at the end of its life
5. Services performed but unbilled and uncollected at year end amounted to $6,500
6. The prepaid rent relates to one-half of the year beginning on October 1, 2019

Prepare the necessary year-end adjusting entries as of December 31, 2019.

2. The unadjusted trial balance and information regarding adjusting entries for Becky’s Carpets, Inc., is given below. Prepare the financial statements for Becky’s Carpet Inc., after making the necessary adjustments

Becky’s Carpets, Inc.,

Unadjusted Trial Balance

December 31, 2019

Adjusting entry information:

1. Salaries earned but unpaid at the end of the year, $1,500
2. Insurance expired, 700
3. Depreciation expense, 800
4. Unearned service revenue earned during the year, $1,500
5. The inventory of supplies at year end was $3,400

3. Galarus company had the following trial balance as of December 31, 2019

Galarus Company

Trial Balance

December 31, 2019

Additional information:

1. Supplies used during the month, $450
2. Prepaid insurance expired during the month, $300
3. Depreciation on equipment for the month, $550
4. Unearned service revenue earned during the month, $2,200
5. Accrued salary expense at the end of the month, $650

Based on the trial balance and the additional data, prepare financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019

Case Study
C & S Department Store is the second largest clothing and retail store chain in Jamaica. At present, they have 5 clothing and retail stores in all 14 parishes and are planning to expand to 7 stores per parish in the next 3 years. C & S Department Store has a centralized Human Resource Department located at its main office in Kingston. Unfortunately, although the HR processes are managed centrally, there are many HR tasks, policies and procedures that are controlled by the clothing and retail store managers or by the lead parish manger in each parish. Currently, the HR management processes are using Excel spreadsheet to compile reports from various parish Headquarters and stores. This task is being performed by a team of HR executives at its main office in Kingston.
Simone Coram is the Senior HR Manager of C & S Department Store and has discovered various administrative and HR issues with the clothing and retail store sites. Due to high focus on sales revenue and stores profitability, Retail Store Managers have difficulties in managing the stores in the areas of staff attendance, discipline and critical HR practices.
The fundamental emphasis and foundation of C & S Department Store has been centered on always maintaining the highest standards of customer service and for that reason they are in direct contact with customers at each and every Department Store. What sets C & S Department apart is a commitment to exceeding expectations making it one of their unique selling points. Giving excellent customer service is one of the main reasons why their customers choose C & S Department Store and why they keep coming back.
Imperatively, the entity’s strategy is purposed towards employing the ideal candidate for both their part-time and full-time sales associates with the capacity and proficiency to grow and hone their skills for prospective advanced position within the organization. Presently, the store managers for three (3) of C&S Department Store have made the announcement that they plan to retire within the next 18 to 24 month. These three managers have insisted that they will not remain in their position beyond this particular point.
A team of HR internal auditors has conducted a study and identified that there are irregularities in the staff attendance data both at the retail stores and regional offices. Sometimes many of the staff did not sign the attendance register or signed intermittently. During the HR audit, it was discovered that some staff signed the attendance register only at the end of the day. Further, sometimes staff signed the register and then left their post. There was also no mechanism to track the leave data of employees. Employees did not know their exact leave data. At the end of the year it was revealed that some employees have taken excess leave while some employees worked incessantly, creating frustration among staff.
There was also no standardization in the reports between head office, regional offices and the retail stores and this created discrepancies. HR provided a set of excel sheets and paper-based forms to help store managers maintain data. However, many store managers used and made unique formats of reports making it difficult to collate the reports. The data thus collated had to be verified over again and again, as there was a tendency for errors to emerge.
This discrepancy has caused a significant issue in salary. HR and attendance data were used to generate data for payroll. As there were many discrepancies in HR data and reports, this created several salary discrepancies and caused numerous issues among the employees, thus lowering employee satisfaction rate and affecting the employee morale.
Training and communication have become a major issue at C & S Department Store. As the company was growing at a fast pace, training employees on various HR procedures and policies was becoming increasingly difficult. Thus line managers took decisions based on their previous experience or personal insights and created unnecessary hassles that required HR intervention.
The staff turnover in two (2) key departments of Marketing and Accounts was running at 90%. Estimated cost of staff turnover - including overtime, loss of revenue, loss of skills, training time and management time to replace a staff member – is equivalent to approximately $3,000 per position thus costing the business around $500,000 per year.
Human Resource Management focuses on matching the needs of the business with the needs and development of employees and as such you are required to answer the following questions based on the scenario represented above.

4. As Ms. Coram, you have suggested the implementation of a Management by Objectives method to improve the performance management system at C & S Department Store. Justify the use of this method to assist the company in meeting its performance standards. Explain five (5) factors that the team should take into consideration before implementing the MBO ?