Explain Malibu Boats' business model (be certain to include the value proposition and profit formula). How — if at all — has it changed over the first five years?

Information:

Jack Springer, CEO of Malibu Boats since 2010, looked out over the main production facility of Louden, Tennessee, facility. In his ten years at the helm of the Tennessee boat company, he had transitioned it from an industry leader in high-performance towboats to a diversified firm that included high-performance fishing boats. A significant facet of this transition was Malibu's 2017 purchase of Cobalt Boats for $130 million and the 2018 purchase of Pursuit Boats for $100 million. Unknown at the time of the purchase was the havoc the COVID 19 pandemic would have on the world economy and the boating industry. Springer's task this summer morning was to prepare a written assessment to present at the upcoming Board of Directors meeting. Earlier in the week, the board had requested an assessment of the Cobalt and Pursuit acquisitions in the current economic context. As he looked out on the production floor, he pondered several questions: is Malibu in a better or worse competitive position with the acquisitions? What impact will a down economy have on the future success of this acquisition? And, what had the company learned from the experience?

Malibu Boats

Headquartered in Loudon, Tennessee, Malibu Boats is a top designer, manufacturer, and marketer of a diverse range of recreational powerboats, including performance sport, sterndrive, and outboard boats (Globe Newswire, 2020).

Founded in 1982 by Bob Alkema and Steve Marshall, Malibu Boats began production averaging two boats per week. The company grew quickly and increased staffing and production. In 1986, the company implemented an employee stock ownership program and had achieved a nine percent market share by 1988. Needing to expand production, Malibu opened a second plant in Tennessee, which allowed the company to produce almost 1000 custom ski boats that year.

In 1992, Malibu built a new manufacturing facility in Loudon, Tennessee. The company's focus on innovation led it to create and patent a fiberglass engine chassis system (FibECS) that eliminated vibration and noise. In the mid-nineties, Malibu expanded internationally to Australia thorough a licensee agreement.

In the area of water sports, Malibu was on the front end of research and development of wakeboarding features. By recognizing that the wakeboarding market was a natural outgrowth of the traditional sport of water skiing, Malibu was able to capitalize on this fast-growing market (Willet, 2012).

In the early 2000's Malibu established itself as the largest custom ski boat manufacturer in the world. In 2006, Horizon Holdings and Black Canyon Capital acquired Malibu.

Unlike competitors in the industry, Malibu was able to expand market share during the Great Recession of the mid-2000s.

Jack Springer was named CEO in 2009, and under his direction, Malibu launched the Axis Wake Research brand and relocated headquarters to the firm's production facility in Loudon, Tennessee. In doing so, Malibu positioned itself closer to the freshwater marine manufacturing industry.

In 2013, Malibu established a new holding company for all operations – Malibu Boats Inc. The new entity was formed, in part, to prepare for the company's initial public offering (IPO) in January of 2014. In going public, initial trading began at $14 a share, generating a market capitalization of $300 million (Kaiser, 2014).

Malibu's International Presence

Malibu has a small but important international footprint. In the early 1990s, the company had established its brand and a manufacturing facility in Australia through a licensee agreement. After Malibu's successful IPO, the company acquired all equity interests in Malibu Boats Australia and made assurances the company would maintain its presence in that market. Malibu Boats Inc. has publicly stated that Malibu Australia may become Malibu's primary producer for the entire Asian market.

In addition, through the acquisition of Cobalt boats and its dealer network, Malibu Boats Inc. has access to locations in Canada and overseas.

Acquisition of Cobalt and Pursuit Boats

Malibu's first major acquisition was a $130 million deal to purchase competitor Cobalt Boats (Malibu Boats, Inc., 2017). The deal maintained separate manufacturing operations; Malibu in Louden, TN, and Cobalt in Neodesha, KS.

In October of 2018, Malibu Boats acquired Pursuit Boats from S2 Yachts to expand its premium brand into the fast-growing saltwater fishing boat industry. The purchase price was $100 million. In addition to expanding its brand offerings, Malibu states, "the acquisition gives the company the ability to leverage manufacturing, design expertise, and distribution to accelerate outboard growth" (Trade Only Today, 2018). Malibu will finance the $100 million purchase with $50 million in cash on hand and $50 million in credit (Boating Industry, 2018).

"Pursuit is an incredible addition to the Malibu family," said Jack Springer. "This highly complementary business creates strong strategic opportunities to enhance product development across our portfolio of brands. Together, we have an opportunity to broaden our outboard offering, while leveraging the manufacturing and design expertise of the respective teams." (Trade Only Today, 2018).

Cobalt Boats

Cobalt Boats is a market leader in mid to large-sized sterndrive boats that include cruisers, bowriders, and outboards used for cruising, skiing, entertaining, surfing, and fishing (Malibu Boats, Inc., 2017). Cobalt is a world-class brand producing 24 models across six series. The company has a dealer network of 132 locations in the U.S., Canada, and overseas. The year prior to the acquisition, Cobalt generated approximately $140 million in net sales.

Pursuit Boats

Pursuit Boats, located in Fort Pierce, Florida, builds 15 models of high-quality saltwater fishing boats in lengths of 23 to 40 feet. Pursuit has established itself as a premium brand by building high-quality offshore fishing boats for over 40 years (Boating Industry, 2018).

A2 Yachts, the original parent company of Pursuit Boats, is a privately held firm. S2 Yachts will continue to operate and own Tiarra Yachts and Tiarra Sport. Limited financial information is available on S2 Yachts as it is a privately held firm.

Malibu Today

Today, Malibu Boats is a leading designer, manufacturer, and marketer of a diverse range of powerboats across four primary brands: Malibu, Axis, Cobalt, and Pursuit (Malibu Boats, 2019). Company accolades include holding the #1 market share position in the U.S. in the performance sport boat category, the #1 market share position in the U.S. in the 24'-29’ segment of the sterndrive category, and a holding a leading market position for fiberglass outboard fishing boats (Malibu Boats, 2019). Malibu's boats are used for activities including water sports and recreational boating and fishing. Retail prices across the various models range from $60,000 - $800,000.

• Malibu – The flagship line provides consumers the latest innovations and designed for customers seeking a premium performance sport boat.
• Axis – Designed for customers who desire a more affordable performance sport boat yet expect high performance.
• Cobalt – Comprise mid to large-sized cruisers and bowriders providing exceptional comfort, performance, and quality.
• Pursuit – Consist of saltwater outboard fishing boats using a center console, dual console, and offshore models.

Competitive advantage across the brands is created by new products, a strong dealer network, and innovation. Malibu has built a distinctive competitive advantage. As an example, the Integrated Surf Platform (ISP) patented Surf Gate is an industry-leading (and envied) product. Similar to other boat brands in the industry, the dealership network is vital to the customer experience and Malibu Boats. As such, Malibu dedicates significant resources to find, develop, and improve the performance of dealerships. As of July 2019, the company's distribution channels consisted of 350 dealer locations globally. Innovation continues in 2020 with the launch of Stern Turn, which provides the driver the maneuverability of a sterndrive or outboard boat, thereby making navigation easier (Malibu Boats, 2019).

Compared to competitors, Malibu Boats has a higher degree of vertical integration. Malibu manufactures many of its own parts, including towers, stainless materials, trailers, and, more recently, engines. CEO Jack Springer builds as much as 25% more in-house compared to rival companies (Malibu Boats, 2019).

• Malibu is traded on the NASDAQ – Global Market index under MBUU, a Class A common stock.
• In 2019 Net sales increased 37.6% to a record high of $684 million.
• Malibu Boats continued to be a growth company finishing 2019 as the twenty-eighth fasted growing company on Fortune Magazine's Fastest-Growing Companies List.

Marine Industry

Towable performance boats have been a large part of the marine industry. Malibu has long held a premium position in this industry segment. The saltwater outboard fishing market is one of the largest and fastest-growing segments of the marine industry.

Conclusion

As Springer reflected on the upcoming board meeting, he could not help but recall his optimism in the 2019 annual report. Specifically, he cited that the U.S economy was strong, consumer confidence high, inflation low, and employment high. As such, he was confident that markets would remain strong for the foreseeable future. Then, the COVID 19 Pandemic changed everything. The rosy picture he had painted for the 2020 fiscal year will look very different.

Write a paragraph (4 - 6 sentences) that summarizes the information that you have learned about Television.  This summary should be in your own words, do not directly quote the source.

Write a thesis statement based on the information written in your summary.  Be sure to create a thesis statement that is clear, specific, and thought-provoking. Create a thesis statement that argues a controversial position.

READ THIS ARTICLE:

Television is one of the most significant communications inventions. Television has fundamentally changed the political process, our use of leisure, as well as social relations among family and friends. Television was not developed by any single individual or even a group of people working together. Scientists and visionaries imagined a device that would capture images with sound and transmit them into homes since the 1880s. The word television was first used at the 1900 Exhibition in Paris. Scottish inventor John Logie Baird (1888–1946) was the first person to provide a television transmission in October 1925, and he subsequently demonstrated it to the British public on January 26, 1926. On December 25, 1926, Kenjiro Takayanagi (1899–1990) displayed the first image in Japan. The technology improved slowly with athletes participating in the 1936 Olympic games in Berlin able to see some poor quality images of the games. In 1936 France and Page 319 | Top of Article Germany began television programming. In Great Britain King George VI’s coronation from Hyde Park Corner on May 12, 1937, was the first broadcast of its kind, and the first U.S. election reported on television was on November 8, 1941, where news of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s victory was transmitted to an estimated 7,500 sets. The development of television was halted during the Second World War in Europe and North America where manufacturers directed their attentions to munitions. Regular television service reached ninety-six countries by 1973. Many of the things we associate with modern television technology were patented or devised in television’s infancy. In 1928 Vladimir Zworyking (1889–1982) owned the first U.S. patent for an all-electronic color television; however, the development did not come to fruition for another twenty-five years. During the 1939 World’s Fair in New York, television could not only receive audio and video images, but it was also designed to record those images, foreshadowing video recording devices (VCRs). And Baird later patented a 600-line electronic high definition color system in Britain in 1945. TELEVISION’S GOLDEN AGE The golden age of television is associated with the years 1949 to 1960 when American television viewing consisted of a variety of entertainment programming. The burgeoning prosperity and optimism of post-World War II influenced the spread of television. As more people were able to purchase televisions the demand for content grew. Early television programs offered revamped radio programs. There was some news and information programming, but those tended to be of short duration. A similar golden age is associated with British television. Early programs were reworked vaudeville acts and radio shows. Later situational comedies such as I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners would create new talent and genres. The shared experience of watching key television programming provided an avenue for discussion and next-day water cooler conversation. As television matured so did the content, with programs such as All in the Family offering political and social commentary on issues ranging from race relations to the Vietnam War. Television’s depiction of the family changed through time as well. While initial programming presented unified traditional families with bread-winning fathers and stay-at-home mothers, later programs depicted the breakdown of the traditional family dealing in both fiction and nonfiction with divorce, remarriage, blended families, and later, with same-sex unions. Not only did television provide scripted programming, but it also broadcasted major sporting events. The first televised hockey game between the Montreal Canadiens losing six-to-two to the New York Rangers in Madison Square Gardens was seen on February 25, 1940. Television is also closely associated with the increasing popularity of the Olympic games, soccer, American football, and baseball. With technological improvements, viewing time increased as well as television’s influence on the public and politics. In 1947 there were only 60,000 American homes with television sets; by 1950 this figure grew to 12.5 million. Televisions are now found in nearly every home in the United States and Europe. In the developing world, the allure of television is so great that some want television before other communications devices such as telephones. The hold of major networks on audiences soon dissipated with the advent of cable and specialty television programming. Rather than having a system where the networks catered to a common denominator of programming, the proliferation of specialty programs allowed people to view content that interested them specifically. Moving from analog to digital signals allowed for a so-called 500-channel universe where any specific interest could be satisfied, from golf to cooking; from sport to fashion; and from all news to pornography. As a result of these technological changes, the era of the mass audience was over. While there remain a few programs that can attain mass audiences, the market has been so fragmented that networks must compete for an ever-shrinking television audience. EFFECTS ON CHILDREN The rapid adoption of television fundamentally changed modern society. Television has been blamed for the decline in civil society, the breakdown of the family, suicide, mass murder, childhood obesity, and the trivializing of politics. Children have been the target of broadcasters since the 1950s. Initially American broadcasters provided twenty-seven hours a week of children’s television programming. By the 1990s there was twenty-four hour a day programming available to children. Children in Canada spend fourteen hours per week (Statistics Canada) watching television, while American children spend twenty-one hours per week (Roberts et al. 2005, p. 34). Some surveys suggest that British children have the highest rate of television viewing in the world. There are several concerns associated with television and children’s viewing patterns. Many researchers have noted the link between the advent of television and increasing obesity and other weight-related illnesses. The time spent watching television is time not spent playing outdoors or in other physically challenging activities. High television viewership of violence is linked to an increase in violent children. Prolonged exposure to violent Page 320 | Top of Article television programming has shown that children can become more aggressive, become desensitized to violence, become accepting of violence as a means to solve problems, imitate violence viewed on television, and identify with either victims or victimizers. Despite the negatives associated with television, it remains a powerful tool in shaping and educating children. While many point to the destructive nature of television, there are others who acknowledge television’s positive impact. Researchers and programmers have developed content that has positively influenced children. Early studies on the PBS program Sesame Street found that children who viewed the program were better readers in grade one than students who had not watched the program. Programs were developed not only to help with literacy, but with other subjects as well as socialization, problem solving, and civic culture. Notwithstanding the positive effects of children and television viewing, high television viewing has been associated with a decline in civic culture. As people have retreated to their homes to watch television, they have been less inclined to participate in politics either by voting or by joining political parties. In addition television viewing means that people are not interacting as much with friends or neighbors. What is more, television viewing also has been associated with an overall decline in group participation as well as volunteerism. ADVERTISING AND OWNERSHIP The issue of ownership of content and transmission was debated from television’s onset. In 1927 the U.S. Radio Act declared public ownership of the airways. They argued that the airwaves should “serve the PICN—public interest, convenience, and necessity.” Because of this understanding of the public owning the airwaves, it set the stage for regulatory bodies around the world licensing stations according to content regulations. Taking the issue of public interest one step further, the British government founded the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in 1927. Other countries followed establishing their own public broadcasting systems. The United States lagged behind other nations by adopting a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in 1968. With the increasing adoption of television, many countries found the need to create new regulatory agencies. In the United States, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was created as an act of Congress on June 19, 1934. The most successful television enterprises are closely associated with advertising. From the outset the way in which television content was funded was through the pursuit of advertising dollars. As a result it has often been said that television does not bring content to audiences, but instead it brings audiences to advertisers. The propaganda model of the media, coined by Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky in their 1988 publication Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media, argues that the media uphold the dominant ideology in America. The five pillars of the model focus on ownership, advertising, sourcing, flak, and anticommunism. This model has been linked to other western media systems, but is most fitting in the United States where the power of the media rests with the owners. Television’s hold on the public imagination stems in part because of its ease of transmission. No one needs any special skill to receive the messages. All that is required is a television that can pick up a signal. More important, television influences our view of the world precisely because images are transmitted into people’s homes. Since its inception, television transmissions have had the power to change our perceptions of world events. Starting with the Vietnam War and continuing to a myriad of events from the arms race to Tiananmen Square, and from the Civil Rights movement to the war in Iraq, television has become synonymous with the phrase “the whole world is watching.”

Sam Nolan clicked the mouse for one more round of solitaire on the computer in his den. He’d been at it for more than an hour, and his wife had long ago given up trying to persuade him to join her for a movie or are Saturday night on the town. The mind-numbering game seemed to be all that calmed Sam down enough to stop thinking about work and how his job seemed to get worse every day.

Nolan was chief information officer at Century Medical, a large medical products company based in Connecticut. He had joined the company four years ago, and since that time Century had made great progress integrating technology into its systems and processes. Nolan had already led projects to design and build two highly successful systems for century. One was a benefits-administration system for the company’s HR department. The other was a complex Web-based purchasing system that stream-lined the process of purchasing supplies and capital goods. Although the system had been up and running for only a few months, modest projects were that it would save Century nearly $2 million annually. Previously, Century’s purchasing managers were bogged down with shuffling and processing paper. The purchasing process would begin when an employee filled out a materials request form. Then the form would travel through various offices for approval and signatures before eventually being converted into a purchase order. The new web-based system allowed employees to fill out electronic request forms that were automatically e-mailed to everyone whose approval was needed. The time for processing request forms was cut from weeks to days or even hours. When authorization was complete, the system would automatically launch a purchase order to the appropriate supplier. In addition, because the new system had dramatically cut the time purchasing managers spent shuffling paper, they now had more time to work collaboratively with key stakeholders to identify and select the best suppliers and negotiate better deals.

Nolan thought wearily of all the hours he had put in developing trust with people throughout the company and showing them how technology could not only save time and money but also support team-based work and give people more control over their own jobs. He smiled briefly she recalled one long-term HR employee, 61-year-old Ethel Morre. She had been terrified when Nolan first began showing her the company’s intranet, but she was now one of his biggest supporters. In fact, it had been Ethel who had first approached him with idea about a web-based job posting system. The two had pulled together a team and developed an idea for linking century managers, internal recruiters, and job applicants using artificial intelligence software on top of an integrated web-based system. When Nolan had presented the idea to his boss, executive vice-president Sandra Ivey, she had enthusiastically endorsed it, and within a few weeks the team had authorization to proceed with the project.

But everything began to change when Ivey resigned her position six months later to take a plum job in New York. Ivey’s successor, Tom carr, seemed to have little interest in the project. During their first meeting, Carr had openly referred to the project as a waste of time and money. He immediately disapproved several new features suggested by the company’s internal recruiters, even though the project team argued that the features could double internal hiring and save millions in training costs. “Just stick to the original plan and get it done. All this stuff needs to be handled on a personal basis anyway,” Carr countered. “you can’t learn more from a computer than you can talking to real people – and as for internal recruiting, it shouldn’t be so hard to talk to people if they’re already working right here in the company.” Carr seemed to have no understanding of how and why technology was being used. He became irritated when Ethel Moore referred to the system as “web-based”. He boasted that he had never visited Century’s intranet site and suggested that “this internet fad” would blow over in a year or so anyway. Even Ethel’s enthusiasm couldn’t get through to him. She tried to show him some of the HR resources visible on the intranet and explain how it had benefited the department and the company, but he waved her away. “Technology is for those people in the IS department. My job is people, and yours should be, too”. Ethel was crushed, and Nolan realized it would be like beating his head against a brick wall to try to persuade Carr to the team’s point of view. Near the end of the meeting, Carr even jokingly suggested that the project team should just buy a couple of filing cabinets and save everyone some time and money.

Just when the team thought things couldn’t get any worse, Carr dropped the other bomb. They would no longer be allowed to gather input from uses of the new system. Nolan feared that without the input of potential users, the system wouldn’t meet their needs, or even that users would boycott the system because they hadn’t been allowed to participate. No doubt that would put a great big “I told you so” smile right on Carr’s face.

Nolan sighed and leaned back in his chair. The project had begun to feel like joke. The vibrant and innovative human resources department his team had imagined now seemed like nothing more than a pipe dream. But despite his frustration, a new thought entered Nolan’s mind: “Is Carr just stubborn and narrow-minded or does he have a point that HR is a people business that doesn’t need a high-tech job posting system?”

questions:

1. Need to develop some alternatives to Address the Problem Statement
2. Then we need to evaluate the alternatives, then recommend One
3. Find a plane for the alternative we choose.
4. Evaluation of Chosen Alternative For Effectiveness

Sam Nolan clicked the mouse for one more round of solitaire on the computer in his den. He’d been at it for more than an hour, and his wife had long ago given up trying to persuade him to join her for a movie or are Saturday night on the town. The mind-numbering game seemed to be all that calmed Sam down enough to stop thinking about work and how his job seemed to get worse every day.

Nolan was chief information officer at Century Medical, a large medical products company based in Connecticut. He had joined the company four years ago, and since that time Century had made great progress integrating technology into its systems and processes. Nolan had already led projects to design and build two highly successful systems for century. One was a benefits-administration system for the company’s HR department. The other was a complex Web-based purchasing system that stream-lined the process of purchasing supplies and capital goods. Although the system had been up and running for only a few months, modest projects were that it would save Century nearly $2 million annually. Previously, Century’s purchasing managers were bogged down with shuffling and processing paper. The purchasing process would begin when an employee filled out a materials request form. Then the form would travel through various offices for approval and signatures before eventually being converted into a purchase order. The new web-based system allowed employees to fill out electronic request forms that were automatically e-mailed to everyone whose approval was needed. The time for processing request forms was cut from weeks to days or even hours. When authorization was complete, the system would automatically launch a purchase order to the appropriate supplier. In addition, because the new system had dramatically cut the time purchasing managers spent shuffling paper, they now had more time to work collaboratively with key stakeholders to identify and select the best suppliers and negotiate better deals.

Nolan thought wearily of all the hours he had put in developing trust with people throughout the company and showing them how technology could not only save time and money but also support team-based work and give people more control over their own jobs. He smiled briefly she recalled one long-term HR employee, 61-year-old Ethel Morre. She had been terrified when Nolan first began showing her the company’s intranet, but she was now one of his biggest supporters. In fact, it had been Ethel who had first approached him with idea about a web-based job posting system. The two had pulled together a team and developed an idea for linking century managers, internal recruiters, and job applicants using artificial intelligence software on top of an integrated web-based system. When Nolan had presented the idea to his boss, executive vice-president Sandra Ivey, she had enthusiastically endorsed it, and within a few weeks the team had authorization to proceed with the project.

But everything began to change when Ivey resigned her position six months later to take a plum job in New York. Ivey’s successor, Tom carr, seemed to have little interest in the project. During their first meeting, Carr had openly referred to the project as a waste of time and money. He immediately disapproved several new features suggested by the company’s internal recruiters, even though the project team argued that the features could double internal hiring and save millions in training costs. “Just stick to the original plan and get it done. All this stuff needs to be handled on a personal basis anyway,” Carr countered. “you can’t learn more from a computer than you can talking to real people – and as for internal recruiting, it shouldn’t be so hard to talk to people if they’re already working right here in the company.” Carr seemed to have no understanding of how and why technology was being used. He became irritated when Ethel Moore referred to the system as “web-based”. He boasted that he had never visited Century’s intranet site and suggested that “this internet fad” would blow over in a year or so anyway. Even Ethel’s enthusiasm couldn’t get through to him. She tried to show him some of the HR resources visible on the intranet and explain how it had benefited the department and the company, but he waved her away. “Technology is for those people in the IS department. My job is people, and yours should be, too”. Ethel was crushed, and Nolan realized it would be like beating his head against a brick wall to try to persuade Carr to the team’s point of view. Near the end of the meeting, Carr even jokingly suggested that the project team should just buy a couple of filing cabinets and save everyone some time and money.

Just when the team thought things couldn’t get any worse, Carr dropped the other bomb. They would no longer be allowed to gather input from uses of the new system. Nolan feared that without the input of potential users, the system wouldn’t meet their needs, or even that users would boycott the system because they hadn’t been allowed to participate. No doubt that would put a great big “I told you so” smile right on Carr’s face.

Nolan sighed and leaned back in his chair. The project had begun to feel like joke. The vibrant and innovative human resources department his team had imagined now seemed like nothing more than a pipe dream. But despite his frustration, a new thought entered Nolan’s mind: “Is Carr just stubborn and narrow-minded or does he have a point that HR is a people business that doesn’t need a high-tech job posting system?”

questions:

1. Development of Alternatives to Address the Problem Statement
2. Evaluation of Alternatives, and Recommend One
3. Implementation Plan of Chosen Alternative:
4. Evaluation of Chosen Alternative For Effectiveness

Since the beginning of European settlement, Australian culture has been shaped by the successive waves of immigration, and our culinary culture is much the richer for it. From the stodgy and predictable Anglo cuisine that dominated our eating habits well into the 1960s, Australians now enjoy some of the most diverse, exotic and interesting food and beverage choices available anywhere in the world — and the options are continually expanding. One of the interesting beverage options available are Asian ‘bubble’ teas (so-called because the fruit- and milk-based drinks are recognisable by the chewy tapioca ‘pearls’ or ‘bubbles’). Originating in Taiwan, the bubble tea craze spread throughout Asia before arriving in Australia. Among the fastest growing of the competing franchises is Chatime. Founded in Taiwan in 2003, Chatime is an international franchise with over 800 stores worldwide. From its launch in Australia in 2009, the chain has grown to over 45 stores across Australia, with further ambitious growth planned. Chatime is not alone in this regard — the market leader in the Asian tea market is EasyWay, but other brands such as GongCha have recently opened stores. Chatime’s local master franchisor Charlley Zhao would be happy for the company to emulate the Australian success of Boost Juice and the international success of Starbucks. Chatime’s business model and its success have much in common with the Starbucks and Boost approaches: Chatime tea is brewed fresh in store using the highest quality natural ingredients with no added preservatives. It is against the company’s policy to use pre-made tea or tea powders and we are proud to support Australian farmers, with fresh milk delivered to Chatime stores daily by Dairy Farmers and Pura. Freshly brewed tea has more flavour and fragrance. Chatime draws from Page 5 of 6 traditional Taiwanese tea concepts to create their delicious fusion of flavours and continuously develop many new and innovative drinks, while keeping true to the delicious Taiwanese tea flavour.13 To date, Chatime has concentrated its marketing on Asian–Australians and focused in geographic locations with high concentrations of Asian residents. The first store opened in the Sydney suburb of Hurstville, which has a population of 47.5 per cent Chinese according to the 2011 Census. Chatime’s marketing has focused on Mandarin-language media and sponsoring concerts by Chinese pop stars. Zhao has also targeted Asian franchisees. ‘Obviously if we were targeting mainstream in the beginning, it would be a lot harder than targeting Asians. We used the strategy to go that way,’ he says.14 For Chatime, however, there are currently limitations and challenges typical of any business that has expanded to the practical limits of its ‘natural’ market niche. Now Zhao wants to open more outlets — but he needs to expand beyond the traditionally Asian suburbs populated by first- and second-generation immigrant families together with international (mostly Chinese) students. He is confident that a mainstream audience will embrace the tea brand, but the franchisees are not easily convinced. Many of the 29 franchisees are keen to open additional outlets but are not convinced that Anglo–European suburbs and towns are ready for the product. Zhao says: We do all the research to tell them that the other areas may be good but . . . they’re maybe not confident in thinking that local mainstream markets will love this drink.15 For Chatime, the current limits to growth are the size and geographic concentration of the Chinese–Australian population and the issue is whether this niche will provide sufficient revenue and growth to satisfy the aspirations of the parent company, Zhao and franchisees. To expand beyond the current customer base will inevitably require Chatime to capture a viable share of the mainstream (predominantly Anglo–European) Australian market. The challenge is not insurmountable, however. After all, no Australian suburb or town would be complete without its local Chinese restaurant, although this assimilation occurred over decades, which wouldn’t suit Zhao’s ambitious plans. Australian appetites for introduced and exotic cuisines and beverages give encouragement that ‘pearl teas’ will eventually become as much a part of the vernacular as ‘skim caramel mochaccino latté’ (if such a drink exists!). Zhao is confronting three common, and related, problems: First, he needs to ensure Chatime’s product fits the local, mainstream market. Then he needs to focus on an educative marketing campaign that changes consumers’ perceptions about the brand. Finally, he needs to persuade franchisees to open outlets outside the Asian-heavy suburbs.16 In relation to the first issue, the challenge is in recognising the distinctive characteristics of the local market and in deciding how far the local product should be adapted to local tastes. Zhao says: Just as McDonald’s introduced the Aloo Tikki burger when it expanded to India, catering to locals’ taste for the spiced potato patty snack of the same name, franchises need to be prepared to adjust their products to fit new markets. Chatime has introduced skim and soy milk and also allows consumers to customise their sugar levels.17 Although premium pearl milk tea is Chatime’s bestseller globally, fruit-based teas and smoothies perform more strongly in Australia than they do in Taiwan. This is because the Australian marketplace likes ‘more fresh and more healthy’ products, Zhao says. Of course, modifying mass-market fast foods and beverages to suit the tastes of local markets is both sensible and widely practiced. McDonald’s, Hungry Jack’s (Burger King), KFC Page 6 of 6 and Pizza Hut have all specially developed and marketed ‘Aussie’ versions of their staples, although typically only for brief promotional periods (such as leading up to Australia Day). In a move that is similar to Australian fresh juice providers and taps into a broad-based perception of ‘freshness’, Zhao has overhauled the look of Chatime. A bright, cartoonish purple was the launch colour, but now the store interiors are a pale green with bamboo details. ‘Purple doesn’t give people any feeling of fresh’, he says. Tea leaves are on display to show the ‘natural’ side of the brand. Zhao wants to court a mature customer and leave the teenagers to his competitors, so he avoids the moniker of ‘bubble tea’. He also wants Chatime to be known as the ‘tea experts’. ‘We really want to focus on people who are well educated, who know the benefits of drinking tea,’ he says. ‘That’s why our branding and wording is quite mature and serious. We’re trying to tell people, “Yes, we are the experts, trust us, drink our tea, you’ll get healthy”.’ This repositioning should see Chatime better attuned to both its original Chinese and local non-Chinese customers. At the same time, Chatime must be careful not to radically adapt its core ‘bubble tea’ product offering and service experience so that it alienates its core customer groups. After all, these customers have several alternative providers such as EasyWay and GongCha, who can still provide the ‘authentic’ product. It’s a juggling act that often challenges companies seeking to capture more of the mainstream market. Expert marketing opinion, however, is not universally in favour of the logic of broadening and adapting niche products to meet the needs of ever-wider markets. Rod Young, franchise guru and managing director of DC Strategy, has sober advice for such plans. ‘I think that these niche markets are creating terrific opportunities and I would encourage any organisations to not be all things to all people,’ he says. ‘There’s nothing invalid about focusing on a particular ethnic market and maximising the market penetration in those markets.’18 Having resolved the issues of product adaptation, there is clearly also a need to create product awareness, particularly among the new mainstream Australian target customers who may have noticed the new stores at their local shopping malls but are unaware of the pleasures and health benefits of ‘pearl teas’. This suggests the need for a product and brand awareness campaign, which may demand an increased marketing communications budget to capture the attention of the targeted new users. Of course, word-of-mouth, enhanced by social media, can also play a central role in this campaign. Expanding beyond major Australian cities and suburbs with large Chinese populations will be central to the aspirations of Chatime, who wants to become the ‘Starbucks of tea’. However, the Starbucks experience in Australia, and elsewhere, also demonstrates that such aspirations are not always enough, and that competition and the diverse tastes of the local market can frustrate ambitious and optimistic plans. The challenge for Chatime and its competitors is to move the product from being a fad and a craze — albeit an exotic and pleasurable one — to being a product of universal appeal and a permanent fixture in the Australian beverage landscape. The keys to success will be the attractive idea, a sufficient budget, excellent execution and patience.

1.What are the key elements that have contributed to Chatime’s success in Australia to date?

2.What product attributes should Chatime emphasise in its promotion to maximise its appeal?

3.Describe the Chatime brand and outline what Chatime can do to encourage brand loyalty.

4.Do you believe Chatime should target ‘non-Chinese’ locations at this stage of its development, or should it stick to its existing location strategy? Why/why not?

In JAVA, please

With the mathematics you have studied so far in your education you have worked with polynomials. Polynomials are used to describe curves of various types; people use them in the real world to graph curves. For example, roller coaster designers may use polynomials to describe the curves in their rides. Polynomials appear in many areas of mathematics and science. Write a program which finds an approximate solution to an equation f(x) = 0 for some function f. Use the bisection method. To solve the problem using this method first find two values of x, A and B, such that when evaluated in the function f(x) they give opposites signs for the y value. If f(x) is continuous between these two values then we know that there is at least one x which evaluates to a 0 y value, which is between these two values A and B. Treat the positive value as an upper bound and the negative value as a lower bound. Divide the space between A and B in half and evaluate the function at that new point.   If the value is positive than it replaces the existing upper-bound and if it is negative it replaces the existing lower-bound. Continue dividing the space between the upper-bound and lower-bound in half and evaluating this new value and generating new upper and lower bounds as the case may be. Continue the evaluation process until the x value that you are plugging into the function evaluates to a y value that is zero plus or minus .0000001.

                Consider the possibility of finding all the real roots of any given function up to and including x raised to the fifth power. Input should consist of reading the coefficients one at a time to the powers of x up to 5 and some constant.   Do a desk check with calculator on y = X² -2 and identify the variables associated with that problem. Write the code that follows your algorithm. Then test your program on other polynomials such as 2x⁵ -15x⁴ + 35x³ -15x²-37x + 30 (roots are -1, 1, 2, 2.5, 3) and 3x⁵ -17x⁴ + 25x³ + 5x² -28x + 12 (roots are -1,1, 2/3, 2, 3). Use at lest 3 methods. One to read the 5 coefficients, one to calculate the value of the polynomial and one to do the binary bisection search.   Use the following for loop to work through the X values:for(double x = -5.0000001; x < 5.0000001; x = x + .1)

After it runs as a console program, using the GUI example from my website as a guide, convert this program to a graphics program. Keep the example GUI always working. Create multiple versions as you add code that will implement the polynomial problem. Always be able to go back to a previous working version if you get stuck. When you get the polynomial program working then delete the example code. To debug your compiled program, use System.out.println() to follow intermediate values of your variables to see where your code does not follow the algorithm.

----------------------- example
/**
 * demonstrating a GUI program
 */

import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.PrintWriter;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Scanner;

public class ExampleGUI extends JPanel
{
        // ***Variables are created ***
        //*** GUIs are made up of JPanels.  Panels are created
        //*** here and named appropriately to describe what will
        //*** be placed in each of them.
        JPanel titlePanel = new JPanel();
        JPanel questionPanel = new JPanel();
        JPanel inputNumberPanel = new JPanel();
        JPanel addAndSubtractButtonPanel = new JPanel();
        JPanel answerPanel = new JPanel();
        JPanel nextNumberPanel = new JPanel();
        //*** a JLabel is a text string that is given a String value
        //*** and is placed in its corresponding JPanel or JButton
        JLabel titleLabel = new JLabel();
        JLabel questionLabel = new JLabel();
        JLabel inputNumberLabel = new JLabel();
        JLabel add5Label = new JLabel();
        JLabel subtract5Label = new JLabel();
        JLabel answerLabel = new JLabel();
        JLabel nextNumberLabel = new JLabel();
        //*** three JButtons are created.  When pushed, each button calls
        //*** its corresponding actionPerformed() method from the class created
        //*** for each button. This method executes the method code, performing
        //*** what the button is to do.
        JButton add5Button = new JButton();
        JButton subtract5Button = new JButton();
        JButton nextNumberButton = new JButton();
        //*** a JTextField creates a location where the client can place
        //*** text
        JTextField inputTextField = new JTextField(15);

        
         //*** constructor
         //*** Variables are given initial values
        
        public ExampleGUI()
        {
                //*** set panel layouts
                //*** panels could be LEFT, or RIGHT justified.
                titlePanel.setLayout(new FlowLayout(FlowLayout.CENTER));
                questionPanel.setLayout(new FlowLayout(FlowLayout.CENTER));
                inputNumberPanel.setLayout(new FlowLayout(FlowLayout.CENTER));
                addAndSubtractButtonPanel.setLayout(new FlowLayout(FlowLayout.CENTER));
                answerPanel.setLayout(new FlowLayout(FlowLayout.CENTER));
                nextNumberPanel.setLayout(new FlowLayout(FlowLayout.CENTER));

                //*** set Label fonts.  You can use other numbers besides 30,20
                //*** or 15 for the font size.  There are other fonts.
                Font quizBigFont = new Font("Helvetica Bold", Font.BOLD, 30);
                Font quizMidFont = new Font("Helvetica Bold", Font.BOLD, 20);
                Font quizSmallFont = new Font("Helvetica Bold", Font.BOLD, 15);
                titleLabel.setFont(quizBigFont);
                questionLabel.setFont(quizMidFont);
                inputNumberLabel.setFont(quizMidFont);
                add5Label.setFont(quizSmallFont);
                subtract5Label.setFont(quizSmallFont);
                answerLabel.setFont(quizBigFont);
                nextNumberLabel.setFont(quizSmallFont);
                inputTextField.setFont(quizMidFont);
                //*** labels are given string values
                titleLabel.setText("Add or Subtract Five");
                questionLabel.setText("Please enter an integer number.");
                inputNumberLabel.setText("Number:");
                add5Button.setText("   Add 5   ");
                subtract5Button.setText("Subtract 5");
                answerLabel.setText("");
                nextNumberButton.setText("   New Number   ");
                //*** the 3 buttons are connected to their classes
                add5Button.addActionListener(new add5Button());
                subtract5Button.addActionListener(new subtract5Button());
                nextNumberButton.addActionListener(new nextNumberButton());
                //*** Labels, buttons and textFields are added to their
                //*** panels
                titlePanel.add(titleLabel);
                questionPanel.add(questionLabel);
                //*** inputNumberPanel has 2 items added
                inputNumberPanel.add(inputNumberLabel);
                inputNumberPanel.add(inputTextField);
                //*** submitPanel has two items added
                addAndSubtractButtonPanel.add(add5Button);
                addAndSubtractButtonPanel.add(subtract5Button);
                answerPanel.add(answerLabel);
                nextNumberPanel.add(nextNumberButton);
                //*** The panels are added in the order that they should appear.
                //*** Throughout the declarations and initializations variables were
                //*** kept in this order to aid in keeping them straight
                setLayout(new BoxLayout(this, BoxLayout.Y_AXIS));
                add(titlePanel);
                add(questionPanel);
                add(inputNumberPanel);
                add(addAndSubtractButtonPanel);
                add(answerPanel);
                add(nextNumberPanel);
                
                 //*** The method writeToFile() is called from the constructor.
                 //*** One could call a read method from the constructor.
                
        //      writeToFile();
        }// constructor
        
         //*** This method writes 4 lines to a file.  Eclipse puts the file in
         //*** the folder of the project but not in the src folder.  Put any
         //*** file that you want read in the same place so that Eclipse can
         //*** find it.
        /* 
        private void writeToFile()
        {
                String fileName = "textFile.txt";
                String line = null;
                int count;
                Scanner scan = new  Scanner(System.in);
                PrintWriter textStream = TextFileIO.createTextWrite(fileName);
                System.out.println("Enter 4 lines of text:");
                for (count = 1; count <= 4; count++)
                {
                        line = scan.nextLine();
                        textStream.println(count + " " + line);
                }
                textStream.close( ); //*** did not require error handling
                System.out.println("Four lines were written to " + fileName);
        }
        */
         //*** display() is called from main to get things going
         
        public void display()
        {       //*** A JFrame is where the components of the screen
                //*** will be put.
                JFrame theFrame = new JFrame("GUI Example");
                //*** When the frame is closed it will exit to the
                //*** previous window that called it.
                theFrame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
                //*** puts the panels in the JFrame
                theFrame.setContentPane(this);
                //*** sets the dimensions in pixels
                theFrame.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(600, 380));
                theFrame.pack();
                //*** make the window visible
                theFrame.setVisible(true);
        }
        
         //*** method doSomething is called from an actionPerformend method
         //*** demonstrating calling methods that can do work for you.
         
        private void doSomething()
        {
                for(int x = 1; x <= 10; x++)
                        System.out.println(" in doSomething method x is " + x);
        }

        
        //*** This class has one method that is called when the add5Button
        //*** is pushed.  It retrieves the string from the JTextField
        //*** inputTextField, converts it to an integer and manipulates the
        //*** number.
        //*** NOTE: a string of integers can be formed by creating a string
        //*** with one of the numbers and then concatenating the other integers
        //*** to form the string.
         
        class add5Button implements ActionListener
        {
                public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
                {
                        System.out.println(" in add5Button class");
                        doSomething();//*** other methods can be called
                        int number = Integer.parseInt(inputTextField.getText());
                        number = number + 5;
                        String stringNumber = "" + number;
                        answerLabel.setText(stringNumber);//*** answerLabel gets a new value
                        inputTextField.setText(stringNumber);
                }
        }
        class subtract5Button implements ActionListener
        {
                public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
                {
                        System.out.println(" in subtract5Botton class");
                        int number = Integer.parseInt(inputTextField.getText());
                        number = number - 5;
                        String stringNumber = "" + number;
                        answerLabel.setText(stringNumber);
                        inputTextField.setText(stringNumber);
                }
        }
        
        //*** this method resets the values of inputTextField and answerLable
         
        class nextNumberButton implements ActionListener
        {
                public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
                {
                        inputTextField.setText("");//*** erases the values of this JTextField
                        answerLabel.setText("");//*** erases the value of this JLabel
                }
        }
        public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException
          {
                ExampleGUI gameGUI = new ExampleGUI();
                System.out.println("we can print to the console");
            gameGUI.display();

          }
}

[The following information applies to the questions displayed below.]

Morning Sky, Inc. (MSI), manufactures and sells computer games. The company has several product lines based on the age range of the target market. MSI sells both individual games as well as packaged sets. All games are in CD format, and some utilize accessories such as steering wheels, electronic tablets, and hand controls. To date, MSI has developed and manufactured all the CDs itself as well as the accessories and packaging for all of its products.

The gaming market has traditionally been targeted at teenagers and young adults; however, the increasing affordability of computers and the incorporation of computer activities into junior high and elementary school curriculums has led to a significant increase in sales to younger children. MSI has always included games for younger children but now wants to expand its business to capitalize on changes in the industry. The company currently has excess capacity and is investigating several possible ways to improve profitability.

MSI is considering outsourcing the production of the handheld control module used with some of its products. The company has received a bid from Monte Legend Co. (MLC) to produce 24,000 units of the module per year for $27.00 each. The following information pertains to MSI’s production of the control modules:

MSI has determined that it could eliminate all variable costs if the control modules were produced externally, but none of the fixed overhead is avoidable. At this time, MSI has no specific use in mind for the space that is currently dedicated to the control module production.

Required:
1. Compute the difference in cost between making and buying the control module.

2. Should MSI buy the modules from MLC or continue to make them?

3-a. Suppose that the MSI space currently used for the modules could be utilized by a new product line that would generate $30,000 in annual profit. Recompute the difference in cost between making and buying under this scenario.

3-b. Does this change your recommendation to MSI?

C++

For a job, you need to schedule everything in life. There is personal life, hobbies and lots of other things, and work. You have to manage your time well. For your job, you have to work on projects early and probably every day. How much time would you need to spend to keep up with your work when you have other things in your life?

To solve this problem, write a C++ program to help you figure out how many hours a day you should work on the project to reach your goal of finishing a project by the on-time due date. This program should have two parts:

1. Figure out how many days it will take to finish a project. To compute this, you need the following information from the user:
2. 1. The number of total hours you expect to work on the project
3. 2. The number of days until the project is due excluding holidays or days you’re unavailable
4. You need to compute how many hours in a day you actually have available to work on the project. To compute this, you will need the info from the user:
5. 1. The number of hours per day you are unavailable (e.g. like hobbies or school), on average per day
6. 2. The number of hours you need on average per day for taking care of yourself. Example: eating, sleeping
   3. The number of extra hours spent each day like working out
   4. The number of hours you spend per day on other projects

Display the results from both of these calculations.

Then, compare them to find out if you have enough time each day to meet your goals. The program needs to show messages to alert the user of what’s going on.

After showing the results, allow the user to compute a new set of values until they want to end the program.

• use a loop.
• You must prompt the user for any input requested. Make sure it is clear from your prompts what the user is expected to do.
• Don’t use any global variables
• Make sure to use C++’s I/O (iostream library) for I/O
• add comments and to work on your program’s readability
• use clear variables

Fact Pattern –

South Florida CPAs, LLP is a boutique accounting firm in FL. You are currently employed as a tax consultant at South Florida CPAs and have many intriguing clients with interesting (and sometimes strange) circumstances. Because the 2019 tax filing deadline is rapidly approaching, you receive several phone calls from clients inquiring about the tax consequences of recent transactions and events. The second and third pages of this document contain a summary of these phone calls. Note: you will be expected to complete this project using current, post?Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R.1) law. In other words, apply the “new” law to the fact patterns below. To the extent your conclusion is contingent on an unknown fact, you should discuss possible outcomes for different assumptions.

1) Ally is a graduate accounting student at the local university. She is the recipient of a $1,000 scholarship from the university. In addition, Ally works as a part-time teaching assistant in the school of accountancy. She is paid $7,000 per the calendar year and receives a tuition waiver covering 100 percent of her tuition. If not for the waiver, Ally would have paid $8,000 for tuition. Further, she paid $400 for books and supplies related to her coursework and incurred living expenses of $6,200. How much must gross income Ally report?

2) Candace found nearly $10,000 in cash inside the spare tire compartment of a used car she purchased at an auction in December of last year. She did not discover the money until February of the following year. The auctioneer has not asked about the vehicle, nor has anyone else stepped forward to claim the money. Must the cash be included in the discoverer’s gross income? If so, in what year must the income be recognized?

3) Irene contributes $275 towards a cause on a crowdfunding site to support victims of a recent hurricane. When the time comes to file her taxes, she wonders whether the contribution is deductible. Irene also contemplates whether the victims of the hurricane (i.e., the ultimate recipients of the contributions) will have to pay tax on the distribution of the funds from the crowdfunding effort. Is the contribution deductible for Irene, and are the proceeds included in gross income for the beneficiaries?