Mang1007 Management Analysis

(Please ensure that your name does not appear on any part of your work)

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·      This document contains FIVE questions, you should answer FOUR questions in total.  All questions carry equal marks.

·      If you answer more than the required number of questions, the marker will mark the first four answers in the order that they appear in your report.

·      Your finished report should be uploaded via the Final Assessment section on Blackboard before the above Submission Deadline.  You should upload one Word document, making it clear which questions you have answered, with screen shots/photographs of any separate workings included with the appropriate questions. You can submit a draft copy of your work to Blackboard Turnitin prior to the Submission Deadline to review your Originality Report.  It is your responsibility to ensure that the version received by the Submission Deadline is the final version, resubmissions after the Submission Deadline will not be accepted.

·      Remember to allow plenty of time to upload your document before the deadline – late submissions will receive a mark of zero.  As for a normal exam no extensions will be granted, and Special Considerations can be applied for in the normal way.

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·      Make sure that you include your STUDENT NUMBER at the start of your report.

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“In submitting this assignment I confirm that I have read, understood and followed the Academic Integrity Declaration for online assessments and that this is my own, unaided work.

I have only used resources specifically allowed during the assessment and have not discussed, shared or been supported in any unauthorised way with the assessment.

I have not communicated (e.g., on social media or using other forms of electronic or personal communication), within the University or externally about the contents of the assessment at any stage.”

·      You may make use of your notes (including resources on Blackboard) and your calculator without referencing to the source.  If you use any software in your calculations, please state what you have used and include a screen shot.  If you make use of any other sources, please include a reference using the Harvard referencing method (see the week 16 section on Blackboard for more information on this method).

·      You should show sufficient working for us to be able to follow your method when we are marking.

·      During the assessment period all queries should be sent via the school student office:

sbs-studentoffice@soton.ac.uk

Question 1.

A shop manager orders packs of drinks as soon as the shop runs out. Assume that orders are delivered instantaneously. Demand is constant, D = 100 packs per time unit. Storing the drinks in inventory incurs opportunity costs at a rate of 5% per £, time unit, and packs. Now, the manager has a choice between two suppliers, S1 and S2. With S1, the shop pays a fixed cost £100 every time it makes an order and each pack’s value is £20. With S2, the shop pays a fixed cost of £200 every time it makes an order and each pack’s value is £5.  Assuming that, for each supplier, the manager would order the amount of packs that minimise cost per time (while always meeting demand), which supplier would minimize total cost?

Do all of the calculations that you feel are relevant and write a short report, including your calculations, which can be photographs of handwritten equations.  The report should also include a discussion of the appropriateness the assumptions of the model.

Question 2.

A plant produces two types of paint, A and B. To produce one kilo of A, 10 minutes of machine time are required; whereas one kilo of B requires 6 minutes of machine time. The total daily production capacity of the plant is 300 minutes. Furthermore, 1 gram of liquidifier is required per kilo of A and 2 grams of liquidifier are required per kilo of B. There are 60 grams of liquidifier available per day. Profit contribution is £10/kilo for A and £8/kilo for B. At least 10 kilos of A should be produced per day due to prior commitments.

Formulate this problem as a mathematical problem and solve it using the graphical method. Write a report summarising your findings, including the diagrams and calculations, these can be photographs of handwritten working.

Question 3.

For this question you must show your working for the calculations of probabilities (preferably handwritten and then photographed).

On average 200 customers randomly make purchases in a large pub during every hour that its open.  The pub needs more than 20 purchases per hour for it to be worth having cask beer on tap (rather than just selling bottled beer).  The pub manager wants to know the probability that it will be worth having beer on tap.

a)      Select the probability distribution that would be appropriate in this situation and a possible approximation that could be used, justify your answers.

b)      Do all the calculations that are appropriate to allow you to answer the managers question for the appropriate distribution and the possible approximation.  Remember to keep a suitable degree of accuracy though your workings.

c)      Compare your answers and compare the advantages of using each of the two distributions.

Write a report summarising your findings, including any diagrams you feel are relevant and your calculations, these can be photographs of handwritten working.

Question 4.

The following is a dilemma faced by a property development company; this particular company regularly face similar questions in selecting which property to purchase next.

At a particular point in time the company can afford to purchase one additional property.  They are considering two available properties, the first property, which we will call A, is in better condition and the seller has provided survey details giving a clear picture of its current value.  Based on this the development company expect to be able to make £20000 profit from working on the property before selling it on.

There are less details available for the second property, which we will call B, and it is in an area where the property market is more volatile so the value after work has been done is harder to predict.  Based on their previous experience the development company predict that if they purchase this property there is a 50% chance that they will make £38000 profit from working on the property before selling it.  However, there is also a 50% chance that they will make no profit from working on this property.

There is also an option to pay £2000 for a detailed survey on the second property. There is a 50% chance that the survey result will be show that the property is in good condition and a 50% chance that it will identify that the property is in poor condition. If the survey shows that the property is in good order, there is a 70% chance of making £38000 and a 30% chance of making only £10000 due to the volatile market. If the survey shows that property is in poor condition, then there is a 70% chance of making no profit and a 30% chance of making £20000 profit.

a)      Identify what method from the module should be used to assist the company, justify your answer.

b)      Do all of the diagrams and calculations necessary to allow you to make a recommendation.

c)      In this example the company makes similar decisions frequently.  If the decision was being made only once, for example someone buying their first house, how if at all would this effect the decision-making process and the recommended option?

Write a report summarising your findings, including any diagrams you feel are relevant and your calculations, these can include photographs of handwritten working.

Question 5.

A sample of number of cars and lorries passing a long a fairly quiet road in the same half hour of the day has been collected every day for a month.  The data is as follows:

a)      Calculate all relevant descriptive statistics for comparing the numbers of cars and lorries.  Draw any types of graphs that you feel will assist with the comparison, explain briefly why you have included each.

A linear regression model has been run in SPSS using the number of lorries as the independent variable to predict the number of cars.  The SPSS output is shown below.

b)      What can be concluded from these results?

Write a report summarising your findings, including any calculations, these can be photographs of handwritten working.

Title/Cover Page: You must include a title/ cover page that includes: your Student ID, Module Code, Assignment Title, Word Count. This assignment will be marked anonymously, please ensure that your name does not appear on any part of your assignment.

References: You should use the Harvard style to reference your assignment. The library provide guidance on how to reference in the Harvard style and this is available from: http://library.soton.ac.uk/sash/referencing

Turnitin Submission: The assignment MUST be submitted electronically via Turnitin, which is accessed via the individual module on Blackboard. Further guidance on submitting assignments is available on the Blackboard support pages.

It is important that you allow enough time prior to the submission deadline to ensure your submission is processed on time as all late submissions are subject to a zero mark.  We would recommend you allow 30 minutes to upload your work and check the submission has been processed and is correct. Please make sure you submit to the correct assignment link.

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You are allowed to test submit your assignment via Turnitin before the due date. You can use Turnitin to check your assignment for plagiarism before you submit your final version. See “Viewing Your Originality Report” for guidance.  Please see the Module Leader/lecturer on your module if you would like advice on the Turnitin Originality report.

The last submission prior to the deadline will be treated as the final submission and will be the copy that is assessed by the marker. 

It is your responsibility to ensure that the version received by the deadline is the final version, resubmissions after the deadline will not be accepted in any circumstances.

Important: If you have any problems during the submission process you should contact ServiceLine immediately by email at Serviceline@soton.ac.uk

Special Considerations: If you believe that illness or other circumstances have adversely affected your academic performance, information regarding the regulations governing Special Considerations can be accessed via the Calendar:uk/sectionIV/special-considerations.html”> http://www.calendar.soton.ac.uk/sectionIV/special-considerations.html

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