Operational Management

Who are the stakeholders for Fairway Courier Services? How involved should Fairway’s customers be in system definition? As the business grows, who else might be potential stakeholders and interested in system functions? EXPERT ANSWER The stakeholders for Fairway Courier Services would be the company’s employees, the company’s clients, and the company’s shareholders.The level of involvement …

Who are the stakeholders for Fairway Courier Services? How involved should Fairway’s customers be in system definition? As the business grows, who else might be potential stakeholders and interested in system functions? Read More »

A city desires to determine the impact of a new subdivision on solid waste collection services. The subdivision will add 150 new houses. A two- person crew will collect the wastes twice a week, using 24-m^3 manually based loaded compactor trucks. The allowable container size is 014 m^3 it is estimated that there will be …

A city desires to determine the impact of a new subdivision on solid waste collection services. The subdivision will add 150 new houses. A two- person crew will collect the wastes twice a week, using 24-m^3 manually based loaded compactor trucks. The allowable container size is 014 m^3 it is estimated that there will be 3.2 persons per household and that each person will dispose of 2.5 kg of waste daily. Determine the number of containers that will be needed per household, the average container utilization factor, and the weekly labor requirement in person-days. The compaction ratio for the collection vehicle is 2.5 the average density of the solid wastes in the containers is 120 kg/m^3 the disposal site is located 25 km away and the haul time constants a and b are 0.08 h/trip and 0.015 h/km, respectively. Collection is during an 8-h day, collection is at curbside except for elderly persons (about 5 percent) who receive backyard service Read More »

1. Pure risk refers to a situation where there is the probability of loss or gain. True or False? Explain and give an example. 2. A franchise deductible is different from a straight deductible, except that once the amount of loss equals the deductible, the entire loss is paid in full. True or False? Explain? …

Pure risk refers to a situation where there is the probability of loss or gain. True or False? Explain and give an example. Read More »

Impresario Ltd sells coffee on takeaway model and it has traditionally used budget for planning and control. The budget will be prepared annually on the firstday of the year. Of course it will also be converted to actual level for measuring performance at the end of the year. Just like that, the next year’s budget …

Impresario Ltd sells coffee on takeaway model and it has traditionally used budget for planning and control. The budget will be prepared annually on the firstday of the year. Of course it will also be converted to actual level for measuring performance at the end of the year. Just like that, the next year’s budget will be built on the previous year’s budget after adjusting the level of activity. Read More »

1. Risk financing refers to a technique which ensures that funds will be available to reduce or avoid losses when they occur. True or False? Explain and give an example. 2. Subrogation will be applying if insured losses are caused by the third party? True or False? Explain and give an example. 3. In third …

1. Risk financing refers to a technique which ensures that funds will be available to reduce or avoid losses when they occur. True or False? Explain and give an example. Read More »

EAST COAST YACHTS GOES PUBLIC Larissa Warren and Dan Ervin have been discussing the future of East Coast Yachts. The company has been experiencing fast growth, and the future looks like clear sailing. However, the fast growth means that the company’s growth can no longer be funded by internal sources, so Larissa and Dan have …

Larissa Warren and Dan Ervin have been discussing the future of East Coast Yachts. The company has been experiencing fast growth, and the future looks like clear sailing. However, the fast growth means that the company’s growth can no longer be funded by internal sources, so Larissa and Dan have decided the time is right to take the company public. To this end, they have entered into discussions with the investment bank of Crowe & Mallard. The company has a working relationship with Robin Perry, the underwriter who assisted with the company’s previous bond offering. Crowe & Mallard have helped numerous small companies in the IPO process, so Larissa and Dan feel confident with this choice. Read More »

Design a database for a world-wide package delivery company (e.g., DHL or FedEX). The database must be able to keep track of customers (who ship items) and customers (who receive items); some customers may do both. Each package must be identifiable and trackable, so the database must be able to store the location of the …

Design a database for a world-wide package delivery company (e.g., DHL or FedEX). The database must be able to keep track of customers (who ship items) and customers (who receive items); some customers may do both. Read More »

Questions: 1. Do you see Sony as an innovator in its industries of electronics, semiconductors, computers, video games, and telecommunications equipment? Why or Why not? 2. Sony has a vision of “using our unlimited passion for technology, content and services to deliver groundbreaking new excitement and entertainment.” The mission is even clearer. Sony is “a …

1. Do you see Sony as an innovator in its industries of electronics, semiconductors, computers, video games, and telecommunications equipment? Why or Why not? Read More »

Porter’s Five Forces The Book Publishing industry in Australia 20% of books are sold via independent retailers that tend to specialize in a particular genre or prefer unusual (not mainstream) books 70% of books are sold via large retail chains that only deal in mainstream books published by large or long-established publishers who also provide …

Porter’s Five Forces The Book Publishing industry in Australia 20% of books are sold via independent retailers that tend to specialize in a particular genre or prefer unusual (not mainstream) books 70% of books are sold via large retail chains that only deal in mainstream books published by large or long-established publishers who also provide promotional dollars to support their books 10% of books are sold via the internet (e.g. Amazon) and this is expected to dramatically increase as they increasingly capture the time-poor or budget-conscious market segments Book sales have been fairly stable in this mature industry; however, they are expected to decline in the future as internet and cable-TV usage increases Australia has one of the highest per capita magazine sales in the world There has been a dramatic increase in self-publishing over the past 10 years, however these books are typically not accepted by retailers and tend to have print runs of less than 1,000 E-books would be in the early growth phase of their product life cycle. They currently have relatively low sales but are expected to steadily increase over time There is an increased number of authors in the marketplace, appearing to be driven by easy access to research material (via the internet) and by the increasing popularity of blogs Despite more authors available, there is only a small number of “brand” authors (such as Bryce Courtney) who can attract significant book sales on their name alone Excluding self-published books, there are around 500 new books available in the Australian market each month (including books published internationally) There is an increasing number of large book publishers, as the larger ones battle for market share by acquiring smaller publishing houses QUESTIONS 1. Assess the book publishing industry using Porter’s Five-forces model. 2- What key insights have you gained by assessing this industry using this structured model? 3- Therefore, what is your overall assessment of the attractiveness of the industry? 4- How could a firm use Porter’s Five-forces model in their strategy and planning activities? Read More »

You will, using object-oriented principles, design a set of interrelated classes and document that design with a UML diagram. It’s an Olympian task! Specifically, you will create and document a UML diagram for organizing people at the Olympics. Part I: Athletic attributes The key draw for the Olympics is the Olympic athletes themselves. They are …

You will, using object-oriented principles, design a set of interrelated classes and document that design with a UML diagram. It’s an Olympian task! Read More »