Analysis business Problems
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ba301_assignment4_-_winter.docxBA 301 – Research & Analysis of Business Problems
Homework Assignment #4
Format/Requirements
· Hand this in at the beginning of class, not by email.
· Use Times New Roman, 12-point font.
· Make sure you show your name, course number, and section number on the page.
· Number the answers, and place them in the correct order
Questions
1.) Assume you have chosen Kellogg Company (you know, the cereal people) as the subject of your research paper. As part of your background research, you have reviewed annual corporate revenue (sales) numbers for Kellogg and their key competitor - General Mills. Create an Excel chart (one chart/graph, please, not a table) showing revenues for both companies over five years (for the fiscal years 2010 – 2014* ), that you might include in your final paper. Along with your chart, write a single text sentence describing the main message or conclusion your chart reflects (this is in addition to the title of our chart). Use Kellogg's and General Mills data, not data from your actual term paper company.
* I realize that the companies have different reporting periods so, to make the comparison valid, use 2010 thru 2014 data for both.
2.) Think about a recent personal decision you’ve made where you were choosing from a few (at least three) different possible solutions. Apply a decision matrix with weighted criteria (as done in the class session with the heat pump example) to your decision. Describe your choice, why you made it (in other words - why you chose the criteria you did and why you weighted the criteria as you did), and include the matrix with your answer. In short, your explanation should explain the logic of your choice.
3.) By this time, you’ve done much of the research for your paper. Prepare a draft outline for your term paper – down to a least three levels of detail. Refer to the term paper template on the web site for structure. I expect that you will have more detail for the first four sections at this point in the class since we haven’t covered the final sections in class yet. Create the outline using the following basic format (the number of entries in each level is completely based on your content – don’t use this as a model for that):
1.) Executive Summary (don’t put anything here YET!)
2.) Situation Analysis
a. your info should go here!
i. your info should go here!
ii. your info should go here!
iii. your info should go here!
b. Your info here
c. Etc. (as many sections as needed)
3.) Problem Analysis & Description
a. your info should go here!
i. your info should go here!
ii. your info should go here!
b. Etc.
c. Etc. (as many sections as needed)
4.) Solutions, Evaluation and Recommendation
a. your info should go here!
i. your info should go here!
ii. your info should go here!
b. Etc.
c. Etc. (as many sections as needed)
5.) Implementation Plan & Success Metrics
Rev Nov 2015 2
