Overview
1.)-Compare and contrast the interactions of Kimberly-Clark and Costco
in the article, titled “Strategic Alliances “, with those of Hewlett-Packard and unnamed suppliers, in the article titled, “Coordinated Product and Supply Chain Design”, as regards/concerns the management of these companies’ inventories? 2.)- W. Edward Deming argued that 85% to 97% of firm, business, or corporate failure (bankruptcies, being taken over, loss of market share, etc.) could be traced directly to the actions of the CEO, board of directors and upper management. Discuss how Deming’s Point 7, Institute leadership, and Point 8, Drive out Fear, are related to Deming’s position. 3.)-How important is the role that forecasting plays in MRP (Materials Resource Planning) and the management of inventories? Looked at from a theoretical position, what is the final goal in MRP as regards the holding of inventories ? 4.)-Discuss the meaning of risk versus the meaning of uncertainty in a decision-making context. Risk can be calculated exactly(precisely) while uncertainty is estimated inexactly(imprecisely). Discuss. Was the situation (March-April,2025)existing on Wall Street ,regarding Tariff
2 implementation, with respect to the DOW average, one of risk assessment or uncertainty assessment ?(Hint-Warren Buffet sold 200 billion dollars of stocks in November and December ,2024).(An alternative situation (November ,2025) you can consider regards assessments made of the profitability of AI as reflected in the DOW) ? 5.)-Discuss briefly the role of power in negotiations. Now discuss how this power could be ethically deployed in “win-win” approaches to negotiations and unethically deployed in “win-lose” approaches to negotiations. Does it make any sense to attempt a negotiation if you know that they take a “win-lose” approach? 6.)-Toni and her brothers own Deck and Grounds, Inc., which offers a wide range of home and landscape improvement products and services. Toni is using cost-volume -sales analysis to help decide whether or not the company should add hot tubs to its product line. Initial cost estimate summaries are given below: $20,000 Truck modifications and new hot tub handling and display equipment $6,400 Employee training and required certifications/licenses $1,600 Facilities modifications required to create a hot tub display area
3 $2,100 Average cost for a hot tub $800 Material costs for a basic hot tub installation $1,000 Labor costs for a basic hot tub installation a.) If Toni plans to charge an average price of $5000 for a basic hot tub installation, what will be the breakeven volume? b.) Suppose Toni wants to break even with 18 hot tub installations, what average price must Toni charge? c.) Suppose Toni decided to charge $5,500 for a basic hot tub installation and that Deck and Grounds complete 23 installations this year, what pretax profit will the company earn from the hot tub product line?