Assume a life of 20 years and a MARR of 10% per year to determine which alternative is best using an incremental rate of return analysis. Operating Cost, Annual Income, First Cost, Alternative -1000 -500 +5000 +8000 46,000 -61.000 Both Alternatives A and B Alternative A Can not tell (More analysis is needed) Alternative B

In the Southern Company Managerial Challenge, which alternative for complying with the Clean Air Act creates the greatest real option value? How exactly does that alternative save money? Why? Explain why installing a scrubber burns this option.

The forecasting staff for the Prizer Corporation has developed a model to predict sales of its air-cushioned-ride snowmobiles. The model specifies that sales S vary jointly with disposable personal income Y and the population between ages 15 and 40, Z, and inversely with the price of the snowmobiles P. Based on past data, the best estimate of this relationship is S=kYZP where k has been estimated (with past data) to equal 100. If Y=11,000,Z=1,200, and P=20,000, what value would you predict for S? What happens if P is reduced to $17,500? How would you go about developing a value for k? What are the potential weaknesses of this model?

Exercise A3 What dome slices of a pie chart represent?

Bell Greenhouses has estimated its monthly demand for potting soil to be the following: N=400+4X where N=monthlydemandforbagsofpottingsoil X=timeperiodsinmonths(March2006=0) Assume this trend factor is expected to remain stable in the foreseeable future. The following table contains the monthly seasonal adjustment factors, which have been estimated using actual sales data from the past five years: Forecast Bell Greenhouses demand for potting soil in March, June, August, and December 2007. If the following table shows the forecasted and actual potting soil sales by Bell Greenhouses for April in five different years, determine the seasonal adjustment factor to be used in making an April 2008 forecast.

Logarithms are especially useful for comparing series with two divergent scales since 10 percent growth always looks the same, regardless of the starting level. When absolute levels matter, the raw data are more appropriate, but when growth rates are whats important, log scales are better.

Furniture Forecasting Futura Furniture Products manufactures upscale office furniture for the Office of the Future. The sales division comprises regionally based sales offices made up of sales representatives and regional managers. Sales representativeswho report to the regional managersconduct direct sales efforts with customers in their regions. As part of the sales process, representatives gather information about likely future orders and convey that information back to the regional managers. Regional managers use that information to create sales forecasts, which are then used as the basis for manufacturing schedules. Sales representatives and regional managers are both compensated on a salary plus commission (percentage of revenue as pricing is centrally controlled). However, a regional managers commission is adjusted based on regional sales that exceed the forecasted budget. Corporate managers are concerned with one of Futuras key products, the DeskPod. They worry that DeskPod forecasts are inaccurate, causing extreme havoc in the manufacturing process. How are the forecasts likely to be inaccurate? What do you think is driving this inaccuracy? How might this problem be solved?

Concert Opportunity Cost 2 You were able to purchase two tickets to an upcoming concert for $100 apiece when the concert was first announced three months ago. Recently, you saw that StubHub was listing similar seats for $225 apiece. What does it cost you to attend the concert?