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Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Operations Management Q&A

Chegg give me almost 50% wrong answer for this. And people like me paying for the wrong answer? Oh yeah what a convenient way to waste your money.

A design team has developed a new “hybrid” wheelchair, constructed of lightweight and virtually frictionless carbon fiber components, which also allows the user instant access to power from an auxiliary electric motor for mobility when needed. The wheelchair is a good example of this principle of universal design:
low physical effort
intolerance for error
high “cool factor”
simple and intuitive to use
affordable functionality

A market segmentation study of tourists visiting the San Francisco Bay Area found that one group wanted glamorous nightlife with exciting dining, dancing and gambling. A second group wanted “sun and relaxation” -- people who liked to lounge quietly in the sun, swim and go shopping. This research result best reflects ____________ segmentation.
demographic
aspirational
organic
psychographic
geographic

As a creativity technique for generating ideas, brainstorming
benefits from preparation by participants in silent thinking
helps to separate personalities from ideas, allowing good ideas to surface
works best with problem-solving and evaluation routines during the brainstorm
“a” and “b” are correct
“b” and “c” are correct

Based upon research, factors contributing to failure of new product ideas include
poor design
no champion to fight for the product idea
inadequate leadership of the sponsoring organization
no speed
all of the above are correct

Creating a persona
serves to visualize and appreciate the ideal, target customer’s motivations and behaviors.
helps to communicate and make memorable the attributes of the ideal, target customer.
is a hypothetical archetype of the ideal, target customer.
is developed from data about the ideal, target customer’s demographics, lifestyle choices, etc.
All of the above are correct.

Early adapters in the Technology Adoption Life Cycle model
are respected as visionaries in the marketplace – and can help growth of innovations
are concerned that the price of a new innovation is affordable by most people
look for low-risk products – and wait for other consumers in the market to test products first
question any change, liking products and services as they are now.
“a” and “b” are correct

For a new product or service concept to be feasible, product or service developers must have at least the following two inputs:
end-user benefit/need and talent
end-user benefit/need and technology
talent and venture capital funding
technology and venture capital funding
faith and hope

From the launch video for GoldieBlox with entrepreneur Debbie Sterling we learn that
Sterling’s entrepreneurial credentials are helped by her UC Berkeley fine arts degrees.
Sterling presents a market opportunity to better engage girls in learning engineering.
Sterling’s initial product hypothesis is that Girls like to build and boys like to read.
Sterling does not research buyer or user behavior: Research is irrelevant, she believes.
Immediately following the launch video, GoldieBlox is acquired as a wholly-owned subsidiary by Fisher-Price.

From the team case about Chipotle's Mexican Grill we learn that:
following contaminations in its food supply, Chipotle has avoided costly fixes and bad publicity by simply doing business as usual.
Chipotle promotes using locally sourced and organic ingredients while trying to keep prices competitive.
Chipotle’s market potential is global, but Chipotle today operates only in the western US.
The Chipotle brand is an unprecedented success due to ongoing support by its parent company, McDonald’s.
Chipotle’s value proposition, “less for more,” is not advertised well to consumers.

From the team case about Pokémon GO we learn that:
Pokémon GO is the result of partnership with Niantic Labs, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company.
Pokémon GO’s product launch was intended as a direct competitive challenge to Google’s re-introduction of Google Glass.
Pokémon GO’s product experiment with augmented reality has been a catastrophic failure, a setback for the industry.
“a” and “b” are correct.
“a”, “b” and “c” are correct.

Given an interest in healthy vegan lunches and the choices below, what should Tastee Salads, Inc., in starting up its Bay Area food truck business, do first?
Develop the marketing mix (4Ps) as quickly as possible.
Consult with restaurant designers on how to outfit the food truck.
Determine the target customer.
Decide what vegan salad ingredients it will offer.
Organize the plan for distributor support, and select appropriate intermediaries.

Given categories of new product types, what combination below typically accounts for more than half of all new products?
new-to-the-world products + cost reductions
improvements to existing products + additions to existing product lines
repositioned products + new-to-the-firm products
cost reductions + loss leaders
none of the above applies

Given the categories of new product types, repositioned products
represent products retargeted or repurposed for new users or new applications
represent the largest percentage of new product development work overall
represent current products made better
“a” and “b” are correct
“a,” “b” and “c” are correct

Given the following steps, the preferred sequence of activity in the Lean Product Process would be
identify underserved customer needs / define your value proposition / determine your target customers.
determine your target customers / define your value proposition / create your prototype.
determine your target customers / identify underserved customer needs / define your value proposition.
define your value proposition/ specify your feature set/ identify underserved customer needs.
There is no preferred sequence in new product or service development.

In applying design thinking, empathize most likely would specifically include
interviewing the client’s current managers and key customers
creating a new competitive pricing strategy for the client
brainstorming to suggest improved features for the client’s proposed new service
prototyping a new product design for testing by the client
all of the above are correct

In developing the Customer Profile for Value Proposition Design, Jobs include
those activities most important to the customer’s work-life balance, exclusive of career employment
the things customers are trying to get done in their work or life
the minimum work necessary by the product or service development team to address customer pains
a complete set of product or service features that the customer expects
“b” and “c” are correct

In developing the Customer Profile for Value Proposition Design, Pains include  
those tasks which are problematic or challenging for the product or service developer
contentious or disagreeable members of the product or service team
anything that annoys your customer before, during, and after trying to get a job done
anything that annoys you before, during, and after trying to get a job done
all of the above are correct

In performing SWOT analysis,
concerns about negative economic forecasts are included under “Threats”
competitors’ new product failures are included under “Strengths”
an experienced leadership team at the top of your organization is included under “Opportunities”
predictions of skilled labor shortages in the future are included under “Weaknesses”
all of the above are correct

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
is a problem-solving strategy of large companies with many management layers
tells us that our need for food and shelter is less important than need for love
tells us that buyer behavior can be changed by science, creativity and luck
tells us that satisfying our need for personal safety comes before need for self-improvement
none of the above

Of the following, in applying Blue Ocean Strategy to product and service management, what is the primary objective?
Compete in an existing market space
Beat the competition
Make the value-cost trade off
Create and capture new demand
Satisfy current customers

Services have special characteristics, as distinct from products. Services are:
easily inventoried, and stored for later use
intangible
unfailingly predictable when it comes to customer benefits and outcomes
“a” and “c” are correct
“a,” “b” and “c” are correct

Universal design
seeks to create products usable by anyone regardless of age or ability
is based entirely on ergonomics
is based entirely on economics
produces complete marketing offerings that may be sold globally
establishes visual equity across the products or services under consideration

With lickety-stick, we have
a low-end disruptive innovation from the U.S. Postal Service for easier-to-use snail-mail stamps.
a product characteristic of the well-known 3M-branded adhesive that is temporarily permanent.
the process by which ideas can be systematically screened, developed and launched by product managers.
quick-testing with customers of numerous prototypes to determine feature preferences.
the best of Chipotle’s house salsa

With prototyping, designers:
seek to demonstrate attributes or features, through mock-up, of a product or service in development
try to test attributes or features of a product or service before further investments are made
look for one ideal global solution to a product or service development issue
“a” and “b” are correct
“a,” “b” and “c” are correct

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Econ Assignment

1. Principles of tax equity
The mayor of Vancouver wants to upgrade the public transportation system. In order to fund the improvements, the mayor proposes charging an extra $1 for each ride taken.

2. Computing and interpreting average tax rates
In a hypothetical economy... The following table shows the annual taxable income and tax liability for these three single individuals...

3. Understanding marginal and average tax rates
Consider the economy of Cocoland, where citizens consume only coconuts. Assume that coconuts are priced at $1 each. The government has devised the following tax plans:

4. Taxes paid for a given income level
Akshay is single and lives in Thunder Bay. Akshay earned $60,000 in 2013. The following table shows the federal tax rate for individuals in 2013.
Fill in the following table with Akshay’s marginal tax rate, total amount of taxes owed, and average tax rate for 2013.

Questions 5 to 9 was included in here

5 . Categories of goods
Complete the following table by selecting the appropriate definition for each of the given terms.
If a good is both excludable and not rival in consumption, then it is
6 . What kind of good is it?
Determine whether each of the following goods is a private good, a public good, a common resource, or a club good.
7 . Voluntary contributions toward a public good
are considering contributing toward the creation of a public park. Each can choose whether to contribute $300 to the public park or to keep that 
8 . Common resources versus private goods
The fish in the private pond are considered
9 . Common resources and the Tragedy of the Commons
Paolo, Van, and Carlos are fishermen who live next to a lake that is open to fishing

Questions 5 to 9 was included in here


Identical products, as well as a large number of buyers and sellers, are characteristics of a perfectly competitive market. In such markets, sellers of goods cannot influence the prevailing market price, giving them the role of price takers in the market.

The market for wheat does exhibit the two primary characteristics that define perfectly competitive markets. - TRUE

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Macroeconomics Assignment

I might be wrong...
Assume that demand for a commodity is represented by the equation P = 10 – 0.2 Q d, and supply by the equation P = 2 + 0.2 Qs where Qd and Q s are quantity demanded and quantity supplied, respectively, and P is the Price. Use the equilibrium condition Qs = Qd ,
1: Solve the equations to determine equilibrium price.

2: Now determine equilibrium quantity.


3: Graph the two equations to substantiate your answers and label these two graphs as D1 and S1.


4: Furthermore; assume the demand for this product increases because of a change in income.
A. graph the new demand curve and label as D 2.


B. What will be the new equilibrium price and quantity compare to the initial one.
The demand shifts to the right And both price and quantity will increase.

C. Is this product normal good or inferior good?
It is a normal good with positive income effect.