module bus 599 slp #1

The same person that did my last case should continue with all my work because its a continuation. Module 1 - SLP Case: Introduction to Open Systems Theory SLP: Strategic Review Module 1 - Background The SLP for this course involves participating in a simulation exercise. Unlike cases, which are static, simulations are interactive and you can see the results of your decisions. What\'s more, you can repeat the simulation to improve the quality of your decisions. GENERAL SLP SCENARIO: Joe Schmoe is the current VP of Marketing for Tablet Development Corp. He has a pricing and R&D strategy that he intends to use for the next four years: 2012 through 2015. The performance of the company is pretty lackluster and Joe gets fired on Dec. 15, 2015. You get hired to replace him as the company is about to move forward into 2016. But for some strange reason, you get caught in a Time Warp, much like the guy in the movie, \"It\'s Groundhog Day\". You are doomed to repeat the last four years, 2012 through 2015, until you can improve the performance of Tablet Development. In particular, you will be looking at income statements and marketing reports. You will be making decisions about pricing, product development (R&D expenditure), and product life cycles for a company that sells Tablet Computers. This is a brief summary of what you will do in each SLP: LIKE TO SEE A STEP BY STEP LIST OF SLP ASSIGNMENTS?Click Here In this first SLP it is Dec. 15, 2015, and you are getting ready to makea Marketing strategy for 2016. But you want to review the performance of the company over the last four years. So you review the Financial and Marketing data, as well as the product data and how it stacks up against the competition. You have a great New Year\'s Eve celebration thinking you are ready to move ahead. In SLP2, you experience a time warp. You are back on 1/1/2012. You realize that you will have to go through 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. But you think you can do better than Joe Schmoe. So you work your way through each year and try to make better decisions and generate more profit and an overall better performance than your predecessor. As you do this you keep track of your decisions, your reasoning and results, which turns into a final report that you hope will be useful as you move ahead into 2016. In SLP3, the Time Warp strikes again. Once more you are at 1/1/2012. This time you decide to develop a complete strategy for all four years. And you decide to use CVP analysis to help you. You analyze the results from your first Time Warp and develop another strategy, this time for all four years being predetermined. You are exhausted, frustrated, and need to take a break before you dive into 2012 again. In SLP4, it is the next day. You begin to implement your new strategy. You do so at the beginning of each year and time flows quickly. At the end of each year you review the results and collect the data. At the end of 2015, you note your overall performance, and pray that you will now move ahead into 2016. But once again, the Time Warp strikes. So you have do it again. This time you vow you will do it better. You analyze the results and use CVP analysis. You now have another strategy ready to go, having spent all of New Year\'s day putting it together. You take another breather. In SLP5, on 1/2/2012, you begin the same four year journey again. You implement your strategy at the beginning of each year and get the results as time flies by. New Year\'s Eve, 2015, you note your final results. How did you do? When you wake up on New Year\'s Day, it is 2016!! You celebrate. Then you understand that you had lessons to learn. So you decide to compare the results of this last Time Warp to the results that you got in the previous Time Warp. You will explain how the results are different and why they are different. GET FAMILIAR WITH THE SIMULATION Go to the simulation at Forio.com (Click here). You will see the simulation interface which provides you with information about the Tablet Development Company as well as the input interface to implement your strategy (pricing decisions and R&D budget allocations.) Explore the interface and get familiar with it and the information it provides. The menu on the left-hand shows these options: NEED TO BRUSH UP ON CVP ANALYSIS? You were introduced to this method in your previous courses, but this link will provide you a refresher. There are other websites you can look at as well, but this one provides a detailed and thorough review. Accounting for Management.com Cost-Volume-Profit Relationship (CVP Analysis): http://www(dot)accountingfor Retrieve 8/24/11. management.com/cost_volume_profit.htm Introduction – Some background about the company and its three products; and how to play the simulation. Financials – provides the financial results of the current year and the previous year. Clicking on the tabs across the top will show different data for the company and for each of three products. Market Info – provides the market results of the current year and the previous year. Clicking on the tabs across the top will show different data for the company and for each of three products. Make Decisions – this is where you input your pricing and product development budget (R&D%) strategy decisions View Summary – this provides a summary of important information for each round (year). Here you can see your Score. An advisor will tell you how you are doing. Get Help – this provides you additional information about the simulation and some theory that it is based on. You should click on each of these links to gain an understanding: Glossary of Financial Terms; Product Life Cycle (some theory you can use), and Feedback and Decisions. In this last link, notice the Systems Feedback connections. Every time you open the simulation or reset it to play again, you will be at end of the year of 2011. And the data you see will show the results for 2011 and 2010 (previous year). When you run the simulation you will run it for the next four years, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. After each year, you will always be at the end of that year and see the results for that year and the previous year. OPTIONAL READINGS AND REOURCES: Remember that in preparing the assignments for this module (as those that follow), you must demonstrate that you know how to use the appropriate business tools for such an analysis. This will require you to integrate learning from courses throughout the MBA program. A short list of some optional internet sites that may help refresh your memory can be accessed by clicking here. BACKGROUND First, Run the Simulation using the Default Decisions. (in other words, use the prices and R&D% that are already there.) As you run each year, you will need to capture or collect the results for each year, for each product, X5, X6, X7. You need to copy (using Excel, by hand, or some other method) the Financial results and Marketing results, as well as the information provided by the Advisor. The final Total Score will be $1,216,253,749. REQUIRED READING Refer to the reading on the SLP in the Module 1 Background. Then read the following scenario before you proceed: SCENARIO It is December 15, 2015. Joe Schmoe, the VP of Marketing at Tablet Development, Corp., is smugly patting himself on the back for how well he has done with pricing and product development on the three products, X5, X6, and X7. He knows his strategy was not very creative, since he did not change any prices or R&D allocations over the four year period (actually six years, counting 2010 and 2011.) But he is certain that he did not need to change anything. And he\'s sure his overall performance is proof. But, Sally Smothers, CEO of Tablet Development, has a different opinion. And she does what she has to, Joe is called in and let go. Dang, Joe thinks, fired again. You are hired. You applied for the position a few weeks ago and interviewed, not sure of the fate of Joe Schmoe at the time. But you were the one that Sally wants. So here you are, Dec. 15, 2015, VP of Marketing at Tablet Development, and ready to move the company ahead into 2016. Your boss, Sally Smothers, is expecting you to take over and move the company forward in terms of product development, and smart pricing. ASSIGNMENT Please turn in a 5 page paper, not including cover and reference page, according to Sally's directions as follows: Sally wants to make sure that you are ready to move ahead. So she asks you to review the past four to six years to see what was going on in terms of product development, sales, pricing, and performance against the competition. So you collect all of the data and write a report which is due on Sally\'s desk 1/2/2016. Analyze the results of Joe Schmoe\'s decisions and then write the report that Sally is requesting. Run the simulation of the Tablet Development Corporation using the default decisions. Access the simulation site (Click here http://forio(dot)com/simulate/jelson/tablet-development-sim/simulation/#p=page0). Collect the data for each year (or you can download a copy of it - see below.) Make a Case for your proposed strategy using financial analysis and relevant theories. KEYS TO THE ASSIGNMENT The key aspects to this assignment that should be covered in your paper include: a review of the products, their life cycles, how they stack up in terms of price and performance Financial review for each product: X5, X6, and X7 – sales, costs, profitability, prices, unit margins, etc. Market review: New Sales, Repeat Sales, Market Saturation, etc. Propose an alternate strategy: a general idea of how you might do better with these products: what pricing and R&D allocations, etc. would you have put in place over the last four years, 2012 – 2015. ASSIGNMENT EXPECTATIONS Your paper will be evaluated on the following seven (7) points: Precision - Does the paper address the question(s) or task(s)? Breadth - Is the full breadth of the subject, i.e., all the keys to the assignment, addressed? Depth - Does the paper address all elements of the topic in sufficient depth? Does it include and apply the background readings and other background resources? Are they included as references? Application - Are the concepts of the module appropriately applied to the subject organization? Organization - Is the paper organized in a coherent and systematic manner? Are headings included in all papers greater than 2 pages? Clarity - Is the writing clear and the concepts articulated properly? Are paraphrasing and synthesis of concepts the primary means of response to the questions, or are thoughts conveyed through excessive use of quotations? Referencing (citations and references) - Does the paper use citations and quotation marks where appropriate? Are all references listed in the bibliography used and referred to via citation? TIPS AND SUGGESTIONS Please note the following tips or suggestions: For this first SLP you may download Joe Schmoe\'s Results. - Download this Excel spreadsheet with all of the data for the results of Joe Schmoe\'s Strategy from the Tablet Development Corp., 2010 - 2015, including financials and marketing data. Include a cover page and reference page, in addition to the 5 pages of analysis described above. Include headings for all papers greater than 2 pages (basically all papers), but do not use headings as \"space fillers.\" Cite AND reference all sources that you use in your work, including those that you do not quote but paraphrase. This means include citations and quotation marks for direct quotes of more than 5 words, and citations for that information which you have \"borrowed\" or paraphrased from other sources. Follow TUI Guidelines for well-written papers. (Click here if you are unsure of what those guidelines are). TIME WARP CONFUSION? The SLP puts you into three different Time Warps and can be a little confusing as to where you are in time and what you should do. To see a Stripped Down Listing of each SLP in the SLP process without the Time Warps, click here. This might help reduce your confusion. But, you should know that Time Warps usually do cause some confusion!! Hints for success! Throughout this SLP, you will be asked to make business decisions under conditions of incomplete information and uncertainty. To do so, you will need to make assumptions based on what you have learned throughout the MBA program about how markets operate. Thus your strategies in approaching this decision need to rely on models, financial analysis, and theories from such classes as Economics, Finance, Accounting, Marketing, Strategy, and Quantitative Analysis. In addition, the simulation will give you some additional market information as you progress. Be sure to EXPLICITLY draw on concepts and theories from the courses you have taken throughout the MBA program. That means you need to \"think like an MBA\" and use the financial data you are given. You will have to crunch some numbers and present your data analysis professionally by creating some simple tables, charts and graphs.