Midterm Review Questions Set 1
REVIEW QUESTION SET #1 FOR THE MIDTERM EXAM
QUESTION 1 (PRODUCTIVITY)
ElectroPlus manufactures electronic components. It has recorded data for the last three years as shown in the table below.
ElectroPlus Productivity Data (in millions of dollars)
2009 2010 2011
Sales
220 258 248
Materials 124 146 142
Labor
56
66
56
Overhead 16
24
20
a) Calculate a measure of labor productivity for each year and comment on the pattern.
b)
Calculate a measure of multifactor productivity for each year using all inputs except labor. What can you say about the combined effect of the non-labor inputs?
c) Calculate a measure of total productivity. Compare the results for the three years with the conclusion obtained from the labor productivity measure.
d) Referring to the labor productivity for years 2010 and 2011, by how much would it be necessary to increase labor productivity for year 2010 to bring it up to the level of 2011?
QUESTION 2 (FORECASTING: DOUBLE EXPONENTIAL SMOOTHING, MAD, MSE)
The manager of the I-85 Carpet outlet needs to be able to forecast accurately the demand for Soft
Shag carpet (its biggest seller). If the manager does not order enough carpet from the carpet mill, customers will buy their carpets from one of the outlets many competitors. The manager has collected the following demand data for the past eight months:
Month Demand for Soft Shag Carpet t (1000 yard), i.e. At
1
5
2
10
3
6
4
8
5
14
6
10
7
9
8
12
(a) Compute a three-month moving average forecast for months 4 through 9.
(b) Compute a weighted three-month moving average forecast for months 4 through 9. Assign weights of 0.55, 0.33, and 0.12 to the months in sequence, starting with the most recent month. (c) Compute an adjusted exponentially smoothed forecast for months 2 through 9 (use α=0.30, β= 0.20, F1=A1, T1= A2 – A1).
Compare all these forecasts using MAD, considering the periods 4 through 8. Which forecast appears to be more accurate?
QUESTION 3 (PROJECT MANAGEMENT)
Consider the following
QUESTION 1 (PRODUCTIVITY)
ElectroPlus manufactures electronic components. It has recorded data for the last three years as shown in the table below.
ElectroPlus Productivity Data (in millions of dollars)
2009 2010 2011
Sales
220 258 248
Materials 124 146 142
Labor
56
66
56
Overhead 16
24
20
a) Calculate a measure of labor productivity for each year and comment on the pattern.
b)
Calculate a measure of multifactor productivity for each year using all inputs except labor. What can you say about the combined effect of the non-labor inputs?
c) Calculate a measure of total productivity. Compare the results for the three years with the conclusion obtained from the labor productivity measure.
d) Referring to the labor productivity for years 2010 and 2011, by how much would it be necessary to increase labor productivity for year 2010 to bring it up to the level of 2011?
QUESTION 2 (FORECASTING: DOUBLE EXPONENTIAL SMOOTHING, MAD, MSE)
The manager of the I-85 Carpet outlet needs to be able to forecast accurately the demand for Soft
Shag carpet (its biggest seller). If the manager does not order enough carpet from the carpet mill, customers will buy their carpets from one of the outlets many competitors. The manager has collected the following demand data for the past eight months:
Month Demand for Soft Shag Carpet t (1000 yard), i.e. At
1
5
2
10
3
6
4
8
5
14
6
10
7
9
8
12
(a) Compute a three-month moving average forecast for months 4 through 9.
(b) Compute a weighted three-month moving average forecast for months 4 through 9. Assign weights of 0.55, 0.33, and 0.12 to the months in sequence, starting with the most recent month. (c) Compute an adjusted exponentially smoothed forecast for months 2 through 9 (use α=0.30, β= 0.20, F1=A1, T1= A2 – A1).
Compare all these forecasts using MAD, considering the periods 4 through 8. Which forecast appears to be more accurate?
QUESTION 3 (PROJECT MANAGEMENT)
Consider the following