Chapter 12 Solutions to Activities
12.1 Making Sense of the Three Ms (Obj. 1)
Arrange the homes by ascending price as follows:
$260,000; $260,000; $260,000; $260,000; $280,000; $280,000; $320,000; $360,000; $420,000
MEAN = (260,000 + 260,000 + 260,000 + 260,000 + 280,000 + 280,000 + 320,000 + 360,000 +
÷
MEDIAN = $280,000 The median is the middle value in a list, here the fifth in order. Home
MODE = $260,000 This is the number that is repeated most often. The mode could be useful to
12.2 Analyzing Survey Results (Obj. 1)
a.
REACTIONS OF SOUTH BAY COLLEGE STUDENTS TO
FOUR PROPOSALS ABOUT BOOKSTORE BAGS
Fall 2015
N = 560 students
Agree Undecided Disagree
b. The data could be cross-tabulated by examining each response in terms of number of
units carried (did full-time students react differently from part-time students?), by sex,
c. Three conclusions that could be drawn from the survey:
1. A majority of students are concerned enough about the environment to want to
d. The following are possible recommendations based upon the data collected:
1. Stop supplying plastic bags with each purchase.
2. Encourage students to bring their own bags to hold purchases. Publicize this
e. Through this role-play activity, students will polish their presentation and persuasion
12.3 Discerning Conclusions from Recommendations (Obj. 2)
For each statement below indicate whether it could be classified as a conclusion or
recommendation.
a. Students are generally overconfident that their study strategies are effective. Conclusion
d. Highlighting text has little to offer in the way of subsequent performance. Conclusion
e. Students should identify the main ideas in the text before highlighting to benefit from this
12.4 Unsure About Which Laptop to Buy? Try a Decision Matrix (Objs. 1, 2)
Reflecting the new priority of price, the outcome favors the Lenovo ThinkPad X230 with 89
Weighted Decision Matrix—Table 2
Features: Weight Battery
Life
Price Hard
Drive
Total
Laptop Options Weights: 5 7 10 5
$1,126, 320 GB
12.5 Buying Cool Wheels? Take a Decision Matrix for a Spin (Objs. 1, 2)
Students should create a decision matrix with two tables that could look something like this:
Table 1: Unweighted Matrix (Scale from 1 to 5; from worst to best)
Features: Price Cargo Fuel Comfort Look Quality Total
Weights:
Students should decide which relative weights to assign to each feature in Table 1 and could
arrive at the following table after multiplying the factors with the scores in Table 1:
Table 2: Weighted Matrix (Factors range from 1 to 5)
Features: Price Cargo Fuel Comfort Look Quality Total
Weights: 4 5 3 2 4 3
This example may surprise students because the “boring” option, the staid family sedan, scores
12.6 Organizing Data (Obj. 3)
a. Time. Like itineraries and agendas, instructions require attention to chronology.
b. Convention. The report is periodic and in most cases has standardized, recurring features.
e. Component. The data could be grouped by geographic regions and individual agents within
them.
f. Importance. You would probably want to present the most feasible plan first.
12.7 Evaluating Headings and Titles (Obj. 3)
a. Functional. This heading describes a purpose and may be appropriate in a short report, but it
is not very interesting or helpful to the reader.
d. Talking. This heading clearly prepares the reader for what follows.
e. Combination. This heading combines talking and function at an appropriate length.
12.8 Executive Summary: Boiling Down the Facts for Your Boss (Obj. 4)
12.9 Periodic Report: Keeping the Boss in the Loop (Obj. 4)
This is an excellent activity to help students relate report writing to their current jobs. Students
12.10 Progress Report: Providing a Project Update (Obj. 4)
One of the biggest problems students have with any long report assignment is procrastination.
12.11 Progress Report: Is the End Near? (Obj. 4)
12.12 Conference or Trip Report: Business and Pleasure (Obj. 4)
This activity gives students an opportunity to apply their skills to a conference or trip report
12.13 Investigative Report: Attracting Newbie Bikers (Obj. 4)
Harley-Davison has indeed launched efforts to appeal to women to make up for a devastating
drop in sales since a spectacular high in 2004. The industry-wide decline in motorcycle sales
On its website Harley-Davidson USA has pages designed for women riders. Women-only
events called “garage parties,” news, reader stories, and more, focus on females. The company
Reaching out to women has been an uphill ride because females comprise only about 10
percent of motorcyclists and tend to have lower disposable incomes than men have. Moreover,
apart from the high price tag, many women are intimidated by the formidable size and weight of
Women tend to favor lighter and less expensive Japanese bikes such as the Honda
Shadow Aero with its curb weight of 549 pounds and retail price of $7,000 and up. The Sportster
12.14 Investigative Report: Prospecting for Global Business (Obj. 4)
This is an excellent way to help students increase their cultural awareness. In addition to library
12.15 Investigative Report: Studying International Business Etiquette (Obj. 4)
This is an excellent way to help students increase their cultural awareness. In addition to library
12.16 Informational or Analytical Report: Examining Tweets and Other Social Media Posts
(Objs. 4, 5)
Answers will vary. The Twitter feeds about Coca-Cola are astoundingly varied and generally
This assignment also showcases the importance of knowing proper search tools, for example, on
12.17 Informational Report: Charting Your Career Path (Obj. 4)
This assignment not only allows students to practice report writing, but it also prompts them to
research a potential future career. Often students have only nebulous ideas about the
12.18 Informational Report: Prospecting for Potential Employers (Obj. 4)
Encourage students to select a company they’d like to work for in the future. They can also use
12.19 Justification/Recommendation Report: Money to Burn for a Good Cause (Obj. 5)
12.20 Justification/Recommendation Report: Considering an Organizational Social Media
Use Policy (Obj. 5)
This assignment allows for great versatility. Because many companies today have e-mail policies
and a majority monitor and record traffic on their servers, the focus could shift to policies
12.21 Feasibility Report: Analyzing the Need for an International Student Association (Obj.
5)
12.22 Feasibility Report: Motivating Employees to Get off the Couch (Obj. 5)
12.23 Yardstick Report: Shopping for Big-Ticket Office Equipment (Obj. 5)
This assignment requires careful monitoring as it may invite copying of product descriptions and
comparisons from the Internet and little original thinking. To safeguard against plagiarism,
12.24 Yardstick Report: Fixing Workplace Procedures (Obj. 5)
Self-Contained Report Activities
12.25 Justification/Recommendation Report: Speedier Service at Stellato Family Pizza*
(Obj. 5)
This self-contained problem provides all the data necessary to complete the report without
CONCLUSIONS
Although a taste test did not occur and, therefore, the quality of each competitor’s pizza was not
1.Capriotti’s has the most efficient system for serving customers. The average time it takes a
2.Using an electronic system or calling out the menu item, having customers pick up their orders,
3. Preparing the pizza dough in advance would save Stellato’s one minute per order; therefore, it
4.The customer demographic is changing, and it’s likely that the technologically inclined crowd
5.Because the Elite Chef Model BFE-28 convection oven reduces cooking time by two minutes,
RECOMMENDATIONS
Some recommendations for making the ordering process more efficient require little expenditure;
others may call for a significant investment. The conclusions to the study lead to the following
recommendations:
1. Have counter clerks call out orders to the cooks in the short run, and purchase an electronic
5.Consider investing in an Elite Chef Model BFE-28 convection oven after conducting a
7.Explore having a proprietary mobile app designed that would enable users to reduce wait times