Case Application 1: Lessons From Lehman Brothers: Will We Ever Learn?

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Answered: Questions 2, 3, & 5 Only!

“Greed” and “Crooks” are a sampling of comments recorded on a rendering of Lehman’s chief executive Richard Fuld by artist Geoffrey Raymond, who placed his painting outside of Lehman’s New York City offices and handed out markers to employees and pedestrians so they could write a message regarding the firm’s announcement that it was filing for bankruptcy. Seth Wenig/AP Wide World Photos-Royalty Free On September 15, 2008, financial services firm Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy with the U.S.

Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York.95 That action—the largest Chapter 11 filing in financial history—unleashed a “crisis of confidence that threw financial markets worldwide into turmoil, sparking the worst crisis since the Great Depression.” The fall of this Wall Street icon is, unfortunately, not a new one, as we’ve seen in the stories of Enron, WorldCom, and others. In a report released by bankruptcy court-appointed examiner Anton Valukas, Lehman executives and the firm’s auditor, Ernst & Young, were lambasted for actions that led to the firm’s collapse.

He said, “Lehman repeatedly exceeded its own internal risk limits and controls, and a wide range of bad calls by its management led to the bank’s failure.” Let’s look behind the scenes at some of the issues. One of the major problems at Lehman was its culture and reward structure. Excessive risk taking by employees was openly lauded and rewarded handsomely. Individuals making questionable deals were hailed and treated as “conquering heroes.” On the other hand, anyone who questioned decisions was often ignored or overruled.

For instance, Oliver Budde, who served as an associate general counsel at Lehman for nine years, was responsible for preparing the firm’s public filings on executive compensation. Infuriated by what he felt was the firm’s “intentional under-representation of how much top executives were paid,” Budde argued with his bosses for years about that matter, to no avail. Then, one time he objected to a tax deal that an outside accounting firm had proposed to lower medical insurance costs saying, “My gut feeling was that this was just reshuffling some papers to get an expense off the balance sheet. It was not the right thing, and I told them.”
However, Budde’s bosses disagreed and okayed the deal. Another problem at Lehman was the firm’s top leadership. Valukas’s report was highly critical of Lehman’s executives who “should have done more, done better.” He pointed out that the executives made the company’s problems worse by their conduct, which ranged from “serious but nonculpable errors of business judgment to actionable balance sheet manipulation.” Valukas went on to say that “former chief executive Richard Fuld was at least grossly negligent in causing Lehman to file misleading periodic reports.”

These reports were part of an accounting device called “Repo 105.” Lehman used this device to get some $50 billion of undesirable assets off its balance sheet at the end of the first and second quarters of 2008, instead of selling those assets at a loss. The examiner’s report “included e-mails from Lehman’s global financial controller confirming that the only purpose or motive for Repo 105 transactions was reduction in the balance sheet, adding that there was no substance to the transactions.” Lehman’s auditor was aware of the use of Repo 105 but did not challenge or question it.

Sufficient evidence indicated that Fuld knew about the use of it as well; however, he signed off on quarterly reports that made no mention of it. Fuld’s attorney said, “Mr. Fuld did not know what these transactions were—he didn’t structure or negotiate them, nor was he aware of their accounting treatment.” A spokesperson from Ernst & Young (the auditor) said that, “Lehman’s bankruptcy was the result of a series of unprecedented adverse events in the financial markets.”

QUESTIONS:

1. Describe the situation at Lehman Brothers from an ethics perspective. What’s your opinion of what happened here?

2. What was the culture at Lehman Brothers like? How did this culture contribute to the company’s downfall?

3. What role did Lehman’s executives play in the company’s collapse? Were they being responsible and ethical? Discuss.

4. Could anything have been done differently at Lehman Brothers to prevent what happened? Explain.

5. After all the public uproar over Enron and then the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to protect shareholders, why do you think we still continue to see these types of situations? Is it unreasonable to expect that businesses can and should act ethically?

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Statistics Homework

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Excel User’s Manual with Exercises

for Marketing Research, 9th Edition

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please note: Wiley is no longer distributing SPSS with our textbooks. IBM, owners of SPSS, is no longer partnering with any publisher to distribute SPSS with any textbook. This is a decision made by IBM and is outside of Wiley’s control. Access to SPSS can be purchased by going to this website http://www.ibm.com/software/analytics/spss/products/statistics/gradpack/ and by clicking on “Buy Student Versions” in the bottom right corner. If you have questions you can contact:

 

V. Monica Young

Sales Specialist, Publications

Business Analytics

Tel: (312) 651-3157

E-mail: [email protected]

PREFACE

 

This Excel User Guide is provided for students who will be working with the Excel version of the SPSS Exercises to accompany McDaniel and Gates, Marketing Research, 9e. It consists of detailed step-by-step instructions for each exercise, accompanied by relative visual aids, such as “screen shots,” to further serve as “road map” indicators ensuring that you are on the right track. The guide also includes periodic “troubleshooting” tips such as, “If you see “#####” in cell A3, then you need to…”

 

NOTE: All Exercises must be completed in chronological order, omitting none, for successful completion of this data analysis project.

 

NOTE: You must have the “Data Analysis Toolpack” installed for your Microsoft Excel program. To check to see if you have it: open Excel and click “Tools” on the toolbar at the top of the screen. If you see “Data Analysis” in the tools menu, then you are ready to go! If you do not see “Data Analysis” you will have to select “Add-Ins…” from the menu, click the “Data Analysis ToolPack” box, and hit “Ok”.

 

 

 

If something happens whereby the computer can’t find the file needed to install the pack, then ask your professor or lab assistant for help!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

Preface ii

 

Chapter 14: Sample Size Determination 1

 

Exercise #1: Sample Size Determination Using the Sample Means Method 1

 

Exercise #2: Determining the Reliability/Confidence of Sample Results 5

 

Chapter 15: Data Processing and Fundamental Data Analysis 7

 

Exercise #1: Machine Cleaning Data 7

 

Exercise #2: Analysis of Data with Frequency Distributions 11

 

Exercise #3: Analysis of Data with Descriptive Statistics 13

 

Exercise #4: Analysis of Demographic Characteristics Using Charts 15

 

Chapter 16: Statistical Testing of Differences and Relationships 18

 

Exercise #1: Analyzing Data Using Crosstabulation Analysis 18

 

Exercise #2: T/Z Test for Independent Samples 28

 

Exercise #3: ANOVA Test for Independent Samples 38

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ii

 

Chapter 14 – Sample Size Determination

 

Exercise #1: Sample Size Determination Using the Sample Means Method

 

 

 

1

 

(1) Go to the Wiley website at www.wiley.com/college/mcdaniel and download the “Segmenting the College Student Market for Movie Attendance” database for Excel. Also download a copy of the “Segmenting the College Student Market for Movie Attendance” questionnaire so that you can understand the database contents. The most important items in the survey are in question #5. It contains 9 movie items in which respondents rate their relative importance. When you open the database, take note of the variable descriptions and the computer coding for each of the variables, which are contained in the “Variable Labels” and the “Value Labels” worksheets of the Excel Workbook.

 

 

 

 

(2) As you’ve learned in class and from reading the course text, the Sample Means method of sample size determination consists of:

i. required confidence level (z)

ii. level of tolerable error (e)

iii. estimated population variance (2)

iv. estimated sample size (n)

v. Formula: n = (z2 * 2)/e2

(3) Of the various methods of deriving sample size, estimated population standard deviation can be estimated based on prior studies, expert judgment, or by conducting a pilot sample. For this problem, we are going to estimate population standard deviation using a pilot sample . To do this you will use only the first 200 cases in the Segmenting the College Student Market for Movie Attendance database. We are assuming that these are responses to a pilot sample, and we will use them to estimate the needed sample size.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do This : In the database, you’ll notice that questionnaire number 200 falls into line 201 because the field titles are in row number 1. So, highlight row “202” in the database, click “insert” on toolbar at top of screen, and select “row.” You do this so that you can have a blank working space in which to calculate the standard deviation of the pilot sample. (if you mess up and insert a row in the wrong place, just select the row, click “edit” and select “delete”; then insert the row in the right place).

 

 

(4) Now, Do This: select cell F202 and enter this formula: =STDEV(F2:F201)

This formula computes the standard deviation for all 200 responses for variable Q5a.

If you have #NAME instead of some decimal number in cell F202 of your database worksheet, then you forgot to put the colon (:) between the F2 and F201 in your formula. When you have something to the nature of 0.5 in your cell F202, then you’re good to go. Now select that cell and position the cursor until you have the fill tool indicator that looks like a cross. Now drag the tool cursor all the way to variable Q5i and drop it.

 

 

Congratulations, you just calculated the standard deviation for all of the components of question five of the survey (the most important questions that we are interested in, as stated above). We are assuming that each of the 9 variables is equally important with respect to the research objective.

 

(5) As you have learned from class lectures and from reading your course text, sample size determination can be reached by selecting the variable with the largest computed standard deviation.

Answer the following questions:

 

1. Which of the 9 movie theatre items had the largest standard deviation? ________________

 

2. Now, using the formula for the sample means method of sample size determination that you learned in class, make the necessary computations for each of the following:

a. Compute sample size given the following:

i. required confidence level (Z) is 95.44%.

ii. tolerable error (e) is .1 or 1/10 of a response point.

iii. standard deviation () = _____________________

iv. sample size (n) = ________________________

 

· Compute sample size given the following:

i. required confidence level (Z) is 99.72%.

ii. tolerable error (e) is .1 or 1/10 of a response point.

iii. standard deviation () = ___________________

iv. sample size (n) = ________________________

 

3. How do your computed sample sizes in the problems above compare to the total number of cases in the Segmenting the College Student Market for Movie Attendance database?

____________________________________

 

4. We are going to assume that the objective of our research concerning students attendance at movies can be expressed as a dichotomy (greater or lesser, etc.), for example, it doesn’t matter how much one group attends movies over another group, but just who attends the most. To accomplish this we can use the much less complicated sample proportions formula. We are going to assume that we have no prior studies, hence, in the sample proportions formula P = .5 and (1 – P) = .5. You will not need Excel to assist you with this computation .

 

a. Compute sample size given the following:

i. required confidence level (Z) is 95.44%.

ii. tolerable error (e) is .05 or accuracy within 5% of the true

population mean.

iii. standard deviation P = .5 and (1 – P) = .5

iv. sample size (n) = ________________________

b. Compute sample size given the following:

v. required confidence level (Z) is 99.72%.

vi. tolerable error (e) is .03 or accuracy within 3% of the true

population mean.

vii. standard deviation P = .5 and (1 – P) = .5

viii. sample size (n) = ________________________

 

NOTE: Once you have completed this exercise, DELETE the new row that you have created (row 202) before proceeding to the next exercise to avoid treating the standard errors as a row of data.

 

 

 

 

 

Exercise #2: Determining the Reliability/Confidence of Sample Results

 

(1) Instead of determining the needed sample size, we will now evaluate the confidence level of results derived from the entire Segmenting the College Student Market for Movie Attendance database. To evaluate this type of confidence, using the sample means formula, solve for Z instead of n. Hence, use the formula Z 2 = n * e2/o2. Then take the square root of Z2. You can go to the normal distribution table in the appendix of your text to determine the confidence level associated with the database. For the sample proportions formula, solve for Z using the formula Z2 = (n * e2)/[P(1 – P)] , then take the square root of Z2.

 

You can also use Excel to calculate the confidence level for the entire database. As you know from class, a confidence level for a normal distribution requires two tails. So you multiply 1-α by two. But don’t worry about that by itself… just enter the following formula into a blank cell, such as A503: =2*NORMSDIST(your Z value)-1.

A good Z-value is 1.75, since it corresponds to a confidence level of a little over 90% (the general cut-off for significance).

 

(2)

(3) Now, remember that we assume that question #5 has the most important questions in the questionnaire, with respect to the research objectives. Let’s calculate the standard deviation for these questions, but this time for the entire database instead of just the first 200 responses.

 

(4) Do This: select cell F504 and enter this formula: =STDEV(F2:F501) in order to have Excel compute the standard deviation for all responses for question 5a. It should be something close to 0.59.

REMINDER: You will need to DELETE row 202 from the prior exercise if you haven’t already. Otherwise, the calculation here will be off. The final line of data should be row 501 as shown above.

 

 

 

 

 

Now select that cell and position the cursor until you have the fill tool indicator that looks like a cross. Now drag the tool cursor all the way to variable Q5i and drop it. Now you have computed the standard deviation for all responses to Q5a through Q5i. Choose the question with the largest standard deviation and use it in the formula for computing the confidence level in the following problem.

 

 

 

(3) Given the preceding, compute the confidence level associated with the Segmenting the College Student Market for Movie Attendance database, given the following:

1. a. tolerable error is .1 or 1/10 of a response point.

b. sample size = 500.

c. standard deviation ______________________

 

2. Confidence Level = _______________________%

 

3. How do the results in 2. above compare to the results in 2. of the sample size determination problem?

___________________________________________________________

 

(4) Sample Proportions Formula: Given the information below, compute the confidence level associated with the Segmenting the College Student Marketing for Movie Attendance database. You will not need Excel to make this computation .

a. tolerable error is .05 or 5%

b. sample size = 500

c. standard deviation P = .5 and (1 – P) = .5

 

1. Confidence Level = ________________________%

 

2. How the results in this problem compare the confidence level in #2 of (3)?

____________________________________________________________

 

 

Chapter 15 – Data Processing and Fundamental Data Analysis

 

Exercise #1: Machine Cleaning Data

 

(1) Go to the Wiley website at www.wiley.com/college/mcdaniel and download the “Segmenting the College Student Market for Movie Attendance” Excel database. This database will have several errors for you to correct. Click on the “Value Labels” tab at the bottom of the Excel worksheet and notice the computer coding for each variable.

(2) Also from the Wiley website, download a copy of the “Segmenting the College Student Market for Movie Attendance” questionnaire. Notice the computer coding for each of the variables; it is the same as that in the “Value Labels” in the Excel worksheet. This information will be important in finding errors in the database.

(3) Now it’s time to check the database for errors. As you noticed in the “Value Labels”

worksheet, there are a limited number of possible answers to each question. For example, for Q1, “Did you attend at least one movie at a movie theatre in the past year?,” a respondent is only able to answer “Yes” or “No.” Therefore, the minimum value possible for that question is “0,” the numerical value label assigned to that response for the “No” response to for question; and the maximum value possible is “1,” the numerical label assigned to the “Yes” response for that question. In Excel, we can use formulas to find the minimum and maximum values among all 500 responses to any given question. So, if we find that the maximum value among all of the responses for Q1 is “2,” then we know that there was an error in the data entry process, because the only possible maximum value is “1,” meaning that the respondent answered “Yes” to the question. So,

 

Do This: In a blank cell, such as B503, enter this formula: =MIN(B2:B501)

You should get a calculated value of zero, which is what we expected.

 

Now, Do This: In the blank cell directly beneath the one you put the MIN formula in, say B504, enter this formula: =MAX(B2:B501)

 

You should get a calculated value of 1, theoretically, but you’ll see that you actually get a calculated value of 2, which means that someone messed up in entering the data. So, we need to find the error in the Q1 column.

 

 

 

 

 

Do This: Select the Q1 column (column B) to highlight it. Then click “Edit” on the toolbar at the top of the screen and select “find” (of for a shortcut, hold the “ctrl” button and hit “f,” which is the “find” command). The “find” window will pop up. Enter “2” in the box and hit enter. Excel will go to the location of the first 2 that it finds in the column for Q1.

 

 

Follow this procedure for finding errors in the columns for the rest of the variables. For example, for Q2, “Indicate how important you consider going to the movies at a movie theatre, relative to other leisure activities,” the minimum possible value is “1” for “Very Unimportant,” and the maximum possible value is “4” for “Very Important.” Since you have already entered the MIN and MAX formulas for Q1, all you really have to do is highlight cells B503 and B504, position the cursor so that you have the fill tool that looks like a cross, and drag the cursor all the way to the cells AE503 and AE504.

 

NOTE: If your spreadsheet contains values in rows 503 or 504 from completing the second exercise of Chapter 14 (computing standard deviations), you can delete them before filling in the cells or simply “drag” over them as shown in the subsequent screenshot.

 

 

 

 

When you analyze what you have just done, you see that:

 

· we have an error in the column for Q1 (as we already discussed)

· there are no errors in the column for Q2

· the MIN and MAX for Q3 don’t matter because it’s an open-ended question

· we have an error in the column for Q5f (the MAX value is 7, which is not a possible response)

· we have an error in the column for Q6

· the MIN and MAX for Q8a-d don’t matter because they are open-ended questions (however, we can check these for errors using another way, which we will do in a minute)

· we have an error in the column for Q9

· we have an error in the column for Q10

· there are no errors in the column for Q11

· we have an error in the column for Q12

· there are no errors in the column for Q13

· there are no errors in the column for Q14

 

(4) When you have determined which variables have input errors, summarize the errors using the template below as a guide.

 

Questionnaire Number Variable containing error Incorrect Value Correct value
       

 

 

(5) Now, as we stated above, another possible source of errors is in question 8. Notice that in this question that the sum of the answers should be 100%. To check that these add up to 100% for each respondent, just enter the following formula into a blank cell for Questionnaire Number 1 (such as cell AF2): =SUM(V2:Y2) (there are also other ways to calculate the sum of certain cells using Excel; see if you can play around with the tools or if you can figure out varying but equivalent formulas will do the trick!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now all that you have to do to calculate the sum of Q8a-d for the rest of the database is to use the “fill” tool that you have most likely mastered by now! [Highlight cell AF2, position the cursor to get the “fill” tool, then “drag” the cursor all the way to the last Questionnaire entry.]

 

 

When you look over the calculated sums, you will notice that there is an error in the row for Questionnaire number 238, because the sum of Q8a-d is 110, when it should only be 100.

 

 

(6) Once you have completed summarizing the variables containing errors, position the cursor on each of the variable columns containing errors (one at a time) to highlight the column. Use the ctrl-f function to find the questionnaire numbers where the errors occurred. The best approach to handling the errors for this assignment is to treat them as missing values. To do so, simply delete the incorrect numbers and leave the corresponding cell blank. Be sure to resave your database after correcting it for errors.

(7) After machine cleaning your data, you will notice that the values for your MIN and MAX formulas for your corrected database are now in accordance with the correct range for the value labels.

 

Exercise #2: Analysis of Data with Frequency Distributions

 

 

 

 

Now that you have a clean database, let’s obtain frequencies for all of the variables! First, let’s create multiple workspaces: position your cursor on the topmost left corner of the worksheet and click it to highlight the entire worksheet.

 

 

Now hold “Ctrl” and hit “c” for the “copy” command. Click Sheet 2 on the bottom of the screen to open a blank worksheet, position the cursor in cell A1, and hold “Ctrl” and hit “v” for the “paste” command (you can also use the copy and paste icons on the toolbar at the top of the screen for these commands). You’ll see that you just created an exact replica of your original clean database. Do this again in about 5 or 6 other worksheets (you may not use them all), and name them each something unique whenever you start to use them by double-clicking on the word “Sheet 1” (etc.) to highlight it and replace the text.

 

 

To make it easier to work with your worksheets, you can “freeze” the panes that indicate the Questionnaire number and the Variables:

Highlight cell B2, click “Window” on the toolbar at the top of the screen, and select “Freeze Panes.” From now on, no matter where you are in the database, you will still be able to see the variable labels and the questionnaire numbers.

 

 

 

We will now use the COUNTIF functions to determine frequencies for each variable.

 

How many people answered “Yes” to Question 1?

In cell B503 enter the following formula: =COUNTIF(B2:B501,1)

Excel calculates that 450 respondents answered “Yes” to Q1

What percent of the respondents answered “Yes” to Q1?

In cell B504 enter the following formula: =B503/500 (remember 500 is the total number

of respondents)

Excel calculates that 90% of the respondents answered “Yes” to Q1

 

How many people answered “No” to Question 1?

In cell B506 enter the following formula: =COUNTIF(B2:B501,0)

Excel calculates that 50 respondents answered “No” to Q1

 

What percent of the respondents answered “No” to Q1?

In cell B507 enter the following formula: =B506/500

Excel calculates that 10% of the respondents answered “No” to Q1

 

Use this COUNTIF method to answer the following questions, but remember that for some questions, not all 500 respondents marked an answer. So, in cases where you are asked to find percentages, you will have to divide the COUNTIF calculation by the true number of respondents for that question.

 

Answer the following:

1. What percentage of all respondents attended at least 1 movie in the past year? ______%

 

2. What percentage of all respondents never buy food items at a movie? ______%

 

(Hint: {=COUNTIF(E2:E501,4)/500} )

 

3. Produce a table indicating the percentage of all respondents that consider each of the movie theatre items in Question 5 of the questionnaire very important. List the top 5 movie items in descending order (start with the movie item have the highest percentage of very important responses).

 

For Example:

Movie Item Percentage of Respondents
Movie Item with the highest percentage 63.0%
Movie Item with the 2nd highest percentage, etc. 57.6%

 

4. What percentage of respondents consider the “newspaper” a very important

source of information about movies playing at movie theatres? _______%

 

5. What percentage of respondents consider the “Internet” a very unimportant source

of information about movies playing at movie theatres? _______%

 

6. By observing the distribution of responses for Q8a, Q8b, Q8c and Q8d, which is

the most popular purchase option for movie theatre tickets? _______________

 

7. Produce a table listing in descending order the percentage of respondents that consider each of the movie theatre information sources (Q7) very important.

 

 

 

For Example:

 

 

Movie Theatre Information Sources

  

Percentage of Respondents indicating Very Important
 

Internet

 44.4%
 

Newspaper

  

25.8%

 

Exercise #3: Analysis of Data with Descriptive Statistics

 

The objective of this exercise is to analyze data using measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion. To analyze means and standard deviations, we will use the =AVERAGE() and =STDEV() functions. To analyze medians and modes, we will use the =MEDIAN() and =MODE() functions.

On the questionnaire, Question #5 utilizes a 4-point Itemized Rating scale (illustrated below). This scale is balanced and can be assumed to yield interval scale/metric data. Given the preceding, invoke SPSS to calculate the mean and standard deviation for all of the variables in Question 5 (Q5a-Q5i).

 

 

 

EXAMPLES:

 

 

 

 

Very

unimportant

 Somewhat

unimportant

 Somewhat

important

 Very

important
1 2 3 4

 

 

Answer the following questions:

 

1. Using only the mean for each of the variables, which of the movie theatre items was considered “most important?” __________________

 

2. Using only the standard deviation for each of the variables, for which question

was there the greatest amount of agreement? __________________

 

( Hint: Least amount of dispersion regarding the response to the movie item)

 

3. Questions 4 & 6 utilize multiple choice questions which yield non-metric data,

but which is ordinal scale. The appropriate measures of central tendency for non-

metric data are the median and mode.

a. What is the median response for Question #4, concerning the amount a

person spends on food/drink items at a movie? ________________

 

 

Never buy food items at movies

(0)

  

Up to $7.49

(1)

  

$7.50 to $14.99

(2)

  

$15.00 or more

(3)
 

 

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

b. Concerning Question #6, the distance a person would drive to see a movie

on a “big screen,” what is the mode of that distribution of responses?

 

Zero

(0)

 1 to 9 miles

(1)

 11 to 24 miles

(2)

 25 to 49 miles

(3)

 50+ miles

(4)
         

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. In this question the objective will be to compare the results of median and mean responses for Q3.

a. Mean response: _________

b. Median response: _________

c. Standard Deviation: _________

d. Minimum response: _________

e. Maximum response: _________

 

5. When the responses to a question contain extreme values, the mean response can be lie in the upper or lower quartile of the response distribution. In such a case, the median value would be a better indicator of an average response than the mean value. Given the information you obtained from answering #4 above, is the Mean or Median a better representative of the “average” response to Q3?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

 

Exercise #4: Analysis of Demographic Characteristics Using Charts

 

 

 

 

 

You will use the COUNTIF() method described above to obtain frequencies for the demographic questions (questions 11-14).

EXAMPLE:.

 

Answer the following questions.

 

1. Display the demographic data for each of the four demographic variables in tables.

 

 

a)

 

b) Fill in the other demographics by dragging the “fill” tool as in examples from previous exercises.

 

c)

 

2.

3. For each demographic variable, illustrate the table results using some type of graphic representation of the data (pie charts, line charts, or bar charts).

 

EXAMPLE:

 

 

(The data in the picture to the left would create a pie chart like the one on the right.)

 

Chapter 16 – Statistical Testing of Differences and Relationships

 

 

Exercise #1: Analyzing Data Using Crosstabulation Analysis

 

Go to the Wiley website at www.wiley.com/college/mcdaniel and download the worksheet for this exercise. In this exercise you will use Excel to construct a “Pivot Table” in order to perform a Chi-Square test for statistically significant correlations between specified variables.

 

 

 

In this exercise we are assessing whether or not persons who attend movies at movie theatres are demographically different from those who do not. We will use the following pairs of variables:

 

a. Q1 & Q11

b. Q1 & Q12

c. Q1 & Q13

d. Q1 & Q14

 

In the worksheet “Q1xQ11,” when you scroll down, you will see some tables. These tables contain analysis results for Q1 and Q11. The first table is the Pivot Table. The second table is a crosstabulation that references the pivot table and contains the actual counts of the variables in relation to one another.

 

 

The third, fourth, and fifth tables contain the row, column, and total percents relative to the variables.

 

 

 

The sixth table contains the expected count, which is the expected number in each cell if the two variables were linearly independent, meaning that there was no correlation between them.

 

 

The seventh table contains the elements for the Chi-Square value. Finally, the results of the Chi-Square test are at the bottom of the worksheet. The Chi-Square value is the sum of the numbers from the last table. The number of columns and rows has been entered already to determine the degrees of freedom. The CHIDIST function then determines the significance of the Chi-Square value.

 

You will now need to use these tables to analyze the other variable combinations above.

 

Do This:

 

Copy the worksheet three times (into three new worksheets like you did for a previous exercise).

 

Right Click on the Pivot Table.

Click “Pivot Table Wizard” on the pop-up menu and click “Finish”.

Drag Q11 out to the Pivot Table into the Pivot Table Field List.

Drag Q12 from the Pivot Table Field List into the column header (from where you just removed Q11).

 

Your Pivot Table should have changed!

 

 

But Wait! Do you see “#REF!” in the tables underneath the Pivot Table???

 

If yes, then GOOD! Because that’s what’s supposed to happen! This happens because the Actual Count table is still looking for Q11! In the actual count table, change the references for each of the four conditions (e.g., Q1=0 and Q11=1, Q1=0 an Q11=1, etc.) by doing the following. In the cell for Q1=0 and Q11=0, type “=” and then select the coordinating cell in the pivot table. Repeat this process for the remaining cells. For Q12, since there are only two responses (i.e. 0 and 1) instead of four (i.e., 1,2,3,4), you will need to clear the contents for the two columns that are no longer in use. Also, for Q12 (only), you also have to change the column labels from a range of 1 to “blank” to a range of 0 to 1. For all of the remaining tables, you will need to adjust the column headings and CLEAR CONTENTS for the two columns not in use (i.e., labeled 3 and 4).

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you see the #### symbols in any table, this indicates that the calculated value won’t fit in the cell and that you have to resize it by clicking, holding, and dragging the line between column headings until your values fit.

 

 

Now do the crosstabulation analysis for the rest of the variable combinations that we are interested in for this exercise.

 

Answer questions 1-6 using only the sample data. Do not consider the results of the chi-square test.

 

1. What % of males do not attend movies at movie theatres? _________%

2. What % of all respondents are African-American and do not _________%

attend movies at movie theatres?

3. What % of respondents not attending movies at movie theatres _________%

are in the 19-20 age category?

4. Which classification group is most likely to attend movies _________

at movie theatres?

5. Which age category is least likely to attend movies at a _________

movie theatre?

6. Are Caucasians less likely to attend movies at movie theatres _________

than African-Americans?

 

For question 7, the objective is to determine statistically whether in the population from which the sample data was drawn, if there were demographic differences in persons who attend and do not attend movies at movie theatres. We do this by using the results of the chi-square test for independent samples .

 

7. Evaluate the chi-square statistic in each of your crosstab tables. Construct a table

to summarize the results.

 

For example:

Variables Pearson Chi-Square Degrees of Freedom asymp

sig.

 Explanation
Q1 (attend or not attend movies at movie theatres & Q12 (gender) 4.76 3 .189 We can be 90% confident that based on our sample results, males differ significantly from females in their tendency to attend or not attend movies at movie theatres.

 

 

Exercise #2: T/Z Test for Independent Samples.

 

Go to the Wiley website at www.wiley.com/college/mcdaniel and download the worksheet for this exercise. This exercise compares males and females (Q12) regarding the information sources they utilize to search for information about movies at movie theatres (Q7a-e). The data has been sorted by gender (Q12) for you. Males are in rows 2 through 228 and females are in rows 229 through 501.

 

 

 

Before we conduct the t-Tests, as you learned in class, the T/Z Test involves the tests for the Equality of Means and the Levene’s Test for the Equality of Variance. The result of this latter test will indicate which functions in Excel to use.

 

 

 

 

For the Levene’s test, Do This:

 

Click “Tools” on the toolbar at the top of the screen, select “Data Analysis”, select “t-Test: Two-Sample Assuming Equal Variances”, and click “Ok”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To run a test comparing the variances of male and female population for Q7a, in the box labeled Variable 1 range, enter: “B2:B228,” and in the box labeled Variable 2 range, enter: “B229:B501” (as shown below). Then click on “OK.”

 

 

 

The results will appear in a new sheet. We can see (below) that the variance test is not significant. Hence we can do a t-Test with equal variances assumed. If this test were significant, we would simply choose to do a t-Test with equal variances not assumed, and follow the exact same procedure we are about to detail.

 

 

 

 

For the t-Test, Do This:

 

Click “Tools” on the toolbar at the top of the screen, select “Data Analysis”, select “t-Test: Two-Sample Assuming Equal Variances”, and click “Ok”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To run a t-test for Q7a, in the box labeled Variable 1 range, enter: “B2:B228,” and in the box labeled Variable 2 range, enter: “B229:B501” (as shown below). Then, enter a “0” in the box labeled hypothesized Mean Difference. Then click on “OK.”

 

 

In a new worksheet, you will see the results below. Please note: you can change the cells with scientific notation to a regular number by selecting the cell and selecting format from the menus.

 

 

 

Repeat this process and the test of equal variances for q7b-f.

 

When you do the t-test this way, you can look at the calculated t statistic and compare it to the critical t value. If the calculated t statistic is greater than the critical t value, then the test is significant, meaning males and females differ significantly concerning the sources by which they get their movie theatre information.

 

 

 

Answer the following questions:

 

From these results of our sample data, can we generalize our results to the population by saying that males differ from females regarding the importance they place on various information

sources to get information about movies at movie theatres by:

1. the newspaper (Q7a)?

2. the Internet (Q7b)?

4. phoning in to the movie theatre for information (Q7c)?

5. the television (Q7d)?

6. friends or family (Q7e)?

 

You may want to use the template below to summarize your T-test results. For example:

 

Variables

 Mean Difference Means

Prob of Sig diff

  

Interpretation of Results
Q12 (gender) & Q7a (newspaper) .373 .000 99.9% confident that based on our sample results, males differ significantly from females concerning the importance they place on the newspaper as an information source about movies at movie theatres (means test).

 

 

Exercise #3: ANOVA Test for Independent Samples.

 

Go to the Wiley website www.wiley.com/college/mcdaniel and download the worksheet for this exercise.

 

 

 

This exercise compares the responses of freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors, and graduate students to test for significant differences in the importance placed on several movie theatre items. The ANOVA test produces a SUMMARY table based on sample data. Just like the t-test, if the ANOVA test is significant, then we can make inferences about the general population under study concerning which student classification places most importance on comfortable seats, for example. You’ll notice that the data in the worksheet has been grouped together (all of the responses that freshmen made for Q5a are grouped together, etc.) in a new worksheet called “Rearr Data.” This is necessary for Excel to run an ANOVA.

 

 

 

 

 

Now, Do This:

 

Click “Tools” on the toolbar at the top of the screen, select “Data Analysis”, select “ANOVA: Single Factor”, and click “Ok”.

 

 

 

 

Enter the following data range into the box: “A2:E155”, check the box by “Labels in First Row”, and hit “Ok”.

 

 

Look at the results:

 

 

 

 

 

Repeat the process and run ANOVA for the other variables.

 

Answer the following questions:

 

From our sample data, can we generalize our results to the population by saying that

there are significant differences across the classification of students by the importance

they place on the following movie theatre items?

 

1. video arcade at the movie theatre (Q5a)

2. soft drinks and food items Q5b)

3. plentiful restrooms (Q5c)

4. comfortable chairs (Q5d)

5. auditorium type seating (Q5e)

6. size of the movie theatre screens (Q5f)

7. quality of the sound system (Q5g)

8. number of screens at a movie theatre (Q5h)

9. clean restroom (Q5i)

10. Using only the descriptive statistics, which classification group (Q13) places the

least amount of importance on clean restrooms (Q5i)? ___________________

 

11. Using only the SUMMARY table, which classification group (Q13) places the

greatest amount of importance on quality of sound system (Q5i)?

___________________

 

Summarize the results of your ANOVA analysis using a table similar to the one below.

 

Variables Degrees of Freedom F-Value Probability of Insignificance Interpretation of Results
Q5a (importance of a video arcade) & Q13 (student classification) 4, 442 .766 .548 The p-value for this test is well above .05, hence, there is NO significant difference in importance of video arcades due to student level.

 

 

 

 

 

Ethnic Background

African-

American

50%

Caucasian

20%

Other

20%

Hispanic

10%

 
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Case Study Analysis For Kil_Kapture

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You are required to provide a written analysis of one case study – Kill_Kapture.

– The answers to the case study analysis are to be typed (single line spacing), minimum of 1,000 words plus any appendices and a reference list.

This case study is for submission as an assessment and notes and bullet points are not acceptable. 

Provide answers to the following:

 

1. Identify the demographic characteristics of the target market for Kill_Kapture.

2. In psycho-graphic segmentation of the target market for the Kill_Kapture brand, how does the concept of self-orientation apply?

3. What type of targeting strategy is Kill_Kapture using?

 

·-The written answers should be used to contribute to the class discussion of the topic. Wider reading is encouraged and referencing to academic journals should be used where appropriate.

–

· The written answers should be used to contribute to the class discussion of the topic. Wider reading is encouraged and referencing to academic journals should be used where appropriate.

Australian survivor website: https://tenplay.com.au/channel-ten/australian-survivor/survivors

kill-kapture website : https://www.killkapture.com/

– SIMILARITY SHOULD BE UNDER 4% ON URKUND SIMILARITY REPORT!!!

Case study analysis (30%) • The use of case studies has been incorporated throughout the unit to provide a range of ‘real

world’ business examples. Your recognition of the issues faced in the marketing environment is required. Informed discussion with relevance to previous and current marketing studies is also required in response to the questions posed by the case studies.

• You are required to provide written answers to one case study – Kill_Kapture. The answers to the case study assignment are to be typed (single line spacing) and a minimum of 1,000 words (plus an assignment submission cover sheet and references).

• Wider reading is encouraged and referencing to academic journals should be used where appropriate.

• One draft submission is available online (under Topic 5) and the draft can then be adjusted prior to the final submission (online under Topic 5). To avoid a high similarity % don’t submit the draft with a cover page.

• The case study assignment must be submitted online together with an Urkund similarity report and a signed assignment submission cover sheet. Similarity should be under 4% . Due before the beginning of the workshop Session 3.

• A penalty of 10% per day (to a total of 30% which is the total allocated for the assessment) will be applied for late submissions.

 
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Financial Analysis, Implementation, Controls

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Project 4: Developing and Implementing a Marketing Plan Start Here

Introduction

In this project, your client has tasked your team with creating a marketing plan with the goal of increasing sales to other businesses in the United States. This project has been broken down into several smaller tasks in the steps below:

Step 1: Prepare for Group Work Step 2: Review Information on Business-to-Business (B2B) Marketing Step 3: Understand the Components of a Marketing Plan and Research Guidelines Step 4: Prepare a Situation Analysis Report Step 5: Conduct an Environmental Scan Step 6: Research and Analyze the Company’s US Market Step 7: Develop Marketing Objectives Step 8: Conduct a Segmenting and Targeting of the US Market and Product Positioning (STP) Step 9: Develop a Marketing Strategy Step 10: Complete Financial Analysis and Implementation, Controls, and Contingency Plan Step 11: Complete and Submit Your Marketing Plan Step 12: Complete Skills Gap Analysis Step 13: Submit Your Work

Each task will help you create one piece of a complete marketing plan. You will have three weeks, so you should complete the 13 steps of this project by the end of Week 10. If you have any questions, please ask your instructor.

During this project, please submit your individual contribution to the team effort for the instructor to see. Lack of participation on this project as defined in your team agreement may affect your grade.

 

Step 1: Prepare for Group Work

he business-development team has convened, and you begin working with a talented group of colleagues. To efficiently and effectively address the task at hand, you first need to complete the team agreement and project work plan. This is especially important because your business-development team is a new group of specialists that has never before worked together, and the members are living and working in different geographic locations with different time zones. The team should submit the team agreement and project work plan to their study group as one submission, early in Week 2 of the course.

Step 2: Review Information on Business-to-Business (B2B) Marketing

INBOX: 1 New Message

Subject:  Case Primer for Marketing Plan From:      Jillian Best, CEO, MCS To:           You As you have learned through your work with MCS clients, marketing is one of the most important functional areas in business. As you get oriented with the realities of business-to-business (B2B) marketing, I’d like you to do some more reading on two main elements: (1) business buying behavior, and (2) strategic alliances.

Business buying behavior relates to how business customers and their suppliers explore different avenues to manage relationships and enhance efficiency and effectiveness. Fostering the right relationship with businesses is crucial for any holistic marketing plan. B2B relationships are affected by supply, complexity of supply, availability of alternatives, and supply-market dynamism.

In addition, our new client may consider forming strategic alliances  to expand its US operations. The twenty-first century has seen an increased use of long-term global strategic alliances among both producers and distribution companies. Organizations form these alliances in an effort to secure commercial advantage and eliminate waste from their distribution channels. They can be crucial to success.

Please review the information linked above before going any further. This is a big client and a tremendous opportunity for MCS. Let me know if any questions arise as you get oriented with your team.

Best,

Jillian

Step 3: Understand the Components of a Marketing Plan and Research Guidelines

The team’s marketing knowledge and data acquisition skills are crucial to the success of this project. Your team will collect and analyze the information necessary to develop a marketing plan for expanding the company’s operations within the United States.

Your final marketing plan will ultimately include a situation analysis, analyses of the client’s market, strategy, and financing, and an outline describing the measures to implement the plan. Use this marketing plan template to help you create your marketing plan.

Step 4: Prepare a Situation Analysis Report

INBOX: 1 New Message

Subject:  Company Case File & Questions to Consider From:      Jillian Best, CEO, MCS To:          Team Hi again. I wanted to provide you with the company case file and some pertinent questions for you to consider while you work on your B2B marketing plan.

As part of the preparation necessary to complete your business-to-business marketing plan, you and your team will need to do in-depth research on your client’s company, including its operations, global reach, and range of offerings.

By the end of Week 8, I need you to produce a situation analysis report explaining your team’s findings on the company. Be sure to include a value proposition, essentially the promise that is made to the customer, explaining the reason a customer purchases a product or uses a service (i.e., the value that a company delivers to its customers).

Start by reading the attached case file and be sure to consider the following questions while you do additional research:

· Where is the company headquartered?

· What are the company’s major products and/or services?

· What is the company’s annual revenue in dollars, and what is its annual production in units?

· Does the company own its own facilities or does it subcontract manufacturing to others?

· Who are the company’s major suppliers of raw materials or parts, and where are they located?

· What is the distribution of the company’s workforce by country?

· How does the company differentiate its offering in its highly competitive markets?

· Does the company have exclusive marketing or distribution agreements or partnerships?

· Who are the company’s major global and US customers?

· What benefits does the company offer to its customers?

· Who are the company’s major global and US competitors?

When developing your situation analysis, you should also understand the importance of vision and mission statements and then research the company’s own vision and mission statements.

Write a three-page document detailing the main findings of your research about your client, including its mission and vision statement. Submit your document to your team’s study group.

That’s it for now, Jillian

 

Attachments:

Company Case File

Step 5: Conduct an Environmental Scan

As a member of the business development team for this project, you use quantitative and qualitative market information to make important decisions and set the direction of the marketing plan. As you continue to work on your situation analysis report, your team will use the following tools to conduct an environmental scan, the foundation on which a solid marketing plan is built.

Tools for Environmental Scan

Company-Specific Analysis (internal)

· SWOT analysis—A SWOT analysis is a planning and brainstorming tool that helps a company evaluate its projects and formulate its business plans. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. You will use this tool to identify and analyze the company’s internal strengths and weaknesses as well as its external opportunities and threats. The results of this analysis may help the company improve its business or forecast how a new product or service will perform (Harmon, 2016).

Industry, Market, and Customer Analysis (external)

· PESTEL analysis—A PESTEL analysis (sometimes called PEST analysis) enables the company to identify, analyze, and monitor the political, economic, social, technological, legal (including regulatory), and environmental factors that may affect its operations (Frue, 2017).

· Porter’s five forces analysis—Porter’s five forces analysis is a framework that can help the company understand the competitive forces at play in its industry. These forces may influence how economic value is divided among the company’s competitors in the industry (Porter, 2008).

References

Frue, K. (2017). Why do PEST analysis for your business? Retrieved from http://pestleanalysis.com/

Harmon, A. (2016). SWOT analysis. Salem Press Encyclopedia [online]. Retrieved from Research Starters, Ipswich, MA.

Porter, M. E. (2008). The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard Business Review, 86(1), 78–93.

Research your industry and its market trends in the United States and identify market opportunities, threats, and the company’s major global competition. Then conduct the SWOT, PESTEL, and Porter’s five forces analyses on your client’s company. These tools should allow you to analyze the company’s internal environment, customers, and macro-environment (external environment), and to answer the following questions in your situation analysis report:

· Which elements have the biggest impact on the company’s success?

· What factors affect the company’s customers (other businesses)?

Deliverable: Your final situation analysis should include your three-page overview of your research findings and an eight-page review of your environmental scan. The completed situation analysis report should be eleven pages, excluding cover page, executive summary, the reference list, and appendices. Any tables, graphs, and figures should be included as appendices. Your report should have one-inch margins and be double spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font. The report should be organized using headings and subheadings to improve its readability.

Support your work with scholarly sources and reliable nonscholarly sources such as Reuters, Bloomberg, Yahoo! Finance, Barrons.com, Morningstar.com, Money, Forbes, Fortune, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, and Harvard Business Review, as well as the UMUC Library databases such as Hoover’s and ABI/INFORM. All sources need to be cited using APA formatting, both within the text and in the reference list.

By the end of Week 8, submit your situation analysis report to your team’s study group.

In the next step, you will start a market analysis report.

Step 6: Research and Analyze the Company’s US Market

Now that you have completed the environmental scan, your team needs to conduct a market analysis of the company’s customers in the United States. Outline how the team would conduct this analysis, while considering both current and potential customers. Your analysis should address how you would determine answers to the following questions:

· What needs are being met by the products or services that they purchase? What are the benefits to the customers? Make sure that you differentiate between features and benefits; go beyond manifest motives and consider latent motives.

· Who is involved in the purchase process? Who are influencers? Who are buyers? Who are users?

· How do customers pay? Describe payment plans, financing, banking arrangements, etc.

· Where are the products or services sold and delivered, and what are the distribution channels?

· How often are the different types of the products or services purchased? Is there seasonality to sales?

· Is there any market regulation? Is there self-regulation? Do any federal or state regulations affect the company’s US operations?

· What is the size of the market (in dollars and units)? What is the growth rate of that market?

Deliverable: Present your results to the CEO in a market analysis report of five pages, excluding cover page, executive summary, the reference list, and appendices. Any tables, graphs, and figures should be included as appendices. Your report should have one-inch margins and be double spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font. The report should be organized using headings and subheadings to improve its readability.

Support your work with scholarly sources and reliable nonscholarly sources such as Reuters, Bloomberg, Yahoo! Finance, Barrons.com, Morningstar.com, Money, Forbes, Fortune, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, and Harvard Business Review, as well as the UMUC Library databases such as Hoover’s and ABI/INFORM. All sources need to be cited using APA formatting, both within the text and in the reference list.

By the end of Week 9, submit your market analysis report to your Study group. Then proceed to the next step, where you will decide on marketing objectives for your client.

Step 7: Develop Marketing Objectives

The next component of the marketing plan your team needs to tackle is the strategic analysis report.

As a marketing team, you need to decide on the marketing objectives for your target market before you develop your company’s marketing strategy. Marketing objectives translate the company’s mission and business into long- and short-term goals. Marketing objectives are usually quantitative and include sales (both in units or dollars), market share, and profitability. They may also include qualitative factors such as quality, customer satisfaction, and social responsibility (Kerin & Hartley, 2017). Knowing exactly where you want to go is essential in deciding how to get there. The objectives have to be measurable, specific, and have a set time limit.

Be careful not to have too many objectives, since a limited number of objectives will help you focus. The objectives should be challenging but achievable.

Prepare a one-page document outlining your marketing objectives. This will ultimately form part of your strategic analysis report. Submit your document to your team’s study group.

You will continue your work on a strategic analysis report in the next step, where you will begin to examine your market and determine how the company can meet the marketing objectives you identified.

Step 8: Conduct a Segmenting and Targeting of the US Market and Product Positioning (STP)

The next step in developing your strategic analysis report involves segmenting, targeting, and positioning (STP).

Take Note

· Segmenting refers to breaking the market down into homogenous groups.

· Targeting refers to selecting the customer group or groups that you will focus your marketing efforts on. The appropriate segmentation variable is dependent on the needs and wants of customers.

· These decisions are directly tied to your  value proposition  and require extensive marketing research on the customers. Once the segmentation variable is determined and the target markets selected, you need to develop a positioning strategy, which refers to the way you want the customer to view the product or service relative to the competition.

Describe the market research you would conduct to analyze and segment the US market. Explain how you would select your target markets and explain the process of positioning the company’s products or services relative to the competition.

Detail your STP in a four-page document. This will ultimately form part of your strategic analysis report. Submit your document to your team’s study group.

Your overall STP is important, because it will create a foundation for the refinements you will make in the next step, where you will compete and submit your strategic analysis report.

Step 9: Develop a Marketing Strategy

You and your team have been working around the clock to generate all the pieces for your new client’s requests. Jillian touches base to see how things are moving along and to provide additional instruction.

INBOX: 1 New Message

Subject:  Pulling it all together From:      Jillian Best, CEO, MCS To:          Team & You Hi Team, Please develop a marketing strategy for this client based on your STP strategy. The following marketing strategy elements are interdependent and are crucial components of a successful marketing plan. Click each component for more in-depth information:

· branding strategies—Describe the needs and wants of your target customers and how you intend to position the offerings versus the competition. Present a detailed description of the different types of products or services that you intend to sell in the US market, including their attributes, features, and quality level, along with the brand names, intended packaging, logo, and supplemental products and services. As you make these branding strategy decisions, it is imperative that you stay focused on the customer. Remember that the company’s customers do not buy features; they buy benefits, both tangible and intangible. It is also critical to understand the customer: think about who makes the purchase and who influences that decision.

· pricing strategy—Pricing is very strategic, as it is the only marketing mix variable that generates income. As a marketing team, you need to decide on your price objectives and strategies. Think about pricing tactics like discounts and incentives. You need to decide whether your pricing strategy should be skimming, premium, or market penetration given the nature of the offerings, your customers, and your major competition. Profit margins and breakeven analysis will also need to be considered. As you determine your final price points, you’ll need to consider the perceived value of your offerings. Describe how you would go about making these decisions as well as the major issues involved.

· distribution and supply chain strategy—Is it easy to transport your offerings, or are there issues involved in delivering them to the final user? These strategic decisions deal with how customers purchase your products or services. Will you market your products or services directly to your customers or through intermediaries like distributors and wholesalers? Will you follow an exclusive, selective, or intensive distribution? Distribution decisions focus on marketing channels as well as the physical distribution of the offerings. Explain the criteria you would use to make these distribution and supply chain strategy decisions.

· integrated marketing communications—This is often the most visible element of a marketing strategy. The company’s communication strategy involves developing an integrative mix of a number of different tools, while keeping in mind the needs and characteristics of the target market. These tools may include a mix of traditional communication elements such as advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, and publicity and public relations. It is essential that your promotion objectives are clearly defined, and that a holistic and integrated marketing communication approach is used.

Whew, that was a lot to cover, but all important info,

Jillian

 

Deliverable: Your final strategic analysis report should include your one-page outline of marketing objectives, your four-page STP analysis, and a five-page marketing strategy. As follows, the final strategic analysis report should be 10 pages, excluding cover page, executive summary, the reference list, and appendices. Any tables, graphs, and figures should be included as appendices. Your report should have one-inch margins and be double spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font. The report should be organized using headings and subheadings to improve its readability.

Support your work with scholarly sources and reliable nonscholarly sources such as Reuters, Bloomberg, Yahoo! Finance, Barrons.com, Morningstar.com, Money, Forbes, Fortune, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, and Harvard Business Review, as well as the UMUC Library databases such as Hoover’s and ABI/INFORM. All sources need to be cited using APA formatting, both within the text and in the reference list.

Early in Week 10, submit your strategic analysis report your team’s study group.

Your team will prepare a financial analysis next.

Step 10: Complete Financial Analysis and Implementation, Controls, and Contingency Plan

The final component of your marketing plan is a financial analysis report that also includes a schedule for implementation, any needed control measures, and a contingency plan. Present your financial analysis in a table that includes the following details about your client:

· forecasted total number of units sold (for a service industry, products could be service contracts or the number of customers served)

· forecasted average unit price (AUP)

· forecasted total sales (in US dollars)

· forecasted average unit variable cost

· forecasted fixed cost

· breakeven point (units)

· breakeven point (in US dollars)

Read about breakeven analysis  to assist your calculations. In addition, use the following guidelines as you develop your implementation, controls, and contingency plan:

1. Decide on the team that is going to implement the plan.

2. Determine the time frame for implementation.

3. Secure the financial and human resources needed.

4. Distribute the tasks among team members.

5. Periodically check and communicate performance against the marketing plan metrics (benchmarks) to ensure that implementation is on track.

6. Make changes if there are any deviations from the key performance indicators (KPIs) for those metrics, preferably using a dashboard. KPIs may include the number of sales calls, the number of new customers, sales, profitability, growth, etc.

7. Contingency plans should deal with severe deviations from productions plans, sales figures, market share, profitability, changes in government regulations (e.g., increased taxation), and drastic competitors’ moves (e.g., launching a competing product or service or an offering that may render your offering obsolete or less attractive to the market).

Deliverable: Submit a report that explains your financial analysis. Also, include a table at the end of the report that highlights your financials. In addition, explain your schedule for implementation as well as the controls you intend to put in place and how you intend to proceed when your benchmarks are not met (contingency plan).

Your financial analysis and implementation report should be three pages, excluding cover page, the reference list, and appendices. Any tables, graphs, and figures should be included as appendices. Your report should have one-inch margins and be double spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font. The report should be organized using headings and subheadings to improve its readability.

Support your work with scholarly sources and reliable nonscholarly sources such as Reuters, Bloomberg, Yahoo! Finance, Barrons.com, Morningstar.com, Money, Forbes, Fortune, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, and Harvard Business Review, as well as the UMUC Library databases such as Hoover’s and ABI/INFORM. All sources need to be cited using APA formatting, both within the text and in the reference list.

Early in Week 10, submit your financial analysis and implementation, controls, and contingency plan to your team’s study group.

In the next step, you will combine the work from all of your analyses to create your final marketing plan.

Step 11: Complete and Submit Your Marketing Plan

Combine your situation analysis, market analysis, strategic analysis, and financial and implementation analysis into one complete paper following the marketing plan template. Edit the document to ensure that there is clear flow of ideas from one section to another. In addition, prepare a one-page executive summary that highlights the most important aspects of your marketing plan. The paper should be 30–32 pages, excluding cover page, executive summary, the reference list, and appendices. Any tables, graphs, and figures should be included as appendices. Your report should have one-inch margins and be double spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font. The report should be organized using headings and subheadings to improve its readability.

Support your work with scholarly sources and reliable nonscholarly sources such as Reuters, Bloomberg, Yahoo! Finance, Barrons.com, Morningstar.com, Money, Forbes, Fortune, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, and Harvard Business Review, as well as the UMUC Library databases such as Hoover’s and ABI/INFORM. All sources need to be cited using APA formatting, both within the text and in the reference list.

By the end of Week 10, submit your final marketing plan to the dropbox located in the final step of this project.

 
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