4.       Noble Bicycles of Glen Arbor, Michigan, is a small batch manufacturer of high-end bicycles. That is, it typically builds bicycles in batches of one to three units. Quality is high, only to be expected when the typical bicycle frame costs $2,500 and up. Yet, profits have not kept pace with top management’s expectations. Management has set a goal of generating a minimum of 25 percent return on assets. As a result of a corporate SWOT analysis, management has identified one critical threat: the costs at Noble are simply too high—and one important opportunity: because of the flexibility of opera- tions and the experience of the design team, many of whom are either professional or serious amateur bicyclists, Noble is well positioned to become an innovation leader. A top management team consisting of the marketing director, the finance director, the corporate vice president, the purchasing director, and the director of operations man- agement has developed two alternative strategies: (1) focus on reducing costs through the application of lean systems and procedures (Chapter 8), and (2) focus on product innovation (Chapter 4). To assess the two approaches, the team has generated the fol- lowing table.

 

Category

Current Values

Lean Proposal

Innovation Proposal

Sales

$12,500,000

$12,500,00

$16,000,000

Cost of goods sold

$10,625,000

$9,375,000

$12,000,000

Variable expenses

$     750,000

$   650,000

$     800,000

Fixed Expenses

$     750,000

$   600,000

$     750,000

Inventory

$  1,250,000

$   900,000

$  1,500,000

Accounts Receivable

$     600,000

$   500,000

$     600,000

Other Current Assets

$     600,000

$   600,000

$     750,000

Fixed Assets

$     600,000

$   600,000

$     600,000

a.       What is Noble Bicycles’ current ROA?

b.       How does the lean proposal affect operations at Noble Bicycles?

c.       How does the innovation proposal affect Noble Bicycles (why)?

d.       Which proposal would you recommend to top management? Why?

e.       How much of a change in sales would be required in order to make the returns of the two proposals equivalent?

f.       What are the strategic risks of these proposals?

 

 

 

Objective: Assess sources for your research for your final presentation (for credibility, reliability, and relevance) and list references in proper APA formatAssignment Instructions: The Research Project/Presentation for this class is divided into three major Assignments, 1) annotated bibliography, 2) outline and 3) research presentation. The first part is the annotated bibliography. An annotation is a summary and evaluation, and your annotated bibliography will include a summary and evaluation of some of the sources (or references) you will use for your presentation.To prepare for this assignment, I recommend that you do the following:

Read these directions carefully.

Review the sample annotated bibliography provided to you below.

[Read the grading criteria below. The grading criteria is a detailed evaluation that I will use to assess your performance. It also will help you understand what is expected of you as you prepare your assignment.]

Message me with any questions!

The reason the annotated bibliography is included as part of the research project is that writing an annotated bibliography is important in that it provides excellent preparation for the final presentation. One of the issues regarding any type of research, especially in meteorology, is the credibility of the sources used, particularly those obtained from various websites. By forcing you to evaluate each of your potential sources carefully, the annotated bibliography helps you determine if in fact the source you chose is credible and helps you determine how relevant it is to your topic and understand the topic better which will help you develop your presentation.For this project, you will assess three sources to include:1) a complete citation for each source,2) a summary of each source, and3) an evaluation of each source.Three sources are required for this assignment (i.e., you are to write an annotation for each source) . However, you must use five or more sources in your final presentation.Use this TEMPLATEto summarize and evaluate each of your three sources.

Citation: Written in APA reference list format. For more help with formatting, see APA handout.

Summary:What is the purpose of the source, review article, original research? What topics are covered? This section is generally 4-6 sentences that summarize the author’s main point. For more help, see this link onparaphrasing sources.

Evaluation:After summarizing the article (or research paper or book), it is necessary to evaluate it and state where you found it – its source (e.g., journal, website, etc.). Briefly answer the following questions in 4-6 sentences:

What is the format or type of source (e.g., peer-reviewed journal paper, website, book)?

How reliable is the information in the article?

How credible is the source (e.g., website’s sponsoring organization, journal or book publisher) and the author(s)

For more help, see this handout on evaluating resources.Additional Resources:

SampleAnnotated Bibliography

Also, please see the resources below at The Owl at Purdue site for more information on how to write an annotated bibliography as well as other pages on the site to assist you with the other parts of the research paper:

Annotated Bibliographies

Annotated Bibliography Example

Annotated Bibliography Samples

Evaluation: Please review theAnnotated Bibliography Grading Criteria that describes how your annotated bibliography will be graded.Submission Instructions:

You must submit your Annotated Bibliography as a “Microsoft Word” document using the template provided (rather than a Word Pad, Works, etc. document) AND title your file name asFirstnameLastname_SCIN137_Assg1.doc. Otherwise, you will not receive credit for your assignment.

Describe how control responsibilities change with management levels and outline the general process applicable to most control situations?